Particle physics is mostly described by the incredibly successful Standard Model. On the other hand, we have observed several phenomena that indicate that the model is not complete. In particular, our research is focused on addressing the following questions:
- 85% of the matter in the universe is dark. This dark matter cannot be accounted for in the Standard Model, so what is it and how did it come to make up so much of the universe?
- For all types of matter, there is a corresponding type of antimatter, yet most of the universe is made up almost exclusively of matter. How did this matter—anti-matter asymmetry form?
- Neutrinos are one of the toughest components of the Standard Model to study, but through painstaking work we have learned that they have a tiny mass which can’t be accounted for in the Standard Model. What is the origin of this mass?
My research group studies extensions of the Standard Model to address these questions, with a particular focus on how these extensions could be discovered at near-future experiments. We study creative models that lead to interesting new behaviors that would be missed using current analyses of the data. We work closely with experimentalists to develop new analysis strategies.
