Ayana T. Arce, Associate Professor  

Ayana T. Arce

Office Location: 269 Physics, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address: ath11@duke.edu

Specialties:
Experimental high energy physics

Education:
Ph.D., Harvard University, 2006
B.S., Princeton University, 1998

Research Categories: Experimental elementary particle physics

Current projects: Searches for gauge and Higgs bosons produced in massive particle decays, Jet substructure observable reconstruction, ATLAS detector simulation software framework

Research Description: Researchers at hadron colliders are attempting to produce evidence of phenomena beyond the "Standard Model" of particle physics, which is our current, best description of how fundamental particles interact. This description works very well for collider experiments, but is known to be incomplete: it doesn't explain neutrino masses and mixings, it cannot account for dark matter, and it does not treat gravity or the accelerating expansion of the universe. The observation of particle interactions that the Standard Model cannot explain would help us build up a better theory -- one that accounts for these striking phenomena. In my research I concentrate on understanding what takes place in hadron collider events with complicated final state topologies, like the production and decay of top quarks and heavy gauge bosons. In these events, I am looking for any hint of non-Standard Model interactions. My current studies use the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and consequently, many of my recent research activities also support the broader experimental program of ATLAS.

Teaching (Spring 2024):   (typical courses)

  • Physics 162d.001, Fundamentals of physics ii Synopsis
    Physics 150, TuTh 10:05 AM-11:20 AM
  • Physics 162d.01d, Fundamentals of physics ii Synopsis
    Physics 047, F 01:40 PM-04:10 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Aad, G; Abbott, B; Abbott, DC; Abud, AA; Abeling, K; Abhayasinghe, DK; Abidi, SH; AbouZeid, OS; Abraham, NL; Abramowicz, H; Abreu, H; Abulaiti, Y; Hoffman, ACA; Acharya, BS; Achkar, B; Adam, L; Bourdarios, CA; Adamczyk, L; Adamek, L; Adelman, J; Adiguzel, A; Adorni, S; Adye, T; Affolder, AA; Afik, Y; Agapopoulou, C; Agaras, MN; Aggarwal, A; Agheorghiesei, C; Aguilar-Saavedra, JA; Ahmad, A; Ahmadov, F; Ahmed, WS; Ai, X; Aielli, G; Akatsuka, S; Akbiyik, M; Åkesson, TPA; Akilli, E; Akimov, AV; Khoury, KA; Alberghi, GL; Albert, J; Verzini, MJA; Alderweireldt, S; Aleksa, M; Aleksandrov, IN; Alexa, C; Alexopoulos, T; Alfonsi, A; Alfonsi, F; Alhroob, M; Ali, B; Ali, S; Aliev, M; Alimonti, G; Allaire, C; Allbrooke, BMM; Allport, PP; Aloisio, A; Alonso, F; Alpigiani, C; Camelia, EA; Estevez, MA; Alviggi, MG; Coutinho, YA; Ambler, A; Ambroz, L; Amelung, C; Amidei, D; Santos, SPAD; Amoroso, S; Amrouche, CS; Anastopoulos, C; Andari, N; Andeen, T; Anders, JK; Andrean, SY; Andreazza, A; Andrei, V; Anelli, CR; Angelidakis, S; Angerami, A; Anisenkov, AV; Annovi, A; Antel, C; Anthony, MT; Antipov, E; Antonelli, M; Antrim, DJA; Anulli, F; Aoki, M; Pozo, JAA; Aparo, MA; Bella, LA; Aranzabal, N; Ferraz, VA; Arcangeletti, C; Arce, ATH; Arguin, JF, Emulating the impact of additional proton–proton interactions in the ATLAS simulation by presampling sets of inelastic Monte Carlo events, Computing and Software for Big Science, vol. 6 no. 1 (December, Accepted, 2022) [doi]  [abs].
