McGill.CA / Science / Department of Physics

Physical Society Colloquium

Quarks, neutrinos, and new physics searches

Michael Wagman

Theory Division
Fermilab

Next-generation neutrino oscillation experiments, as well as searches for neutrinoless double-beta decay and other new physics searches, will provide clues about the poorly understood beyond-Standard-Model interactions giving rise to neutrino masses and mixing. Maximizing the discovery potential of neutrino experiments will require accurate theoretical descriptions of neutrino-nucleus interactions that are rooted in a Standard Model description of nuclei as strongly interacting systems of quarks and gluons. Lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations of nucleon and few-nucleon systems, in conjunction with nuclear many-body calculations of effective theories of nuclei, provide a road towards achieving accurate neutrino-nucleus cross section predictions with few-percent precision. I will discuss the needs and outlook of lattice QCD for neutrino physics, challenges arising from the sign problem and the dense spectrum of multi-particle states in lattice QCD simulations, and ongoing efforts to address these challenges with new algorithms and ideas.

Friday, November 4th 2022, 15:30
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, Keys Auditorium (room 112)