Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics
Tal Alexander, Head
The Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics is engaged in both experimental and theoretical research, in various directions. These include elementary particle physics, field theory, string theory, theoretical astrophysics, observational astrophysics, particle astrophysics, relativistic heavy ion physics, molecular physics, nuclear physics, plasma physics, and radiation detection physics.
Dualities between field theories in various dimensions
O. Aharony, G. Gur-Ari, S. Minwalla, P. Narayan, S. Razamat, N. Seiberg, T. Sharma, B. Willett, R. YacobyStrongly coupled field theories in anti-de Sitter space
O. Aharony, M. Berkooz, S. Rey, D. Tong, S. YankielowiczEffective actions on strings (in particular confining strings)
O. Aharony, Z. Komargodski, A. Schwimmer, J. Sonnenschein, S. YankielowiczWeakly coupled versions of the AdS/CFT correspondence and possible derivations
O. Aharony, S. Minwalla, G. Gur-Ari, R. YacobyMassive black holes
Dynamic of galactic nuclei
Gravitational wave sources
Circum-nuclear accretion disks
The growth of black holes in the early universe
Stellar phenomena in the center of the Milky Way
Theoretical high energy physics
- String theory, Field theory, Gravity
- Particle Phenomenology
- Conformal field theory applications in condensed matter systems
- Quantum information and black holes
Basic phenomena in Radiation Detection Physics
A. Breskin, L. Arazi
- ionization and excitation in gases and noble liquids
- charge transport and multiplication in gas and noble liquids
- photoemission from solids
- Light multiplication in noble liquids ? Liquid Hole Multipliers (LHM)
Novel radiation detection concepts
A. Breskin, S. Bressler, L. Arazi
- Gaseous electron multipliers: GEM, THGEM, WELL
- Charged-particle detectors for particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics
- Detectors for digital calorimetry (for future colliders)
- Gaseous photomultipliers (GPM) for UV and visible light
- Detector concepts for neutron imaging
- Dark Matter Detectors
- Detection of hidden explosives and nuclear materials
Early detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer
A. Breskin, S. Shilstein, D. VartskyDark Matter detection:
- The XENON Dark Matter project: Data analysis, physics interpretations, development and construction of the future detector XENON1T
Detector physics:
- Novel effects in LXe detectors
- Future concepts and technologies for rare event detection
Other:
- Future concepts for Cosmic Ray precision detection
Search for Supersymmetry with the ATLAS detector at CERN
- Inclusive Search
- Study of Gauge Mediated symmetry breaking
- Study of R-Parity violating models
- Study of Anomaly Mediated Symmetry breaking
- multi-jet final states
Study of substructure in high transverse momentum jets with the ATLAS detector at CERN
E. Duchovni, G. Perez, S. Sinervo
- Jets at CDF
- Jet's mass
- Angularity and planar flow
Study of strange resoinance production with the ATLAS detector at CERN
- K0S
- Phi
Confinement and screening.
Y. Frishman, Jacob SonnenscheinNon-abelian gauge theories.
Y. Frishman, Marek Karliner, Jacob SonnenscheinFrom current to constituent quarks.
Y. Frishman, Marek KarlinerCosmic explosions
- Core-collapse supernova explosions: their origins, nature, physics and population statistics
- Thermonuclear supernova explosions (SNe Ia): their nature and rates
- Gamma-Ray Bursts: their origin and relation to supernovae
- New types of cosmic explosions
Wide-field variability surveys
A. Gal-Yam, S. Kulkarni, E. Ofek, (Caltech), M. Sullivan (UK), P. Mazzali (Germany/Italy), J-P Kneib (France)
- The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) - the next generation wide-field variability survey
- Transients from the supernova Factory (SNF) - a pilot project for the PTF
- Wide-field radio variability surveys
Rational conformal field theory and solvable lattice models.
Higgs Physics with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
E. Gross, Students: Ohad Silbert and Ofer Vitells,Liron Barak
- Search for Charged Higgs Boson
- Search for Supersymmetric Higgs decaying into Taus
- Higgs physics in general
Jets faking electrons with the ATLAS detector
E. Gross, Student: Ohad SilbertMulti-dimensional tunnelling.
S. Gurvitz, Xin-Qi Li, D. Sokolovski
- Two-potential approach to tunneling problems
- Cluster decay
- Modified tunneling Hamiltonian
- Tunneling of the Bose-Einstein Condensate
Final state interaction in inclusive reactions.
S. Gurvitz, A. Aharony, O. Entin-Wohlman, Xin-Qi Li, Wei-Min Zhang
- Number and energy resolved master equations for quantum transport
- Relaxation and dephasing in persistent current
- Zeno effect and quantum description of classical apparatus
Quantum transport in mesoscopic systems and the measurement problem.
S. Gurvitz, M. Traini
- Bjorken scaling and confinement
- Higher twist corrections to nucleon structure functions
Neutrino Physics (Particle Physics, cosmology, astrophysics implications)
Patterns of quarks and leptons (masses, mixing, substructure)
Light rare-isotope beams for nuclear astrophysics, neutrino physics and fundamental interactions
M. Hass, Dr. Guy Ron, Hebrew Univresity, Dr. Dan Berkovits, Dr. Israel Mardor: Soreq Nuclear Research Centre. Dr. Oded Heber (WI)
- Low-energy fusion reactions, relevant to the solar neutrino issue. Exeriments at the Van de Graaff accelerator of the Weizmann Institute
- Explosive nucleo-synthesis scenraios and the nuclear reactions playing a role in these astrophysical sites; x-ray bursts, supernoave, rp-process reactions
- Development of techniques and tools for light radioactive beam production for nuclear astrophysics and neutrino physics. Connection to the SPIRAL-II facility at GANIL (France) and the SARAF accelerator at NRC Soreq
- Fundamental Insteraction studies using trapped radioactive nuclei
Heavy quark production at the HERA e-p collider.
