My research in theoretical physics is centred around the phenomenology of elementary particle physics. I work on predictions, simulations and analysis tools for collider experiments, like those of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. My main research activity is in heavy quark production and jet physics.
- In the study of heavy quark production I have contributed to the resummation of large quasi-collinear logarithms that appear in perturbation theory when a heavy quark is produced with a transverse momentum much larger than its mass. This calculation is implemented in the FONLL package and, while old, it is now being widely used at the LHC, where the large energy and luminosity allow for measurements of heavy quarks up to very large transverse momenta. I have also contributed to phenomenological predictions of top quark production with resummation of Sudakov logarithms from soft gluon emissions. These predictions have been instrumental in the assessment of the reliability of existing fixed order calculations and in comparisons with data.
- In jet physics I am the co-author of FastJet, a C++ package providing jet clustering algorithms and analysis tools used by all the experimental collaborations at the LHC and many phenomenologists. I am also the co-author of the anti-kt jet clustering algorithm, adopted as the default algorithm at the LHC.
A full list of publications can be found here.
Software
- FastJet
- C++ package for fast jet clustering and analysis
- FONLL
- Fortran code for evaluating single-particle inclusive distribution for charm and bottom production, with NLO+NLL accuracy at large transverse momenta
- Web interface for easy access to FONLL predictions
- Jet Quality
- Web interface to the results of arXiv:0810.1304 on how the choice of a jet definition impacts a dijet invariant mass reconstruction at the LHC