  2. Aad, G; Abbott, B; Abbott, DC; Abed Abud, A; Abeling, K; Abhayasinghe, DK; Abidi, SH; AbouZeid, OS; Abramowicz, H; Abreu, H; Abulaiti, Y; Abusleme Hoffman, AC; Acharya, BS; Achkar, B; Adam, L; Adam Bourdarios, C; Adamczyk, L; Adamek, L; Adelman, J; Adiguzel, A; Adorni, S; Adye, T; Affolder, AA; Afik, Y; Agapopoulou, C; Agaras, MN; Agarwala, J; Aggarwal, A; Agheorghiesei, C; Aguilar-Saavedra, JA; Ahmad, A; Ahmadov, F; Ahmed, WS; Ai, X; Aielli, G; Akatsuka, S; Akbiyik, M; Åkesson, TPA; Akimov, AV; Al Khoury, K; Alberghi, GL; Albert, J; Alconada Verzini, MJ; Alderweireldt, S; Aleksa, M; Aleksandrov, IN; Alexa, C; Alexopoulos, T; Alfonsi, A; Alfonsi, F; Alhroob, M; Ali, B; Ali, S; Aliev, M; Alimonti, G; Allaire, C; Allbrooke, BMM; Allport, PP; Aloisio, A; Alonso, F; Alpigiani, C; Alunno Camelia, E; Alvarez Estevez, M; Alviggi, MG; Amaral Coutinho, Y; Ambler, A; Ambroz, L; Amelung, C; Amidei, D; Amor Dos Santos, SP; Amoroso, S; Amrouche, CS; Anastopoulos, C; Andari, N; Andeen, T; Anders, JK; Andrean, SY; Andreazza, A; Andrei, V; Angelidakis, S; Angerami, A; Anisenkov, AV; Annovi, A; Antel, C; Anthony, MT; Antipov, E; Antonelli, M; Antrim, DJA; Anulli, F; Aoki, M; Aparisi Pozo, JA; Aparo, MA; Aperio Bella, L; Aranzabal, N; Araujo Ferraz, V; Arcangeletti, C; Arce, ATH; Arena, E; Arguin, JF; Argyropoulos, S, Search for new phenomena in three- or four-lepton events in ppcollisions at √s = 13TeV with the ATLAS detector, Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, vol. 824 (January, Accepted, 2022) [doi]  [abs].
  3. Aad, G; Abbott, B; Abbott, DC; Abed Abud, A; Abeling, K; Abhayasinghe, DK; Abidi, SH; Abramowicz, H; Abreu, H; Abulaiti, Y; Abusleme Hoffman, AC; Acharya, BS; Achkar, B; Adam, L; Adam Bourdarios, C; Adamczyk, L; Adamek, L; Addepalli, SV; Adelman, J; Adiguzel, A; Adorni, S; Adye, T; Affolder, AA; Afik, Y; Agapopoulou, C; Agaras, MN; Agarwala, J; Aggarwal, A; Agheorghiesei, C; Aguilar-Saavedra, JA; Ahmad, A; Ahmadov, F; Ahmed, WS; Ai, X; Aielli, G; Aizenberg, I; Akatsuka, S; Akbiyik, M; Åkesson, TPA; Akimov, AV; Al Khoury, K; Alberghi, GL; Albert, J; Alconada Verzini, MJ; Alderweireldt, S; Aleksa, M; Aleksandrov, IN; Alexa, C; Alexopoulos, T; Alfonsi, A; Alfonsi, F; Alhroob, M; Ali, B; Ali, S; Aliev, M; Alimonti, G; Allaire, C; Allbrooke, BMM; Allport, PP; Aloisio, A; Alonso, F; Alpigiani, C; Alunno Camelia, E; Alvarez Estevez, M; Alviggi, MG; Amaral Coutinho, Y; Ambler, A; Ambroz, L; Amelung, C; Amidei, D; Amor Dos Santos, SP; Amoroso, S; Amrouche, CS; Anastopoulos, C; Andari, N; Andeen, T; Anders, JK; Andrean, SY; Andreazza, A; Andrei, V; Angelidakis, S; Angerami, A; Anisenkov, AV; Annovi, A; Antel, C; Anthony, MT; Antipov, E; Antonelli, M; Antrim, DJA; Anulli, F; Aoki, M; Aparisi Pozo, JA; Aparo, MA; Aperio Bella, L; Aranzabal, N; Araujo Ferraz, V; Arcangeletti, C; Arce, ATH; Arena, E; Arguin, JF, Search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson into b b¯ and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector, Journal of High Energy Physics, vol. 2022 no. 1 (January, Accepted, 2022) [doi]  [abs].
  4. Aad, G; Abbott, B; Abbott, DC; Abed Abud, A; Abeling, K; Abhayasinghe, DK; Abidi, SH; Aboulhorma, A; Abramowicz, H; Abreu, H; Abulaiti, Y; Abusleme Hoffman, AC; Acharya, BS; Achkar, B; Adam, L; Adam Bourdarios, C; Adamczyk, L; Adamek, L; Addepalli, SV; Adelman, J; Adiguzel, A; Adorni, S; Adye, T; Affolder, AA; Afik, Y; Agapopoulou, C; Agaras, MN; Agarwala, J; Aggarwal, A; Agheorghiesei, C; Aguilar-Saavedra, JA; Ahmad, A; Ahmadov, F; Ahmed, WS; Ai, X; Aielli, G; Aizenberg, I; Akatsuka, S; Akbiyik, M; Åkesson, TPA; Akimov, AV; Al Khoury, K; Alberghi, GL; Albert, J; Albicocco, P; Alconada Verzini, MJ; Alderweireldt, S; Aleksa, M; Aleksandrov, IN; Alexa, C; Alexopoulos, T; Alfonsi, A; Alfonsi, F; Alhroob, M; Ali, B; Ali, S; Aliev, M; Alimonti, G; Allaire, C; Allbrooke, BMM; Allport, PP; Aloisio, A; Alonso, F; Alpigiani, C; Alunno