John M. LoSecco

Professor,
High Energy Physics

Research Interests

QCD, the theory of the strong interactions makes many testable predictions. Among them is the existence of a class of particles known as exotics. These particles are exotic in that they do not exist in the standard quark model. Searches for exotics have produced candidates but no truly confirmed exotic states are known. The observation would be a major triumph for QCD.

QCD predicts the quark and gluon structure of particles, and this structure can be proved via radiative decays and photoproduction. Prof. LoSecco’s researchers are involved in experiments to study both of these reactions.

CP violation in the B meson sector is a rare but expected phenomenon. Efforts are under way to provide a source of millions of B mesons so that these rare decays can be measured. This can be expected to bring us closer to understanding the source of CP violation.

Selected Publications:

"Observation of a Neutrino Burst in Coincidence with Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud," R.M. Bionta, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1494 (1987).

"The Search for Proton Decay," J.M. LoSecco, F. Reines, and D. Sinclair, in Particle Physics in the Cosmos: A Scientific American Reader, edited by R.A. Carrigan Jr. and W.P. Trower (W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1989).

"Pulsar Test of a Violation of Discrete Symmetries in Gravitation," J.M. LoSecco, G.E.A. Matsas, A.A. Natale, and J.A.E. Pacheco, Phys. Lett. A 138, 5 (1989).

"Calibration of the IMB Detector," R. Becker-Szendy, et al., Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 352, 629-639 (1995).

"Design and Performance of a Cesium Iodide Detector," T. Adams, et al., Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 368, 617-627 (1996).

"Evidence for Exotic Meson Production in the Reaction p-p -> hp^-p ," D. R. Thompson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 1630-1633 (1997).

Honors and Activities

Corecipient of the 1989 Bruno Rossi Prize for High Energy Astrophysics from the American Astronomical SocietyU.S. Department of Energy Outstanding Junior Investigator, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.

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