Andreas Hoecker
Bio: Dr. Andreas Hoecker’s research in elementary particle physics covers collider physics experiments at CERN and Stanford, USA. He studied physics at Bonn, Germany, and earned his PhD at Orsay, France in the 1990s. During that time he studied the tau-lepton's properties, the electron's heavy cousin, and strong interactions with the ALEPH and OPAL experiments at CERN's Large Electron-Positron Collider. In 1998 he became a Scientist at the French CNRS organization and joined the BABAR experiment at Stanford’s National Accelerator Lab (SLAC), where he was responsible for the particle identification device and performed studies of matter-antimatter symmetry violation. Since 2005, he is a Research Physicist at CERN and a member of the ATLAS experiment. He contributed to the fast online selection, commissioning, and searches for the Higgs boson and Supersymmetry. He served as ATLAS Physics Coordinator in 2014 and 2015, deputy Spokesperson between 2017 and 2021, and was elected ATLAS Spokesperson for the period early 2021 to 2025. Throughout his career, Andreas Hoecker has also worked on particle phenomenology and the development of statistical tools and machine learning.
Talk: Physics at CERN-ATLAS
Abstract: The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland is one of the largest machines ever built by humankind, made to collide protons and ions at the highest of energies to probe the most fundamental constituents of matter and the forces acting among them. Tasked with studying these collision remnants is one of the largest scientific collaborations that ever existed - ATLAS. We will discuss some of the exciting physics being done at ATLAS, CERN as well as its future directions. With the Philippines being among its newest members, we will also talk about concrete ways to further expand the existing ATLAS Group based in the country.
Deepak Kar
Bio: Dr. Deepak Kar is a particle physicist and is a part of the ATLAS experiment at CERN. He is a professor at the University of Witwatersrand, and currently at the University of Glasgow as a Royal Society Wolfson visiting fellow on his sabbatical. He grew up in India, and after finishing PhD from the University of Florida, was a postdoctoral researcher at TU Dresden and the University of Glasgow. His research interests span measurements sensitive to different aspects of quantum chromodynamics, Monte Carlo event generators, and searches for new physics in novel final states. He has established himself as a pioneer in designing and performing strongly interacting dark sectors, a recently popular model of dark matter. He wrote a popular textbook on particle physics. When not doing physics, he can be found in remote corners of the world, having been to 119 UN-recognised countries.
Talk: The Search for Dark Sector at ATLAS
Abstract: The existence and nature of dark matter (DM) is one of the biggest challenges in physics. Confirmed by myriad astrophysical observations, no sign of them has been observed in direct or indirect detection experiments. Historically searches for dark matter in colliders have focused on Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, or so-called WIMPs. The usual signature is a Standard Model (SM) particle on one side, balanced by the WIMP candidate, which being invisible, results in an imbalance of energy-momentum in the detector, termed as missing transverse momentum. No evidence for WIMPs has been seen despite extensive search programs in previous and current colliders. That necessitates a paradigm shift in the ways we search for DM in colliders. Uncovered topologies that are typically ignored at the colliders need to be looked at, and motivated by innovative theoretical models. Strongly interacting dark sector models have gained popularity, as they have extensive phenomenology and novel, albeit challenging experimental signatures. For the last few years, the author has been involved in such explorations, not only publishing the first semi-visible jets search result from ATLAS but also leading studies in model building and designing sensitive observables. In this talk, he will pedagogically introduce the models, show the current experimental results, and discuss the ongoing work in this area.
Henric Wilkens
Bio: Henric Wilkens got his Ph.D. in the study of muons in Extensive Air showers using the L3+Cosmic extension of the L3 experiment. He joined CERN as a research fellow, and following his interest in calorimetry, joined the ATLAS Calorimeter team. He played a leading role in the commissioning of the ATLAS Liquid Argon calorimeter. He is also involved in the ATLAS test beams, participating in European projects aiming at improving user access and infrastructure at test beams. He served as CERN PS and SPS Physics coordinator from 2013 to 2021. He is now a senior physicist in the EP-ADE group, focusing mainly on the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter which he currently heads as its Project Leader.
