Objectives
The Flavor Physics International Research Center (FlaP) promotes international research and education on flavor physics, with the aim of verifying the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and discovering new physics beyond the SM. Comprehensive and multifaceted research will be carried out, including studies on bottom quark and tau lepton at the Belle II experiment, studies on top quark and the Higgs boson at the ATLAS experiment, and studies on muon, neutrino, and neutron at J-PARC. By leading projects and achieving results through the development of advanced measurement equipment and data analysis using cutting-edge data science, we will increase Nagoya University’s presence in global international joint researches.
Organisation
The FlaP is a center established in the Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute at Nagoya University.
It consists of the Higgs Physics Department, Quark Physics Department, and Lepton Physics Department.
Quark Physics Department
The Quark Physics Department conducts research on the bottom quark and the tau lepton at the Belle II experiment using the SuperKEKB collider at KEK.
Lepton Physics Department
The Lepton Physics Department conducts research on the muon and the neutrino at J-PARC.
Higgs Physics Department
The Higgs Physics Department conducts research on the top quark and the Higgs boson at the ATLAS experiment using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.
In addition, in collaboration with both inside and outside the university,
we will promote various projects as a base for promoting international joint research at Nagoya University.
Flavor Physics
Flavor physics explores fundamental physical laws through measurements of the interactions among quarks and leptons. In particle physics, `flavor’ refers to the types of quarks and leptons. So far, six types of quarks and six types of leptons have been observed, each with different masses and interactions.
In 2012, the Higgs boson was discovered at the LHC. The Higgs boson is a fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, a field that gives mass to other particles and hence characterizes the flavor. Research on the Higgs boson as well as the quarks and leptons will advance our understanding of flavor and allow us to approach a more fundamental picture of particles.
Flavor Physicsand Nagoya University
Nagoya University has developed highly original research in large-scale international collaboration, including bottom quark and tau lepton physics at the B factory experiment, which was essential for the verification of the Kobayashi-Maskawa theory, and top quark physics at the ATLAS experiment. We have trained many doctoral candidates. By establishing the FlaP, we will significantly advance these studies and take on challenges in modern particle physics, such as elucidating the mystery of disappeared antimatter.
