TAULEPGAMMA | Search for the Lepton Flavour Violating Decay Tau to Lepton + Gamma at the Belle II Experiment

Summary
I propose a measurement of the lepton flavour violating (LFV) tau -> lepton + gamma decay, where the lepton is a muon or an electron. This will be carried out at the University of Pisa (Italy) under the supervision of Prof. Francesco Forti.

Although highly successful, the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics does not completely describe all the phenomena we observe, such as the recent discovery of neutrino oscillations which violate lepton flavour conservation in the neutral sector.

Many scenarios have been advanced to extend the SM into a bigger picture; several of these models predict LFV to occur in the charged sector as well at measurable rates.

I will exploit the unprecedented data sample provided by the Belle II experiment at SuperKEKB to measure the tau -> lepton + gamma decay rate with a sensitivity of at least a factor of four greater than any previous measurement.

In order to achieve this result I will develop an advanced physics analysis, making full use of the characteristics of the state-of-the-art Belle II detector and incorporating modern techniques such as machine learning. I will use my experience in physics analysis, preparatory studies and detector performance measurements to make this possible.

The impact of a measurement of such sensitivity would be tremendous. A discovery of charged LFV would constitute an enormous breakthrough which would spark a new era of particle physics; a non-observation would instead place strong constraints on possible extensions of the SM and inform physics studies for the coming decade.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101026516
Start date: 01-06-2021
End date: 31-05-2023
Total budget - Public funding: 183 473,28 Euro - 183 473,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

I propose a measurement of the lepton flavour violating (LFV) tau -> lepton + gamma decay, where the lepton is a muon or an electron. This will be carried out at the University of Pisa (Italy) under the supervision of Prof. Francesco Forti.

Although highly successful, the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics does not completely describe all the phenomena we observe, such as the recent discovery of neutrino oscillations which violate lepton flavour conservation in the neutral sector.

Many scenarios have been advanced to extend the SM into a bigger picture; several of these models predict LFV to occur in the charged sector as well at measurable rates.

I will exploit the unprecedented data sample provided by the Belle II experiment at SuperKEKB to measure the tau -> lepton + gamma decay rate with a sensitivity of at least a factor of four greater than any previous measurement.

In order to achieve this result I will develop an advanced physics analysis, making full use of the characteristics of the state-of-the-art Belle II detector and incorporating modern techniques such as machine learning. I will use my experience in physics analysis, preparatory studies and detector performance measurements to make this possible.

The impact of a measurement of such sensitivity would be tremendous. A discovery of charged LFV would constitute an enormous breakthrough which would spark a new era of particle physics; a non-observation would instead place strong constraints on possible extensions of the SM and inform physics studies for the coming decade.

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

MSCA-IF-2020

Update Date

28-04-2024
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Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE
H2020-EU.1.3. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
H2020-EU.1.3.2. Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
MSCA-IF-2020 Individual Fellowships