Camelia, E; Alvarez Estevez, M; Alviggi, MG; Amaral Coutinho, Y; Ambler, A; Ambroz, L; Amelung, C; Amidei, D; Amor Dos Santos, SP; Amoroso, S; Amrouche, CS; Ananiev, V; Anastopoulos, C; Andari, N; Andeen, T; Anders, JK; Andrean, SY; Andreazza, A; Angelidakis, S; Angerami, A; Anisenkov, AV; Annovi, A; Antel, C; Anthony, MT; Antipov, E; Antonelli, M; Antrim, DJA; Anulli, F; Aoki, M; Aparisi Pozo, JA; Aparo, MA; Aperio Bella, L; Aranzabal, N; Araujo Ferraz, V; Arcangeletti, C; Arce, ATH, Search for Higgs boson decays into a pair of pseudoscalar particles in the bbμμ final state with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at s =13 TeV, Physical Review D, vol. 105 no. 1 (January, Accepted, 2022) [doi]  [abs].
  5. Aad, G; Abbott, B; Abbott, DC; Abed Abud, A; Abeling, K; Abhayasinghe, DK; Abidi, SH; Abramowicz, H; Abreu, H; Abulaiti, Y; Abusleme Hoffman, AC; Acharya, BS; Achkar, B; Adam, L; Adam Bourdarios, C; Adamczyk, L; Adamek, L; Adelman, J; Adiguzel, A; Adorni, S; Adye, T; Affolder, AA; Afik, Y; Agapopoulou, C; Agaras, MN; Agarwala, J; Aggarwal, A; Agheorghiesei, C; Aguilar-Saavedra, JA; Ahmad, A; Ahmadov, F; Ahmed, WS; Ai, X; Aielli, G; Akatsuka, S; Akbiyik, M; Åkesson, TPA; Akimov, AV; Al Khoury, K; Alberghi, GL; Albert, J; Alconada Verzini, MJ; Alderweireldt, S; Aleksa, M; Aleksandrov, IN; Alexa, C; Alexopoulos, T; Alfonsi, A; Alfonsi, F; Alhroob, M; Ali, B; Ali, S; Aliev, M; Alimonti, G; Allaire, C; Allbrooke, BMM; Allport, PP; Aloisio, A; Alonso, F; Alpigiani, C; Alunno Camelia, E; Alvarez Estevez, M; Alviggi, MG; Amaral Coutinho, Y; Ambler, A; Ambroz, L; Amelung, C; Amidei, D; Amor Dos Santos, SP; Amoroso, S; Amrouche, CS; Anastopoulos, C; Andari, N; Andeen, T; Anders, JK; Andrean, SY; Andreazza, A; Andrei, V; Angelidakis, S; Angerami, A; Anisenkov, AV; Annovi, A; Antel, C; Anthony, MT; Antipov, E; Antonelli, M; Antrim, DJA; Anulli, F; Aoki, M; Aparisi Pozo, JA; Aparo, MA; Aperio Bella, L; Aranzabal, N; Araujo Ferraz, V; Arcangeletti, C; Arce, ATH; Arena, E; Arguin, JF; Argyropoulos, S; Arling, JH, Search for heavy particles in the b -tagged dijet mass distribution with additional b -tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s =13 TeV with the ATLAS experiment, Physical Review D, vol. 105 no. 1 (January, Accepted, 2022) [doi]  [abs].

Highlight:
Hadron colliders are attempting to produce evidence of phenomena beyond the "Standard Model" of particle physics, which is our current, best description of how fundamental particles interact. This description works very well for collider experiments, but is known to be incomplete: it doesn't explain neutrino masses and mixings, it cannot account for dark matter, and it doesn't treat gravity or the accelerating expansion of the universe. The observation of particle interactions that the Standard Model cannot explain would help us build up a better theory that accounts for these striking phenomena. In my research I concentrate on better understanding what takes place in hadron collider events with complicated final state topologies, like the production and decay of top quarks and heavy gauge bosons. In these events, I am looking for any hint of non-Standard Model interactions. My current studies use the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and consequently, many of my recent research activities also support the broader experimental program of ATLAS.

Current Ph.D. Students  

  • David M. Bjergaard  
  • Lei Li  
Selected Invited Lectures

  1. The ATLAS Experiment: Status and Prospects, October, 2010, SEAPS (Baton Rouge)    
  2. Prospects for New Physics at the LHC, February, 2010, APS (Washington)