Understanding the Flavour Anomalies : New Results from the LHCb Experiment
Abstract:
Over the past 15 years, significant tensions have been observed in flavour-changing neutral current decays of b-hadrons. Collectively referred to as the flavor anomalies, these effects have attracted considerable attention due to the strong sensitivity of such rare processes to potential new physics. One of the most notable tensions appears in the angular distributions of the rare decay B→K∗0μ+μ−. This seminar will present the most precise measurements of this decay to date, based on data collected with the LHCb experiment during Runs 1 and 2 of the LHC, and will discuss the implications of these new results for our understanding of the flavor anomalies.
Hosted by: Krishna Rajagopal and Gunther Roland
Deciphering Phase Transitions in Strongly Interacting QCD Matter
Abstract:
Phase transitions in strongly interacting matter provide a powerful means to study the fundamental properties and symmetries of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong interaction. High-energy nuclear collisions create a unique laboratory for this purpose, enabling systematic exploration of the QCD phase structure. At the same time, they reproduce the extreme temperatures and densities characteristic of the early universe and neutron star mergers, thus offering valuable insights for cosmology and astrophysics. A central tool in this search is the study of event-by-event fluctuations and correlations in particle multiplicities produced in head-on heavy-ion collisions These observables, closely linked to the statistical properties of QCD matter, are sensitive to changes in the equation of state and may signal the presence of a critical endpoint in the QCD phase diagram. In this talk, I will review the history and methodology of fluctuation studies, highlight recent experimental results from ALICE at LHC/CERN, STAR at RHIC/BNL, and HADES at SIS18/GSI, and place them in the context of current theoretical developments. I will also present a new fuzzy-logic–based approach designed to overcome the persistent challenge of particle misidentification in such measurements. Together, these advances bring us closer to a systematic mapping of the QCD phase structure, with implications that reach from the foundations of QCD to the physics of the early universe and compact stars.
Hosted by: Eluned Smith and Philip Harris
Professor Loukas Gouskos – Brown University
Mission Impossible? Probing the Higgs boson-charm quark coupling with CMS
Abstract:
How strongly the Higgs boson couples to second-generation quarks remains a central open question for testing the Standard Model’s flavor structure. I will present the CMS program targeting the Higgs boson-charm quark Yukawa coupling via Higgs decays to a pair of charm quarks. I will focus on a new search in the until-recently unexplored production mode where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a top-quark pair, and discuss complementary searches in associated production with W or Z bosons. The key enabling tools in these searches are cutting-edge jet-flavor identification algorithms and novel analysis strategies that exploit event-level correlations, both of which are powered by state-of-the-art deep learning techniques. I will outline prospects at the HL-LHC and close with opportunities at future Higgs factories.
Kyle Lee – Yale University
Energy Correlators at the Collider Frontier
Abstract:
Extracting answers to major open problems in particle physics from the wealth of collider data demands fresh perspectives on quantum field theory and new methods for connecting theory to observations. Recently, significant attention has focused on detector operators, particularly energy correlators, due to their unique role at the crossroads of experiment, phenomenology, and formal theory. In this talk, I will present recent advancements in our understanding of these detector observables and discuss how such theoretical insights are pushing the frontiers in collider physics.
Hosted by: Eluned Smith
David Sperka
Accelerator Searches for Dark Sectors at the LHC and Fermilab
Abstract:
Understanding the nature of dark matter is the most important task for contemporary particle physics. While the parameter space remains vast, searches at particle accelerators are sensitive to a wide range of plausible dark matter scenarios. In this talk I will describe searches for dark photons and axion-like particles at the Large Hadron Collider with the CMS experiment, as well as a new effort to search for dark photons using the SpinQuest experiment located at the Fermilab Main Injector. I will describe the use of real time analysis techniques, the computing challenge that the HL-LHC poses for future dark sector searches, and the proposed DarkQuest upgrade to SpinQuest that will greatly improve its sensitivity.
Hosted by: Bolek Wyslouch
Yifang Wang - Special Friday Seminar @ 12:00 PM
Higgs and Neutrinos: Portal to the Future of Particle Physics
Abstract:
After the discovery of Higgs, the Standard Model (SM) is basically completed and particle physics is now at a turning point. On the one hand, SM is just an effective theory at current energy scale with a number of questions not yet answered. On the other hand, experimental evidence beyond the SM have been observed. It is commonly believed that a further understanding of physics at higher energies or deeper levels is needed, to be guided by more experimental discoveries. For such a purpose, Higgs and Neutrinos are the two main portals. I will describe our efforts along these two directions. One is based on the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) which started the data taking this Aug. Another one is the Circular Electron-Positron Collider (CEPC) with a circumference of 100km. After 12 years efforts, CEPC is almost ready for construction. I will describe its design, R&D and the construction planning.
Hosted by: Mikhail Ivanov
Dr. John Joseph Carrasco – Northwestern University
Double Copy, Leg Godt! Gluons for (almost) Nothing, Gravitons for Free
Abstract:
I will review recent breakthroughs in uncovering universal structures of relativistic quantum field theories and the emergent double-copy relations among them. These insights weave a web of connections—from precision descriptions of high-energy QCD phenomena and pion scattering to binary-inspiral gravitational waveforms, from the emergence of the Einstein-Hilbert action all the way to the physics of cosmic inflation. In each case, the double copy elevates suggestive analogy to sharp, predictive duality. Throughout, I will frame scattering amplitudes as a conceptual laboratory for isolating the invariant predictive content of physical theory.
Hosted by: Joseph Formaggio
Dr. Xing Wu – Michigan State University
Towards Quantum Control and Sensing of 227ThO Molecules and Other Radioactive Molecules for Nuclear Schiff Moment Search
Abstract:
This talk covers the ongoing effort and plans at FRIB to perform quantum control and sensing of 227ThO molecules, for a new generation of Nuclear Schiff Moment search. Photon-cycling scheme, rotational-state cooling scheme, and single quantum state preparation and readout schemes will be discussed. In addition, I'm presenting the plan towards a laser-less approach to produce cold species for nearly the entire periodic table, using a centrifuge decelerator.
Hosted by: Philip Harris
Dr. Aram Apyan - Brandeis University
A Window to New Physics with Collisions of W Bosons
Abstract:
The Standard Model of particle physics has been extremely successful in describing the building blocks of matter and their interactions. The observation of a Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 presented a new paradigm of precision physics aiming at the investigation of the Higgs mechanism. Since that time, many decay modes of the Higgs boson have been observed, indicating Higgs boson properties in good agreement with the theoretical expectations. In this seminar I will discuss a powerful way of stress testing the standard model and searching for new physics using collisions of heavy vector bosons. My presentation will be illustrated with the newest results obtained from proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Prospects for measuring these processes at future colliders will be discussed as well.
Hosted by: Philip Harris
Dr. Rachel Hyneman - University of Arizona
Colloquium Info Coming Soon
Hosted by: William Detmold
Dr. Andreas Kronfeld – Fermi Lab
Title and Abstract Coming Soon
