Aleksandra Snoch, PhD at Nikhef, will defend her thesis Friday 20 September 2024 at 11.00 at the University of Groningen.
“Angles and B-mons – Angular analysis of B0→K0*J/ψ(→ee) decays with LHCb data”
Fundamental research in physics aims to answer questions about the nature of the Universe. Particle physics focuses on the fundamental forces and building blocks of matter. The best model to date is the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics.
According to the Standard Model, the Universe is composed of particles that make up matter — quarks and leptons — and particles that carry the interactions between them. One of the quarks, called a beauty quark b, is the focus of this dissertation.
Investigating the decays of the beauty quark can provide an insight into physics beyond the SM. In particular, this research focuses on the b→sll transition. According to the SM, this process is very rare, making it easier to observe potential contributions from new physics, even if they are small.
The decay of interest in this search is B→K*ee. The analysis is performed by fitting an angular function to the distributions of the decay angles and comparing the best-fit parameters with SM predictions. To ensure reliable results, the angular analysis is performed first using a ”control channel”: a decay that results in the same particles but is well known and agrees with the Standard Model predictions. In this analysis, the control decay is B→K*J/ψ(→ee). An angular analysis of this decay is the main topic of this thesis.
“Angles and B-mons” (pdf)
The PhD defense will take place Friday 20 September 2024 at 11.00 in the Academiegebouw RUG, Broerstraat 5, 9712 CP Groningen.
The defense will be broadcasted online: link
More information on the website of the University of Groningen.
Supervisor: prof. dr. A. Pellegrino
Co- supervisor: dr. W. Hulsbergen
Contact: Aleksandra Snoch