Research Interests

   

• Effective Field Theory

Effective field theory (EFT) is a powerful tool for studying systems with widely separated scales. It is similar in spirit to the method of multiple scales in the study of differential equations, but is tailor made for applications to classical and quantum field theory.

I am interested in both developing and applying EFT techniques to problems in particle, nuclear, and condensed matter physics (although I am not very active in the latter category). I am particularly interested in the interface of GeV scale probes of nuclei and other non-relativistic bound states where one must simultaneously account for large kinematic energy scales, while systematically handling low-energy (but non-perturbative) physics related to nuclear structure. I am also interested in BSM scenarios that generate interesting multi-scale phenomenology that is not present in the Standard Model.

Ongoing Work: 

• Factorization theorems for neutrino nucleus scattering.
• All orders treatment of the Fermi Function in QFT.
• Outer radiative corrections and beta decay.

Papers: 

• Flavor dependent radiatiative corrections to coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering, JHEP 97 (2021)
• Effective field theory of black hole echoes
• Fall to the centre in atom traps and point-particle EFT for absorptive systems

Better theory for the intensity frontier

The “Intensity Frontier” involves pushing the limits of how many particles we can produce so that extremely large statistical samples can be gathered. With a massive statistical sample as the goal, there is not always room for compromise to make the experiment theoretically clean. Complex nuclei are often used as targets, forcing a good theoretical  description to necessarily straddle the gap between nuclear and particle physics. My current interests largely focus on electroweak interactions with nuclei with an emphasis on QED corrections, factorization theorems, and techniques from effective field theory .

Ongoing work 

• Estimates of RMC spectra in the near end-point region.
• Coulomb corrections for internal pair-production in the vicinity of a nucleus.
• Coulomb corrections to charged current neutrino-nucleus scattering.

Papers: 

• Flavor dependent radiatiative corrections to coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering, JHEP 97 (2021),
• High energy spectrum of internal positrons from radiative muon capture on nuclei, Phys. Rev. D 103 033002  (2021)
• Neutrino trident production at the intensity frontier, Phys. Rev. D. 95 073004 (2016)

Searches for physics beyond the Standard Model

There is good reason to think that the Standard Mode (SM)l is incomplete. Neutrino masses are non zero, certain necessary conditions for baryogenesis are not satisfied, and the SM offers no viable candidate for dark matter. I am broadly interested in searches for new physics with probes ranging from colliders to dense astrophysical environments. Many of the same intensity frontier experiments mentioned above also play a leading role in constraining light, but weakly coupled new physics.

Ongoing Work: 

• Systematic treatment of BSM production in EM showers.
• The sun as a source of BSM physics.

Papers: 

• Millicharged cosmic rays and low recoil detectors,Phys. Rev. D. 103, 075029 (2021)
• Millicharged particles in neutrino experiments, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 071801 (2018)
• Luminous solar neutrinos II: Mass-mixing portals (2020)
• Luminous solar neutrinos I: Dipole portals (2020)
• Millicharged particles in neutrino experiments, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 071801 (2018)
• Probing new charged scalars with neutrino trident production, Phys. Rev. D 97, 055003 (2017)
• Consequences of an Abelian Z’ for neutrino oscillations and dark matter, Physical Review D.  93 03501 (2016) 
• Quantum effects in the Hamiltonian Mean Field model, (2019), Ph.D. Thesis, McMaster University. 
• The implications of gauging lepton flavour symmetries for dark matter and neutrino masses, (2015), M.Sc. Thesis, McMaster University