Investigations in High Energy Physics

This award funds the research activities of Professors Ayres Freitas and Adam Leibovich at the University of Pittsburgh. This research will contribute to developing improved theoretical tools and calculational methods for the robust interpretation of results from current and future physics experiments. To test our current understanding of the Universe, it may be necessary to identify a potentially small new physics signal on top of large backgrounds. This requires a detailed understanding of the properties and interactions of known particles and advanced techniques for calculating precise predictions for experimental observations. As part of this research, a wide variety of phenomena will be investigated, from sub-atomic particles to gravity to cosmology. Research in this area advances the national interest by expanding our knowledge of fundamental physical laws and providing opportunities for junior scientists to engage in cutting-edge calculations using cutting-edge analysis tools. Indeed, the broader impacts of this research program include the training and professional development of several PhD students and a postdoc. Professors Freitas and Leibovich will also work closely with colleagues in high-energy experiments and in astrophysics research groups in order to ensure that their work can be incorporated in new search and analysis techniques. They will also help to organize workshops and summer schools to disseminate results from modern research to a larger audience of students and junior researchers. More technically, this research program can be divided into four main parts: (1) The development of calculational techniques for higher-order electroweak corrections to precision studies at the ongoing Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and at planned future e+e- colliders; (2) An investigation of several jet observables using fragmentation functions to a jet (FFJ) and Soft-Collinear Effective Theory; (3) Studies that compare the experimental constraints on effective neutrino and Higgs interactions to direct searches for new physics particles that could mediate these interactions, thus exploring the complementarity between the LHC, neutrino-beam experiments, and future e+e- colliders; and (4) Calculations of precise gravitational wave physics using effective field theory techniques, in particular the memory effect in binary systems with large mass ratios. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.