Particle Theory
Faculty
Elementary Particle Theory at Oregon
The particle theory group seeks to understand the particles that make up the universe and their interactions. The known elementary particles include the electron, the muon, and the tau leptons plus their antiparticles, three kinds of neutrinos and antineutrinos, six kinds of quarks and antiquarks, the photon, the W+, W−, and Z bosons, and the most recently discovered particle, the Higgs boson. These particles and their interactions constitute what is known as the Standard Model.
What most interests the particle theory group is the question of what else there is beyond the Standard Model. Pursuit of this question involves proposing models for new particles and their interactions, determining new experimental ways to look for this new physics, and working on how Standard Model effects influence experimental observations.
There is good evidence that there are particles in the universe that are not included in the Standard Model list. In particular, there is strong evidence for “dark matter,” whose gravitational effects have been detected in galaxies and the cosmic microwave background. A substantial effort of the particle theory group is directed at understanding dark matter. This includes developing theories of dark matter and exploring their implications for collider experiments, dark matter detection experiments, and astronomical observations.
The UO’s particle theory work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (grant number DE-SC0011640) and the National Science Foundation (grant number 1944826-PHY).
More Information
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