Novel Electromagnetic Properties of Elementary Particles
dc.contributor.author | Mathur, Varun | en |
dc.contributor.committeechair | Shoemaker, Ian | en |
dc.contributor.committeemember | O'Donnell, Thomas | en |
dc.contributor.committeemember | Horiuchi, Shunsaku | en |
dc.contributor.committeemember | Takeuchi, Tatsu | en |
dc.contributor.department | Physics | en |
dc.date.accessioned | 2025-05-20T08:04:52Z | en |
dc.date.available | 2025-05-20T08:04:52Z | en |
dc.date.issued | 2025-05-19 | en |
dc.description.abstract | Quantum electrodynamics is our most precisely and stringently tested theory. What happens when some non electrically charged elementary particles couple to the photon? We discuss neutrino electromagnetic properties, a dark photon portal to dark matter and magnetic monopoles produced by cosmic rays in the milky way. We don't just discuss these models, but show how to place(in some cases) leading constraints on these models using future particle physics experiments or astrophysics. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will have the highest muon neutrino flux yet, and will be able to constrain neutrino electromagnetic properties better than current terrestrial experiments. Dark matter is known to be cold, but a subcomponent could be hot or boosted, if this is a dark photon which necessarily couples to the photon, we could see this in future gaseous detectors which are better suited because they have less in-medium effects than liquid Xenon for example. Monopoles of TeV scale masses can be produced by Cosmic Ray - Interstellar Medium collisions. These monopoles would impact the well measured 10−6 Gauss galactic magnetic field or it's production mechanism allowing us to place constraints on monopole cross section. | en |
dc.description.abstractgeneral | Quantum electrodynamics is the most stringently tested and precise theory. The photon is the force carrier particle of quantum electrodynamics. We explore the interaction of the photon with some other particles that are not charged(do not directly interact with the photon. The first particle we explore is the neutrino which is a neutral very weakly interacting particle that oscillates between different flavors it is produced and detected in. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment(DUNE) is a future experiment to measure these oscillations. We could also measure the interaction between the neutrino and the photon at DUNE. Dark matter is a placeholder for matter that only seems to interact gravitationally and seems to be cold. We still hope for some weak interactions to explain it's abundance in the universe. One way it could interact would be through the dark photon- a new force carrier which couples to the standard photon as well. These dark photons could be a fast moving subcomponent of dark matter. We could potentially detect these at future gaseous detectors where in medium effects are suppressed as compared to for example liquid xenon. Magnetic monopoles are a well motivated candidate which could explain the quantization of electric charge. Cosmic rays are charged particle moving through the galaxy carrying most of the radiation energy density in the galaxy. These fast moving particles could collide with particles at rest in the galaxy producing monopoles. These monopoles accelerate in the magnetic fields of the milky way. The fact that the magnetic field in the galacxy still exists allows us to place a bound on this monopole production cross section. | en |
dc.description.degree | Doctor of Philosophy | en |
dc.format.medium | ETD | en |
dc.identifier.other | vt_gsexam:43819 | en |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10919/133155 | en |
dc.language.iso | en | en |
dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
dc.rights | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International | en |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ | en |
dc.subject | Electromagnetism | en |
dc.subject | Neutrinos | en |
dc.subject | Deep Undeground Neutrino Experiment | en |
dc.subject | Dark Matter | en |
dc.subject | Dark Photons | en |
dc.subject | Monopoles | en |
dc.subject | Galactic Magnetic Field | en |
dc.title | Novel Electromagnetic Properties of Elementary Particles | en |
dc.type | Dissertation | en |
thesis.degree.discipline | Physics | en |
thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
thesis.degree.level | doctoral | en |
thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy | en |