Theoretical Particle Physics

There exists now a very successful standard model of the fundamental constituents of matter and the forces which act between them. Nevertheless, many basic issues are yet to be explored. The theoretical particle physics research at UCR is concerned with the extension of our knowledge at this exciting frontier. Some current topics on which we are working include possible extensions of the standard model and their experimental signatures, the unification of all or some of the fundamental forces, the origin of mass, the possible violation of fundamental conservation laws, and the fermion and gauge boson masses from the dynamics of four-fermi interaction models. Phenomenological studies and model building for hadron-hadron and electron-positron scattering at high energies are an important component of this program. In particular, there is a close collaboration with the experimental group in testing theoretical predictions on production of weak vector bosons, heavy quarks, and super-symmetric particles.

Another exciting area which is currently under rapid development concerns the interplay between particle physics and astrophysics. Using the methods of both these subjects, phenomena not accessible using Earth-bound experiments can be studied. Presently, we are concerned with understanding the properties of neutrinos using this approach.

(Faculty and research staff: M. Frigerio, Prof. B. R. Desai, Prof. P. E. Kaus, Prof. E. Ma, and Prof. J. Wudka)

Recent Publications