My current research is in the field of experimental particle physics.
The current theoretical framework, the Standard Model (SM),
provides a remarkably good description of the known particles and the electroweak and strong interactions.
However, it is at best only a low-energy "effective theory", and there are a number
of questions that are still open. The efforts of the experimentalist are directed
at filling in the blanks and finding evidence for new processes that can not be
explained by the SM (nothing better than shooting down a perfectly good theory).
Until the Large Hadron Collider at CERN begins operation, the Fermilab Tevatron will hold the crown of the highest-energy collider in the world. As a member of the CDF Collaboration at Fermilab I am in a perfect position to conduct research at the bleeding edge of particle physics. One of the most important topics in modern particle physics is the understanding of electroweek symmetry breaking and the generation of particle masses. In the SM and its extensions the symmetry is spontaneously broken through the Higgs mechanism, which predicts the existence of at least one massive scalar boson. I have dedicated most of my time to searches for the elusive Higgs boson(s) (both in the SM and its extensions). I'm also pursuing searches for other hypothetical particles, such as Z' bosons and sneutrinos decaying to tau pairs, and excited tau leptons. We have not found a smoking gun yet, but constant improvements in data analysis techniques and larger data samples improve our chances for having a glimpse of what lays beyond the Standard Model.
Before joining the CDF Collaboration I have studied rare tau decays with the CLEO detector at CESR (Cornell). I have performed measurements of the branching fractions of tau decays to six pions and a neutrino, and studied the resonance substructure of the hadronic systems (I had no idea at the time that I will come to treat taus just as tools in my future research).
In my "pre-particle physics" life I was doing research at a lower-energy scale at the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at JINR (Dubna). I used high-resolution laser spectroscopy to extract information on the nuclear charge distributions.
You can find more details on some of the projects that I'm working on by following the links below. The list is far from complete and I'll expand it... when time permits.
Until the Large Hadron Collider at CERN begins operation, the Fermilab Tevatron will hold the crown of the highest-energy collider in the world. As a member of the CDF Collaboration at Fermilab I am in a perfect position to conduct research at the bleeding edge of particle physics. One of the most important topics in modern particle physics is the understanding of electroweek symmetry breaking and the generation of particle masses. In the SM and its extensions the symmetry is spontaneously broken through the Higgs mechanism, which predicts the existence of at least one massive scalar boson. I have dedicated most of my time to searches for the elusive Higgs boson(s) (both in the SM and its extensions). I'm also pursuing searches for other hypothetical particles, such as Z' bosons and sneutrinos decaying to tau pairs, and excited tau leptons. We have not found a smoking gun yet, but constant improvements in data analysis techniques and larger data samples improve our chances for having a glimpse of what lays beyond the Standard Model.
Before joining the CDF Collaboration I have studied rare tau decays with the CLEO detector at CESR (Cornell). I have performed measurements of the branching fractions of tau decays to six pions and a neutrino, and studied the resonance substructure of the hadronic systems (I had no idea at the time that I will come to treat taus just as tools in my future research).
In my "pre-particle physics" life I was doing research at a lower-energy scale at the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at JINR (Dubna). I used high-resolution laser spectroscopy to extract information on the nuclear charge distributions.
You can find more details on some of the projects that I'm working on by following the links below. The list is far from complete and I'll expand it... when time permits.
Particle reconstruction and ID:
Theoretical background:
Last update 12/08/2005