April 2020
On the road in the extra dimension
“My main interest is the study of theoretical models that are commonly known as physics beyond the standard model – we call them “Beyond the Standard Model” or BSM for short.
But why do we need such theories at all? The standard model is extremely successful when it comes to describing the basic building blocks of nature as we know them. That is why we would like to consider it the fundamental theory of nature. And yet there are reasons to assume that it is an effective theory: it is valid at those energy and length scales that are currently experimentally accessible. But at higher energies or shorter distances, we need to extend this theory in order to achieve a more fundamental description of nature.
©: Torsten Zimmermann
This is where BSM models come into play: they are supposed to explain what the standard model is unable to explain, but at the same time leave its correct predictions unchanged. This is what fascinates me most about my work – there are many unresolved problems in particle physics that we can connect to our research. It is as if we are bringing together loose ends of modern physics.
Specifically, I am mainly concerned with models that take additional (spatial) dimensions into account. If these dimensions are “curved”, they allow us to understand, for example, why the fermion masses are as they are in the standard model. For my work, I use both an ordinary PC and the Mainz supercomputer MOGON II. But it always starts with an idea. This becomes a model on paper, which I later test on the computer. I'm sure that our field of research directly promotes the exchange of these ideas and thought experiments – another big plus for my work.”
Javier Castellano has been a PhD student in Professor Matthias Neubert's group since October 2017. After completing his Master's degree in Valencia, Spain, his supervisor drew his attention to the Mainz group in theoretical high-energy physics. He finally came to Mainz via the “Symmetry Breaking” graduate school associated with PRISMA+, which has meanwhile come to an end.