Fields and Particle Physics: discoveries and innovations for a new millennium

This research project seeks to strengthen the internationalization of the Field Theory and Particle Physics research areas at UFABC from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. To achieve this aim, the collaborations with research groups from different countries will be tightened through overseas missions, sandwich doctorates, and the attraction of foreign researchers for internships in Brazil.
The challenge behind Fields and Particle Physics is the understanding of the most fundamental constituents and forces (or interactions) of nature. Currently, three of the fundamental interactions – electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear – are described by a unified quantum theory, the Standard Model. One of the main predictions of this model, the existence of a particle called a Higgs boson, was recently confirmed in the LHC, made at CERN with the participation of researchers from UFABC. The Standard Model, however, still fails to answer fundamental questions such as the nature of dark matter and energy, matter-antimatter asymmetry, vacuum stability, problems of hierarchies, mass and mixture of neutrinos, survival of the Lorentz symmetry on the Planck scale, the existence of additional symmetries (such as supersymmetry), as well as the incorporation of gravitation into a quantum theory, a theoretical challenge that has not yet been overcome.
In the context of experimental physics, we emphasize that UFABC has participated in several of the world’s leading experiments in the area. In addition to the LHC above, we can also cite:
* The Pierre Auger Observatory, the world’s largest observatory dedicated to the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays;
* The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which will be the largest array of telescopes for the study of high-energy gamma rays;
* Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), an experiment aimed at neutrino precision physics, under construction in the USA.
It is also important to mention the pivotal role of these experiments to new technologies and innovation. The enormous technical challenges faced in the development of these experiments serve to cross the frontiers of current engineering and technology, and Brazil’s participation in these experiments must be seen as a unique opportunity for national development.

Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Marcelo Augusto Leigui
E-mail: marcelo.leigui@ufabc.edu.br

Coordinator’s Curriculum Lattes (research projects, publications and academic info)

Coordinator’s research grants, scholarships and main publications (FAPESP)

Fields and Particle Physics: discoveries and innovations for a new millennium

This research project seeks to strengthen the internationalization of the Field Theory and Particle Physics research areas at UFABC from both experimental and theoretical perspectives. To achieve this aim, the collaborations with research groups from different countries will be tightened through overseas missions, sandwich doctorates, and the attraction of foreign researchers for internships in Brazil.
The challenge behind Fields and Particle Physics is the understanding of the most fundamental constituents and forces (or interactions) of nature. Currently, three of the fundamental interactions – electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear – are described by a unified quantum theory, the Standard Model. One of the main predictions of this model, the existence of a particle called a Higgs boson, was recently confirmed in the LHC, made at CERN with the participation of researchers from UFABC. The Standard Model, however, still fails to answer fundamental questions such as the nature of dark matter and energy, matter-antimatter asymmetry, vacuum stability, problems of hierarchies, mass and mixture of neutrinos, survival of the Lorentz symmetry on the Planck scale, the existence of additional symmetries (such as supersymmetry), as well as the incorporation of gravitation into a quantum theory, a theoretical challenge that has not yet been overcome.
In the context of experimental physics, we emphasize that UFABC has participated in several of the world’s leading experiments in the area. In addition to the LHC above, we can also cite:
* The Pierre Auger Observatory, the world’s largest observatory dedicated to the study of ultra-high energy cosmic rays;
* The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which will be the largest array of telescopes for the study of high-energy gamma rays;
* Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), an experiment aimed at neutrino precision physics, under construction in the USA.
It is also important to mention the pivotal role of these experiments to new technologies and innovation. The enormous technical challenges faced in the development of these experiments serve to cross the frontiers of current engineering and technology, and Brazil’s participation in these experiments must be seen as a unique opportunity for national development.

Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Marcelo Augusto Leigui
E-mail: marcelo.leigui@ufabc.edu.br

Coordinator’s Curriculum Lattes (research projects, publications and academic info)

Coordinator’s research grants, scholarships and main publications (FAPESP)