RUI: Discovering New Sources of CP Violation in Flavor Phenomenology

Lawrence Technological University, Southfield MI

Investigators

Abstract

This RUI award funds the research activities of Professor Bhubanjyoti Bhattacharya at Lawrence Technological University. Although highly successful, the Standard Model (SM) of Particle Physics has several limitations. One such limitation is its inability to resolve our universe's matter-antimatter asymmetry puzzle. The amount of matter in the universe --- surprisingly and unexpectedly –-- far exceeds the amount of antimatter. A fundamental symmetry called Charge-Parity (CP) relates matter with antimatter. As a result, any new physics beyond the SM (so-called "BSM" physics) must therefore have a large amount of CP violation in order to help solve this puzzle. Professor Bhattacharya's scientific research will provide further insight into our understanding of CP violation in BSM theories involving new hypothetical particles. Research in this area advances the national interest by promoting the progress of science in understanding the fundamental properties of nature through the creation of new theoretical frameworks. This project is also envisioned to have significant broader impacts. Undergraduate students at Lawrence Tech, working under the supervision of Professor Bhattacharya, will employ model-independent techniques to compare data with theory, identify deviations in experimental measurements from the SM, and create novel solutions in the form of new-physics models that alleviate tensions within the data. Professor Bhattacharya's students will thus become familiar with cutting-edge computational techniques and contribute to the future American workforce. More technically, Professor Bhattacharya will investigate the decay distributions of heavy mesons (such as B and D mesons) as functions of multiple kinematic variables, using several theoretical tools. He will employ flavor-SU(3) symmetry to investigate hadronic decays and effective-field theory approaches to explore semi-leptonic decays. His research will examine these decays in light of new-physics models with hypothetical particles such as vectorlike fermions, leptoquarks, axionlike particles, and higgslike particles. These projects will create opportunities for delivering a scientific research-based education to undergraduate students while generating increased interest in and greater understanding of particle physics research among the general public. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.