Talk: The ATLAS Tile Calorimeter
Abstract: The Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) is a sampling hadronic calorimeter covering the central region of the ATLAS experiment, with steel as an absorber and plastic scintillators as the active medium. The scintillators are read out by the wavelength-shifting fibers coupled to the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The analog signals from the PMTs are amplified, shaped, and digitized by sampling the signal every 25 ns and stored on the detector until a trigger decision is received. The TileCal front-end electronics read out the signals produced by about 10000 channels measuring energies ranging from about 30MeV to about 2 TeV. Each stage of the signal production from scintillation light to the signal reconstruction is monitored and calibrated. A summary of recent performance results and its High Luminosity LHC upgrade project will be presented. The FCC is a future collider complex considered at CERN on the horizon of the 2040s. Detector concepts are being prepared, based on the experience with TileCal, a design is being studied for the FCC-ee physics program in the ALEGRO detector project and DRD-6 collaboration.
Flip Tanedo
Bio: Theoretical physicist Philip (Flip) Tanedo is an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside. His research seeks to determine the fundamental physics of dark matter. He is a 2021 NSF CAREER award winner and a 2020 Hellman Fellow. He received his Ph.D at Cornell University as a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow and a recipient of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. His thesis work showed how quantum effects in theories of extra dimensions predict new ways in which particles can decay. He completed his postdoctoral work at the University of California, Irvine as a Chancellor’s ADVANCE postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Tanedo grew up in Los Angeles and is a proud product of the Los Angeles Unified School District. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics with honors and distinction from Stanford University. As a Marshall Scholar, he completed Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge University and a master's degree in physics at Durham University. Dr. Tanedo was appointed to serve as the theory/cosmic frontier liaison for the 2021 Snowmass Community Planning Exercise. He is the first Filipino-American professor of physics. At UCR he is an advocate for equity in academia. He led UCR’s team in the American Physical Society’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance, co-created and advised the university’s Physics Organization for Women and the Under-Represented, and was recognized by a 2020 commitment to graduate diversity award. He has appeared in Nova and Science Friday.
Talk: Halo-Halo: Theory and Experiment
Abstract: Sometimes the Standard Model is "just a model." It has its shortcomings. It does not explain dark matter, nor can it elucidate the nature of neutrino mass or the rapid inflation of the early universe. It suffers from puzzling hierarchies in the mass of the Higgs boson and the electric dipole moment of the neutron. It is no longer predictive in strong gravitational fields. With these in mind, theoretical physicists use the mathematical structure of quantum field theory to explore extensions of the Standard Model that could address any of these open questions. In this talk, we explore the interplay between theory and experiment to understand how we make progress at the frontier of fundamental physics.
Marvin M. Flores
Bio: Dr. Marvin M. Flores obtained his BS in Physics degree from Silliman University graduating summa cum laude (March 22, 2009). He finished his MS degree (October 2012) and obtained his PhD (July 2016) in Physics from the National Institute of Physics. He was awarded the Most Outstanding PhD Graduate of the College of Science. He was also the recipient of the NAST Talent Search for Young Scientists in 2021. He is currently an Assistant Professor at NIP, straight from his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship on particle physics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, under a grant from The World Academy of Sciences and the OVPAA Faculty, REPS and Administrative Staff Development Program (FRASDP) Postdoctoral Research Grant. Dr. Flores is the Team Leader of the NIP-UPD CERN-ATLAS Collaboration which studies remnants of the colliding protons at the Large Hadron Collider, and is the first Filipino member that is based in the Philippines. He also heads the High Energy Physics & Phenomenology (HEP-PH) subgroup of the newly-formed GANAP (Gravity, Astronomy, Nuclear, and Particle) Physics Group at NIP. Dr. Flores is actively pursuing searches of physics signatures beyond the Standard Model for signs of supersymmetry, extra dimensions, dark matter, and others.
