CP violation and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe: A case study in the process D0->pi+pi-

• Grant number: 24/16520-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Elementary Particle Physics and Fields
• Principal Investigator: Patrícia Camargo Magalhães
• Grantee: Isabela Santos Franceschi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/04867-2 - High energy physics and instrumentation with the LHC-CERN, AP.ESP

Abstract

The asymmetry between matter and antimatter observed in the Universe is connected to Particle Physics through the Charge Parity (CP) asymmetry in hadronic decays. In practice, this means that the decay of a particle is favored or disfavored as to its antiparticle. The theory that describes the properties of the interactions between elementary particles is the Standard Model (SM). Despite the excellent improvements and experimental confirmations that have consolidated the Standard Model as the theory of Particle Physics, there are still some gaps and observed features still without explanation. One of them is the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in our universe, which requires new sources of CP violation.This project will study the mechanism of generation of CP violation within the SM and calculate the CP asymmetry for the decay D0->pi+pi-. This process was the first observation of CP violation in charm decays. This recent result, measured for CERN's LHCb collaboration, is at the center of a debate about the existence of new physics. The experimental value disagrees with the MP prediction, which may be an indication of new physics or simply a limitation of the MP in calculating the effects from Hadronic interaction at low mass. This project aims to introduce a student to the universe of Particle Physics guided by a current problem of extreme relevance to the community, considering its connection with the matter-antimatter asymmetry and the possibility of the existence of new physics beyond the Standard Model.