Gluon density in the proton and partonic structure of the photon.
Tests of QCD dynamics in high energy e-p collisions.
Open questions in theoretical astrophysics including:
- How do stars explode to produce supernovae? (I think there is an actual chance to finally answer this soon due to accumulating data and new ideas!)
- The three body problem (surprisingly connected to supernovae)
- Where do Cosmic Rays come from and how are they accelerated?
The shell model and interacting boson model for nuclei.
Theory and systematics of nuclear structure.
Particle Physics and Quantum Field Theory
Investigation of matter and plasma subjected to high-energy-density deposition with implications to fusion and space physics:
- Laser-matter interaction
- Warm dense matter formed by intense laser solid-state interaction (solid-state with temperatures of hundreds of thousands degrees).
- Radiation transport and ion temperature in imploding plasmas.
- Plasmas under pulsed magnetic fields.
- Particle acceleration by laser-plasma interaction.
- Instabilities and turbulent phenomena.
Development of novel spectroscopic diagnostic methods for matter under extreme conditions:
- Calculation and analysis of spectral line-shapes and intensities.
- Design and building of fast optical spectroscopic systems (from the visible to the x-rays).
Close collaboration with major plasma laboratories in the US and Germany
Search for the standard-model and SUSY Higgs-bosons at LEP.
G. Mikenberg, E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. LellouchDetector development and study of physics for LHC.
G. Mikenberg, E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. LellouchSearch for Supersymmetry at LEP.
G. Mikenberg, E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. LellouchSearch for Higgs bosons and SUSY particles at LHC.
G. Mikenberg, E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. LellouchTrigger and data acquisition for LHC experiments.
G. Mikenberg, E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. LellouchReconfigurable computing.
G. Mikenberg, E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. LellouchHigh energy astrophysics: x-ray sources, gamma-ray sources.
Departure from Newtonian dynamics as an explanation of the dark-matter problem in galactic systems.
Black holes at the centers of galaxies
Analysis of the Heavy Ion data from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC
Global event characterization
Heavy boson production and boson-jet correlations
Collective dynamics.
Detector upgrades for ATLAS and PHENIX
Higgs physics
Flavor physics
CP violation
Top physics
Particle cosmology (dark matter, leptogenesis, baryogenesis)
Neutrino physics
Transients and cosmic explosions: supernova, shock breakout and interaction of supernova ejecta with circum-stellar matter
Probing the edge of the solar system using stellar occultations: Building instruments with high temporal resolution to search for small objects in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud
Gravitational lensing and microlensing
Direct search for exoplanets using high contrast imaging techniques
What gives masses to the particles? We believe that it is related to electroweak symmetry breaking which raises the hierarchy problem, the huge gap between the weak and Planck scales. The LHC experiments will address these questions very soon. Recent cosmological-observation raised additional puzzles: What is the source of dark matter and energy? We explore experimental and theoretical methods to improve our knowledge regarding these issues.
- A. Jenkins and G. Perez, 'Looking for Life in the Multiverse, 'Scientific American (01/2010).
- K. Agashe, K. Blum, S.J. Lee and G. Perez, 'Astrophysical Implications of a Visible Dark Matter Sector from a Custodially Warped-GUT,' arXiv:0912.3070 [hep-ph].
- A. Fitzpatrick, G. Perez and L. Randall, 'Flavor from Minimal Flavor Violation & a Viable Randall-Sundrum Model,' Phys. Rev. Lett., 100, 171604 (2008) [arXiv:0710.1869 [hep-ph]].
- K. Agashe, A. Belyaev, T. Krupovnickas, G. Perez and J. Virzi, 'LHC signals from warped extra dimensions,' Phys. Rev. D 77, 015003 (2008) [arXiv:hep-ph/0612015].
Study of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions using the PHENIX detector at RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the CERES detector at CERN
I. Tserruya, I. RavinovichR&D, construction and installation of an HBD (Hadron Blind Detector) for the PHENIX experiment at RHIC.
I. Tserruya, I. RavinovichElectron pair production in relativistic heavy ion collisions: search for quark-gluon plasma and chiral symmetry restoration.
I. Tserruya, I. RavinovichPhysical processes in very strong magnetic fields.
V. Usov, A.E. ShabadPhysical processes in relativistic electron-positron plasma.
V. Usov, G.Z. MachabeliThe theory of nonthermal radiation from compact astronomical objects (pulsars, white dwarfs, gamma-ray bursters etc.).
V. Usov, A.K. Harding, D.B. Melrose, M. Milgrom, A.G. Muslimov, A.E. ShabadPhysical processes at the surface and astrophysical appearance of strange-quark-matter stars.
V. Usov, K.S. Cheng, T. Harko, M. Milgrom, F.WeberHydrodynamics and high-energy physics of colliding stellar winds in binary systems.
V. Usov, N.N. PilyuginTheoretical astrophysics
HIgh energy astrophysics (gamma-ray bursts, relativistic plasmas...)
High energy neutrinos and cosmic-rays
Molecular astrophysics.
D. Zajfman, O. HeberCooling of molecular ions and clusters, ion trap dynamics.
D. Zajfman, O. HeberMolecular physics using storage rings.
D. Zajfman, O. HeberFemtosecond laser photodynamics
D. Zajfman, Y. Silberberg, O. Heber