Research Overview
Our group uses data from proton-proton collisions at the LHC to search for new phenomena beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.
We are members of the CMS collaboration and work on searches for new light scalar bosons primarily decaying to tau leptons, searches for rare Higgs decays, silicon detector operations and R&D, and contributions to future collider concepts.
Our group is but a small part of the entire high energy physics research effort at FSU.
Current Projects
BSM Searches
We search for light pseudoscalar Higgs bosons predicted by two-Higgs-doublet models and partial compositeness models. Current analyses target decays of the SM-like Higgs boson to pairs of light scalars in boosted tau lepton pair, di-muon, and b-jet final states; and direct production of the pseudoscalar via gluon fusion.
Higgs Boson Rare Decays
H→Υγ directly accesses the bottom quark Yukawa coupling, but its branching ratio is suppressed to O(10-9) in the SM. Any observation is an unmistakable sign of new physics.
Detector R&D
Our group contributes silicon sensor quality control (QC) for the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) endcap upgrade. At FSU, we have evaluated nearly 5,500 HGCAL production sensors through 8% sample testing and have monitored the production process stability through measurement of over 700 wafer test structures. Now, we are transitioning to readout electronics configuration and assembly and QC of the larger calorimeter elements at CERN.
Publications
A full list of publications is available via the links below. Selected recent papers are listed here.
- CMS Collaboration, “Search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson in final states with boosted μμ and ττ pairs in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV,” CMS-PAS-SUS-23-005 (2026).
- G. Adamov et al. (CMS HGCAL Collaboration), “Leakage current of high-fluence neutron-irradiated 8″ silicon sensors for the CMS Endcap Calorimeter Upgrade,” submitted to J. Instr. (2025).
- B. Acar et al. (CMS HGCAL Collaboration), “Neutron irradiation and electrical characterization of the first 8" silicon pad sensor prototypes for the CMS calorimeter endcap upgrade,” J. Instr. 18, P08024 (2023).
- A. White, M. Yeh, R. Yohay, “Report of the Topical Group on Calorimetry,” in Report of the 2021 U.S. Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021) (2023).
Past Projects
CMS Pixel Detector Operations
From 2016 to 2026, our group contributed to the maintenance and operation of the CMS silicon pixel detector, the innermost tracking system at the LHC. We participated in on-call detector operations, calibration, and performance monitoring during LHC Run 2 and Run 3 data-taking. The pixel detector provides the high-resolution vertex reconstruction essential to nearly all CMS physics analyses.