Talk: Particle Phenomenology - Bridging Theory & Experiment
Abstract: In this talk, we briefly go through the early roots of the High Energy Physics & Phenomenology (HEP-PH) subgroup of the Gravity, Astronomy, Nuclear, and Particle (GANAP) Physics Research Lab at NIP from its precursor to conception, and our current research direction. Central to this group is the idea of “phenomenology” and what it means in the context of particle physics. We will elucidate this concept by looking at a specific example from a class of beyond-the Standard Model (BSM) theories that add an extra spatial dimension to the three that we know, and walk through how phenomenology, armed with results from collider experiments, essentially “improves”, or in this case outright “kills” a theory. After listening to this talk, we hope that the audience can appreciate how phenomenology essentially acts as a bridge between theory and experiment.
Denny Lane Sombillo
Bio: Dr. Denny Sombillo is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Physics (NIP). Currently, he led the Nuclear and Hadron Physics (NHP) research team under the newly established group program Gravity, Astronomy, Nuclear, and Particle Physics (GANAP) of NIP. His team is currently developing a machine learning framework to extract the structure of newly discovered unstable hadronic states using the available data from different experimental collaborations around the world. Dr. Sombillo earned his PhD in Physics at NIP-UPD working on the problem of time in quantum mechanics. He was a Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University (2019-2022). Dr. Sombillo is also one of the board members of the Asian Nuclear Physics Association (ANPhA) and a guest researcher at CiDER, Mathematical Analysis Unit. Dr. Sombillo’s field of specialization is Nuclear and Hadron Physics. His other research interests are machine learning and time in quantum mechanics.
Talk: Application of Machine Learning in Hadron Spectroscopy
Abstract: One of the central challenges in hadron spectroscopy is unraveling the true nature of hadronic resonances. Precisely identifying which observed enhancements belong to the hadronic spectrum is crucial for exploring the non-perturbative regime of quantum chromodynamics. In this talk, I will present the development of machine learning techniques in the Philippines aimed at resolving ambiguities in interpreting near-threshold signals. Specifically, a neural network model can be trained to distinguish between different mechanisms governing the production of enhancements near the threshold. I will also discuss the challenges of establishing a research group dedicated to fundamental science, particularly in fields like nuclear and hadron physics.
Jade C. Jusoy
Bio: Mr. Jade C. Jusoy is a dedicated physicist with a Master of Science degree in Physics, specializing in Nuclear Physics, from Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology. His thesis, titled "Form Factor Determination and Proton Radius Calculation from DCs Quark Models," was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Jingle B. Magallanes, a respected figure in the field.Mr. Jusoy’s professional journey includes a diverse range of teaching and technical roles across several academic institutions as a laboratory technician and instructor in the Department of Physics at Caraga University, Butuan City. Mr. Jusoy has actively contributed to several academic publications, showcasing his innovative research in particle physics and quark models. Mr. Jade C. Jusoy continues to make strides in the field of physics through both his academic and research work, contributing valuable insights into nuclear physics and particle interactions. His career illustrates a passion for education and research that inspires both his students and colleagues alike.
Talk: Determining the proton radius through electron-proton scattering
Abstract: The Proton is one of nature’s fundamental bound states and the dominant component particle of visible matter. The Proton is well described by Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), a theory that describes the properties and interactions of quarks and gluons. Accurate knowledge of its properties, such as mass, charge, and ratio, precisely determines other fundamental constants (such as the Rydberg constant). There are two ways to determine the proton radius experimentally: One is through Hydrogen/Muonic hydrogen spectroscopy, and the other one is through electron-proton scattering. However, discrepancies in experimental results show that Hydrogen/Muonic Hydrogen spectroscopy tends to have a smaller proton radius compared to that of the electron-proton scattering measurements. However, in 2019, an electron-proton scattering experiment from the Prad collaboration at Jefferson Laboratory tends to favor a proton radius similar to that of Hydrogen/Muonic Hydrogen spectroscopy. These measurement discrepancies became known as the “proton radius puzzle”. In this talk, the presenter will delve into the theoretical framework of electron-proton scattering, discuss the methods used to extract the proton radius, explore the challenges faced in this area, and highlight recent advancements in our understanding of this fundamental particle.
