Research summary
The Massive Timing Hodoscope for Ultra-Stable Neutral Particles, known as MATHUSLA, is a proposed experiment at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN. As Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics, Dr. David Curtin helped validate the ability of MATHUSLA to detect otherwise invisible, long-lived particles that could be produced by the Large Hadron Collider. He also helped demonstrate the importance of using detailed astrophysical investigations to search for and understand complex dark matter.
Now, he and his research team are building on this work, leading interdisciplinary explorations of dark matter complexity with cutting-edge astrophysics tools. They are working toward the construction of MATHUSLA by 2030 and developing temperature quantum field theory calculations for probing the early universe and exploring the physics of future muon colliders (particle accelerators that use muons, which are subatomic particles similar to electrons). Ultimately, their research will have far-reaching impacts on our understanding of the cosmos.