One field-wide goal of high energy physics (HEP) is to find the theory that will supersede the Standard Model (SM). Am emerging experimental technique is model-agnostic anomaly detection, where collider data is searched for events that likely did not originate from the SM. While many analyses assume that the anomaly will be due to a new on-shell particle, I propose to search for anomalies coming from interactions that are a small perturbation from the SM.
This project will unite HEP theory and experiment: I will first study SM Effective Field Theories to model these modified interactions and calculate the models' uncertainties. This will also allow me to define an optimal set of observables on collider data for detecting small-perturbation anomalies. I will then use these calculations to construct an experimental pipeline to search for small-perturbation anomalies in collider data. The pipeline will draw upon the computational power of physically-inspired ML architectures. The pipeline's anomaly detection efficacy relies on benchmark techniques in both theory and experiment; therefore I believe that my project and resulting publications will strengthen the links between the two fields.
For the duration of the grant, the Fellow will have a doctoral advisor (Benjamin Nachman) at the legal organization (Regents of the University of California at Berkeley) and a cross-discipline advisor (Tilman Plehn) at the partnering organization (Heidelberg University).
