Speaker
Description
For over a century, physicists have developed a detailed framework describing the fundamental particles and their interactions. This framework, called the Standard Model (SM), successfully explains phenomena governed by the electromagnetic, strong, and weak nuclear forces. However, it cannot explain several major mysteries, including dark matter, dark energy, and why the universe does not contain equal parts of matter and antimatter. These gaps motivate the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model through searching for new sources of Charge-Parity (CP) violation.
My research investigates one such path by studying the eta ($\eta$) meson, a short-lived particle created in high-energy collisions, through its rare decay $\eta \rightarrow \pi^+ \pi^- e^+ e^-$. This decay proceeds via a virtual photon, and measuring its polarization allows us to construct an asymmetry factor between the pion and electron decay planes. This becomes an extremely precise test for SM CP-violation that can provide strong evidence for Beyond Standard Model (BSM) theories.
To carry out this work, I will use the newly upgraded GlueX detector at Jefferson Lab in Virginia. This detector can capture and study particles with precision, and it provides an ideal environment to search for effects that may reveal new sources of CP-violation, which is an essential ingredient needed to explain the observed imbalance between matter and antimatter.
Because this decay has a branching fraction at the $10^{-4}$ level, I will generate detailed simulations and compare them with real data to separate signal from background noise. Machine learning tools will play a key role in identifying subtle patterns in the detector and improving particle identification. Techniques, progress in simulation, and data analysis will be shown.
| Keyword-1 | hadronic physics |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | eta meson |
| Keyword-3 | gluex |