Research in Experimental and Theoretical High-Energy Physics

   M. Paulini, Carnegie Mellon University (Principal Investigator)
   J. Alison, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   R. Briere, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   M. Cremonesi, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator
   S. Dodelson, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   V. Dutta, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   R. Mandelbaum, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   D. Parno, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   R. Penco, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   R. Rosen, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   I. Rothstein, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)
   G. Tarnopolskiy, Carnegie Mellon University (Co-Investigator)

This award provides three-year renewal funding by the Office of High Energy Physics at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science supporting the High Energy Physics (HEP) research effort at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) with Manfred Paulini as Lead-Principal Investigator for the funding period April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2026.

The HEP group at CMU consists of both experimental and theoretical members. The experimentalists conduct research with the CMS experiment at the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, the COHERENT neutrino-scattering experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB e+e- accelerator at KEK in Tsukuba, Japan. Using these facilities, we study the properties of particles containing heavy charm and beauty quarks, neutron backgrounds and explore the properties of neutrinos, as well as conduct searches for new particles such as candidates for dark matter not predicted by the standard model of particle physics. We also research the properties of the Higgs boson, search for exotic Higgs decays and prepare for the measurement of di-Higgs production at the LHC with the goal to understand the elementary constituents of matter and the energy-matter content of the universe. Toward that goal we also study dark energy, which is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. In particular, we focus on key cosmology in the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and prepare for a cosmological weak lensing analysis with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC). The research supported by this DOE award covers length scales from the smallest subatomic dimensions to the largest cosmological distances.

The theorists are engaged in phenomenological and formal research including work on a range of topics concerning both formal aspects of quantum field theory and applications, including field theory techniques for Lorentz-violating systems, for cosmology and for black holes, as well as outstanding issues for quantum field theory in curved spacetime.