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[PAST EVENT] Physics Colloquium - Christopher Monahan

March 1, 2019
4pm - 5pm
Location
Small Hall, Room 111
300 Ukrop Way
Williamsburg, VA 23185Map this location
Access & Features
  • Open to the public

Christopher Monahan, University of Washington, Title of talk: Lattice quantum chromodynamics and the search for new physics

Abstract: The Standard Model of Particle Physics, the mathematical framework that describes the basic building blocks of the visible Universe, has been enormously successful . But we know that it is incomplete: it doesn?t explain the origin of neutrino masses, for example, nor does it incorporate gravity. In fact, the Standard Model explains only 5% of the current energy density of the Universe! The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has also been hugely successful - discovering the long-expected Higgs particle and greatly refining our knowledge of the Standard Model. But the LHC has been marked by the lack of direct experimental signatures of new fundamental particles. So where is all the new physics hiding? I will discuss the role that lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) plays in attempting to answer this question. In particular, I will highlight two arenas in which lattice QCD can help us search for new physics, through precision tests of the Standard Model, and suggest new lattice calculations that could help us understand what lies beyond the Standard Model.