Thesis

A Taste of the Flavour Problem: is Symmetry the Missing Ingredient?

• Call:

  IDPASC Portugal - PHD Programme 2019

• Academic Year:

  2019 / 2020

• Domain:

  Theoretical Particle Physics

• Supervisor:

  Gustavo Castelo Branco

• Co-Supervisor:

  Ivo de Medeiros Varzielas

• Institution:

  Instituto Superior Técnico

• Host Institution:

  Instituto Superior Técnico

• Abstract:

  The flavour problem is one of the most Fundamental Problems in Particle Physics which is left unadressed by the Standard Model. It originates from the observed fact that each type of fundamental fermion appears replicated in 3 generations, distinguished only by their masses. It results in a proliferation of free parameters that can not be predicted from theory and have to be measured independently and it is intrinsically linked to the puzzles of neutrino masses and CP violation - a necessary ingredient for the generation of the Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe and ultimately needed to explain our own existence. In this project we will propose Theories of Flavour which attempt to address the Flavour Problem, provide an explanation for the existence and smallness of neutrino masses and mixing, and explore the origin of CP violation. The project will be supervised by Gustavo Castelo Branco and Ivo de Medeiros Varzielas. It is expected that the student will spend periods abroad, benifitting from existing collaborations with other international scientists e.g. the University of Valencia, the University of Basel and the University of Southampton. The student will also be encouraged to attend some of the top International Schools in Particle Physics, such as Trieste, Corfu, Les Houches and, of course, those organised in the framework of IDPASC.