From Physics

Research Interests

• Neutrinoless double beta decay -- I've been working on two related neutrinoless double beta decay projects called Cuoricino (http://crio.mib.infn.it/wig/Cuoricinopage/CUORICINO.php) and the proposed CUORE (http://crio.mib.infn.it/wigmi/pages/cuore.php) experiment. The experiments are located at the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratory (http://www.lngs.infn.it/) in Italy and their purpose is, amongst other things, to determine if the neutrino is its own antiparticle by searching for this exotic, never-before-seen, decay.
• Quantum information and fundamentals of quantum mechanics, especially as it relates to photonics and particle physics. The correspondence principle better work, but how does the "classical world" actually emerge from the quantum? Is there some "mechanism" to this process or is it as spontaneous and mysterious as the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics might have us believe? Are there specific questions and experiments that can help clarify the problem, if there is indeed a problem at all? Is |dead> and |alive> really a good basis for a cat?
• Physics of music -- I enjoy exploring both acoustic and electronic aspects of the physics of music.
• Juicy physics and math puzzles of all sorts

Available Projects

• Summer 2009 and beyond: I am seeking a research student with C++ and UNIX programming experience to work on CUORE/Cuoricino data analysis. No background in nuclear and particle physics is required. Data analysis of Cuoricino raw data (see above) involves working with data from a cutting edge international nuclear physics experiment called Cuoricino. The specific project will be related to the analysis of real nuclear spectra and the development of pattern recognition software to help optimally translate the raw data to useful output.
• Summer 2009: I am seeking a student with web development/programming experience and interest to help design the CUORE/Cuoricino web site and organize a suite of sites for the Cal Poly Center for Nuclear, Particle, and Astrophysics. Dreamweaver, html, java, Flash, etc. would be helpful skills.
• Summer 2009: I am seeking a student with programming experience (python, C++) to help simulate quantum gates using a software framework developed by Dr. Brian Granger here at Cal Poly. We would work closely with his group to try and simulate the various operations of a quantum computer.
• At this time, all student slots for trips to Italy in the Summer of 2009 are filled. However, if you are interested in future research opportunities with this project, please contact me in the Fall so we can begin preparations and discussions. Generally, I am interested in motivated and mature physics students who would like to work on CUORE (http://crio.mib.infn.it/wigmi/pages/cuore.php) R&D at the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratory (http://www.lngs.infn.it/) in Assergi (http://nuclear.ucdavis.edu/~tgutierr/GranSassoSpring2006_web/GranSassoSpring2006_web-Images/48.jpg), Italy. Various pictures of the inside of the lab can be found here (http://nuclear.ucdavis.edu/~tgutierr/Game_GranSasso_interior/Game_GranSasso_interior.html). The trip will be during the summer of 2008 and last 1 to 2 months for 1 to 2 students depending on my budget. The work will involve assisting physicists at the lab with preliminary tests on bolometers to be used in the CUORE experiment. No prior experience is necessary, but a desire to be trained and work with various hardware and software systems will be important. Unfortunately, not everyone who is interested will necessarily have an opportunity to go depending on various unforeseeable constraints (budget, time, interest, etc.). However, I will need to know of your interest by the Fall of the year prior so we can begin discussing preliminary training, reading, and logistics. Some foreign travel experience will be helpful.