Key research themes
1. How can new scalar particles coupled to the Standard Model fields be systematically classified and constrained via effective field theory?
This research area focuses on the classification of new scalar particles that can couple linearly and renormalizably to Standard Model (SM) fields, enabling their potential single production at colliders, and on deriving the corresponding effective Lagrangian describing their low-energy effects. It matters because it provides a model-independent dictionary linking arbitrary scalar extensions of the SM with dimension-five and dimension-six effective operators, facilitating systematic collider searches and the interpretation of experimental deviations as signals of new physics.
2. What are the prospects and constraints for detecting new particles and forces via collider experiments and associated precision measurements?
This theme covers methodology and results related to searching for new particles beyond the Standard Model in collider data, interpreting anomalies such as diboson excesses or diphoton resonances, and constraining new force carriers through precision observables like electric dipole moments. It is crucial for guiding experimental strategies in current and near-future facilities, understanding the accessibility limits of new physics, and placing bounds on model parameters informed by recent Higgs and LHC data.
3. How do theoretical models and astrophysical observations of particle creation and exotic states inform the search for new particles and forces beyond the Standard Model?
This area investigates particle creation mechanisms in extended gravity theories, exotic hadronic states with multiquark content, and astrophysical probes of new light particles and interactions via phenomena such as pulsar timing and cosmic ray signatures. It is important because it connects fundamental particle properties and non-collider environments, opening new avenues to detect or constrain novel particles and forces that may be inaccessible at current colliders.