# Concordia University

https://www.concordia.ca/content/concordia/en/artsci/physics/research/mariana-frank-research-group.html

# Mariana Frank Research Group

Most of our work is devoted to the prediction, anticipation, and explanation of new signals coming from various accelerators, in particular, from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in particular, to specialized searches of Physics Beyond The Standard Model of electroweak interaction. These searches are motivated by the fact that the Standard Model, while experimentally successful, still suffers from theoretical inconsistencies, and it does not explain all phenomena observed in nature  (such as, for example, dark matter).

RESEARCH PROJECTS – PHYSICS AT THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

1) SUPERSYMMETRY

The most popular scenario for physics beyond the Standard Model is Supersymmetry. Supersymmetry is a fermion-boson symmetry which provides a dark matter candidate naturally and which explains the stability of the Higgs mass.

We work on non-minimal models, such as U(1)’ models and left-right supersymmetric models, looking for viable dark matter candidates and for distinguishing signals at the LHC.

2) WARPED EXTRA DIMENSIONAL MODELS

Introducing an extra space dimension and a warping of the space associated with it provides a viable explanation of why gravity is so weak at the Standard Model scale. Allowing the Standard Model particles to propagate in the extra dimension resolves fermion mass hierarchies and supresses flavour-changing currents. In its original version of the model, the scale of this theory has to be high, precluding its observation at the LHC. We are exploring a version with a modified metric, which allows the scale to be lower and agrees with the data from the Higgs discovery.

4) EXOTICA: SIGNAL at COLLIDERS

A spectacular signature of Physics Beyond the Standard Model would be the observation of a particle with different quantum numbers than the ones allowed for Standard Model particles: for instance a doubly-charged particle, or a particle with spin 2. We are trying to characterize such particles and indicate the most promising signals at the colliders.

5) DARK MATTER

Dark Matter is non-baryonic matter that interacts only weakly. But what is it? Supersymmetry provides a natural candidate in the lightest supersymmetric particle, but what about other models? We propose possible candidates for dark matter and study their interactions and the interplay between LHC signals and dedicated Dark Matter direct and indirect detection experiments.

Özer Özdal, Ph.D.
Beyond Standard Model scenarios at LHC: dark matter, muon g-2 and Z’ mass limits’

Jack Araz, Ph.D.
Signals of U(1)’ supersymmetric scenarios at the upgraded LHC’

Ashley Arsenault, M.Sc.
Stability conditions for the SM augmented by extra scalar and fermonic states

### Alumni

##### Postdoctoral Fellows and research assistants
• Dr. Levent Selbuz 2012-2013. Now: Assistant Professor at Ankara University
• Dr. Manuel Toharia 2010-2015. Now: Instructor at Dawson College, Montreal
##### students
• Tyrell Umbach, B.Sc. 2017, “Scenarios of Physics Beyond the Standard Model”
• Sahar Bahrami, Ph.D 2016, “The Higgs Triplet Model: Mixing in the Neutral Sector, Vector-like fermions, and Dark Matter”
• Nima Puortolami, Ph.D. 2015, “Higgs phenomenology in the Softwall Warped Spacetime model”
• Beste Korutlu, Ph. D 2012, “Higgs and Radion Phenomenology Beyond the Standard Model”
• Alper Hayreter, Ph.D. 2011, “Production and Decay of WR bosons in Left-Right Symmetric Models at the Tevatron and the LHC”
• Nedaa Asbah, B.Sc co-op summer project 2010, “Dark Matter in Particle Physics and Cosmology”

1.Frank, M., Pourtolami, N. & Toharia, M. Bulk Higgs with a heavy diphoton signal. Physical Review D 95, 036007 (2017).

2.Bahrami, S., Frank, M., Ghosh, D. K., Ghosh, N. & Saha, I. Dark matter and collider studies in the left-right symmetric model with vectorlike leptons. Physical Review D 95, (2017).

3.Araz, J. Y., Frank, M. & Fuks, B. Differentiating U (1)′ supersymmetric models with right sneutrino and neutralino dark matter. Physical Review D 96, 015017 (2017).

4.Frank, M. & Özdal, Ö. Exploring the supersymmetric U (1) B- L$\times$ U (1) R model with dark matter, muon g- 2, and Z′ mass limits. Physical Review D 97, 015012 (2018).

5.Díaz-Furlong, A., Frank, M., Pourtolami, N., Toharia, M. & Xoxocotzi, R. Flavor-changing decays of the top quark in 5D warped models. Physical Review D 94, (2016).

6.Frank, M., Pourtolami, N. & Toharia, M. Higgs boson production and decay in 5D warped models. Physical Review D 93, (2016).

7.Araz, J. Y., Corcella, G., Frank, M. & Fuks, B. Loopholes in Z′ searches at the LHC: exploring supersymmetric and leptophobic scenarios. Journal of High Energy Physics 2018, 92 (2018).

8.Frank, M., Huitu, K., Maitra, U. & Patra, M. Probing Higgs-radion mixing in warped models through complementary searches at the LHC and the ILC. Physical Review D 94, (2016).

9.Frank, M., Fuks, B., Huitu, K., Rai, S. K. & Waltari, H. Resonant slepton production and right sneutrino dark matter in left-right supersymmetry. Journal of High Energy Physics 2017, (2017).

10.Acharya, B. et al. Search for Magnetic Monopoles with the MoEDAL Forward Trapping Detector in 13 TeV Proton-Proton Collisions at the LHC. Physical Review Letters 118, 061801 (2017).