Juli 2024
Testing the standard model with kaons
“I've known CERN since I was a child,” says Célia. “It was already my parents' workplace.” Letizia is also very familiar with the organization: “I was there in 2015 as part of the Mainz team that installed the hadron calorimeter for the NA62 experiment and stayed for six months to record data.”
Letizia has almost 10 years of experience in the NA62 collaboration, while Célia has just started her PhD studies. However, they both share a passion for particle physics and an interest in the experiments that measure particles and their properties. “I knew from the beginning that I wanted to work in particle physics,” says Letizia. “During my Bachelor's thesis, I familiarized myself with the experimental side of particle physics and when I started doing data analysis and simulations for existing experiments, I knew this was the right path for me.” “I also fell in love with particle physics,” adds Célia, ”and the more I learned, the more I liked it. But unlike Letizia, I like building things and seeing how the individual parts come together to form something concrete and tangible - a detector that you can use to measure particles. But I also enjoy analyzing the data. Because it allows you to evaluate and improve the performance of such detectors.” Since Célia joined Dr. Rainer Wanke's group, they have been working together on two main goals: analyzing the NA62 data and preparing the construction of scintillator calorimeters for future experiments at CERN.
©: Angelika Stehle
The NA62 experiment has a comprehensive program in the field of kaon physics with the aim of studying the effects of new physics through both precision measurements and the search for rare and forbidden decays. “By analyzing the data from the first run 2016-2018, we have obtained evidence of the decay of kaons into pions and neutrinos,” explains Letizia. “After upgrading the detectors and triggers, the second run began in 2021, which is authorized until the next long shutdown of CERN.” During these years, the entire collaboration works together. “NA62 is a small collaboration, especially compared to others at CERN,” emphasizes Célia, ”and that's great for me, because it gives me the opportunity to follow all the steps of the experiment closely and learn from all my colleagues.”
Dr. Letizia Peruzzo (left) completed her PhD in Dr. Rainer Wanke's group, where she has been working since 2014. Célia Polivka (right) started her PhD in the same group after completing her Master's degree in Lausanne in September 2023.