Research lines

• 1. Formal aspects and precise calculations in quantum field theory
  
  
  • We work on different issues in theoretical physics involving quantum field theory and gravity. They include holographic dualities, the exact renormalization group and Lorentz symmetry violation. We also investigate new methods for perturbative calculations in quantum field theory, developing novel approaches to precise calculations, including a four-dimensional formulation of higher-order radiative corrections and fully numerical approaches to loop calculations.


• 2. Lattice and hadron physics
  
  
  • One of our research lines is the development and application of lattice QCD techniques to the high precision calculation of hadronic matrix elements needed for the analysis of current and forthcoming experimental flavour data. This includes the calculation of decay constants, semileptonic form factors, neutral meson mixing parameters, and the study of related flavour observables potentially sensitive to new physics. We also work on the determination of fundamental parameters of the Standard Model such as quark masses and CKM matrix elements. We are members of the Fermilab Lattice collaboration.


• 3. Collider phenomenology and model building
  
  
  • We have contributed, and continue to do so, to the determination of the properties of the Higgs boson at the LHC and future colliders. We work on the study of the phenomenological implications of models of physics beyond the Standard Model at colliders and other experiments. We also work on the construction of new physics models that can explain observed experimental anomalies or solve some of the theoretical shortcomings of the Standard Model. We are also involved in the ATLAS Collaboration, contributing to different aspects of the jet trigger as well as providing theoretical input to several experimental analyses. We are members of The Particle Data Group, contributing to the Review of Particle Physics.


• 4. Effective field theories
  
  
  • We work both on formal and applied developments in effective field theories. This includes the calculation of the renormalization group equations in novel EFTs of phenomenological interest, the one loop matching of specific new physics models to the relevant EFTs or the development of computer tools to perform these tasks in an automated way. We have pioneered both the bottom up approach to EFTs in the form of global fits to experimental data and the top-down approach with the construction of UV/IR dictionaries and their use in the systematic exploration of the implications of global fits in new physics models. We are also developing alternative methods to define physical observables in EFTs.


• 5. Flavour physics
  
  
  • We work on the calculation of the non-perturbative input needed for the analysis of flavour observables using lattice QCD techniques. We are particularly interested in those observables for which there currently exist tensions between experimental measurements and SM predictions, and those that show hints of internal inconsistencies within the SM description. Examples of such observables are rare D and B decays, lepton flavour universality ratios or measures of the unitarity of the CKM matrix. We are also interested in new rare decays of D and B mesons and in their simulation at flavour factories such as the LHCb or SHiP. We also work in natural models of flavour, both in the quark and the lepton sectors.


• 6. Neutrino physics
  
  
  • We work on the detection and study of high-energy cosmic neutrinos with the undersea neutrino telescopes ANTARES and KM3NeT as well as on neutrino oscillations and the neutrino mass hierarchy with KM3NeT-ORCA. On the theoretical side we work on models of neutrinos masses and their phenomenological implications, the generation of neutrino masses in models of new physics and their implications in astroparticle physics and cosmology. We work in the near detector, SBND, of the Short Baseline Neutrino program based at Fermilab, with the goal of either confirming or excluding the sterile (non-interacting) neutrino hypothesis raised by the short baseline experimental neutrino anomalies reported in the last 25 years. In addition to working on the oscillation analysis, we are deeply involved in the exploitation of its light detection system (calibration and reconstruction) to push the LArTPC technology beyond its current limitations and maximize its physics performance. We also work in the DUNE experiment, which explores whether neutrinos can be the reason why the universe is made of matter rather than antimatter. In addition to its data analysis, we have responsibilities in testing and calibrating the scintillation light detector devices (integrated by silicon photomultipliers and dichroic filters) currently under development and optimization.


• 7. Astroparticle physics
  
  
  • We are interested in the physics opportunities provided by astroparticles, including non standard interactions of ultrahigh energy neutrinos, the production of heavy flavors or of a quark-gluon plasma by cosmic rays, or the photohadronic interactions in air showers. We have also studied the implicationsboth at colliders and at astrophysical and cosmologicalobservatories of heavy sterile neutrinos and other long-lived particles. We also participate on indirect searches for Dark Matter WIMPs produced in massive celestial objects, with the ANTARES and KM3NeT neutrino telescopes. We work on the characterization and validation of the data transfer and time synchronization systems of the KM3NeT distributed network. We also participate in the operation and physics exploitation of the data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory, an instrument devoted to the study of the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Our interest is focused on unveiling the mass composition of this flux of particles and which are the sources capable to accelerate those particles to energies well beyond those reached at the LHC.


• 8. Gravity and cosmology
  
  
  • We are interested in field theories such as general relativity, Palatini or metric-affine gravity, which are theories of great interest and candidates to give a deeper understanding of the gravitational interaction, from the origin of structure formation in our universe or in black holes thermodynamics and the last stages of their evolution, where quantum field theory phenomena cannot be ignored. For instance, metric-affine gravity introduces non-metric degrees of freedom which could give an effective classical description of certain quantum aspects of gravity. We also work on the field of theoretical cosmology, in particular on the study of the phenomenology of inflationary models. This includes mechanisms of particle production, their relationship with the nature of dark matter and the search of anomalies in the primordial power spectra, especially that of gravitational waves at small scales, which turn out to be of great interest regarding future experiments. We are also part of the (Cosmology Working Group of the) LISA Collaboration, where we contribute to the understanding of gravitational waves produced in strong first order phase transitions.