Michele Veronesi, promovendus aan het Nikhef, verdedigt zijn proefschrift maandag 15 november 2021 om 11.45 aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
“Quantum oscillations of neutral particles with the beauty quark”
The development of quantum mechanics since the beginning of the 20th century has guided the exploration of nature at the atomic scale. The analysis of particles produced in cosmic rays and accelerators allowed to study the quantum mechanical behaviour of neutral mesons and gain insights into the fundamental quantum fields governing the interactions of matter. The measurement of wave-like properties, such as oscillation frequencies and interference patterns, is achieved by studying the rate of change of neutral particles into their anti-matter counterpart.
This thesis presents the most precise measurement of the oscillation frequency of the B_s meson, a neutral state made by the combination of a beauty and a strange quark, using data from the LHCb experiment. Since boson and fermion fields enter virtually in B_s-B_sbar transitions, the measurement of the B_s oscillation frequency does not only offer a laboratory to study the beautiful quantum mechanical properties of the subatomic world, but also provides a gateway to the relativistic quantum fields constituting all elementary particles and fundamental interactions.
“Quantum oscillations of neutral particles with the beauty quark” (pdf)
De promotie vindt plaats op maandag 15 november, om 11.45 in de Aula van de Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam.
De promotie zal online te volgen zijn op het YouTube kanaal van de VU.
Meer informatie op de website van de VU.
Promotor: prof. dr. M.H.M. Merk
Co-promotor: dr. N. Tuning
Contact: Michele Veronesi