Manoj Kaplinghat
University of California-Irvine, CA·Physics
What is the universe made of, and what rules govern its smallest pieces? The known particles and forces are summarized by the Standard Model of particle physics, but that framework leaves large gaps: most of the matter in galaxies is invisible dark matter of unknown composition, neutrinos have tiny unexplained masses, and the pattern of particle families has no accepted explanation.
- Fields
Physics
Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Topics
theoretical particle physics
cosmology
dark matter
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Build and test models of physics beyond the Standard Model, the current theory of particles and forces, and work out what signals these extensions would produce in particle accelerator (collider) experiments.
- Identify viable dark matter particle candidates and calculate their observable signatures, so that astrophysical observations and laboratory searches can confirm or rule them out.
- Investigate neutrino and flavor physics, addressing the properties of neutrinos and the repeated families of particles, using data from the current generation of particle physics experiments.
- Exploit the interface between particle physics and cosmology, using astrophysical and cosmological data to constrain particle cosmology scenarios for the early universe and new physics.
More about the research
Both the largest and smallest length scales now supply data on these questions at once, and progress often comes from treating them together.
Why it matters
Dark matter makes up most of the matter in the universe and remains unidentified, and neutrino masses are unexplained by the current theory of particles. Theoretical work connecting candidate new particles to concrete signatures tells experimentalists at accelerators, neutrino detectors and telescopes what to look for and how to interpret null results, shaping the design of future searches. The group also runs a summer course in particle physics and cosmology for high school students.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kaustubh Agashe
University of Maryland, MD·Physics
Develop frameworks in which Standard Model particles are composite and fused with supersymmetry, and test whether they resolve the electroweak and flavor hierarchy puzzles of the Standard Model.
Hitoshi Murayama
University of California-Berkeley, CA·Physics
Study non-perturbative dynamics of strongly coupled gauge theories, forces too strong for standard approximations, using exact supersymmetric solutions combined with anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking.
Kyoungchul Kong
University of Kansas, KS·Physics
Develop quantum algorithms for particle physics data analysis, collision event reconstruction and anomaly detection.
The school
University of California-Irvine: 46 labs on PI Pages, $645M a year on research, 524 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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