![Dr. Laura Reina](/sites/g/files/upcbnu671/files/2019-12/reina06.jpg)
The research activity of my group mainly focuses on theoretical predictions for precision collider physics, to be used to disentangle both indirect and direct evidence of new physics beyond the Standard Model from measurements at the Large Hadron Collider.
In this context, we are particularly pursuing the study of anomalies in Higgs-boson couplings to Standard Model particles. Our program is twofold.
On one hand, we aim at providing state-of-the-art calculations of Standard-Model processes that represent irreducible backgrounds to Standard-Model Higgs-boson production. Processes like the production of electroweak (EW) vector bosons with heavy jets, or the production of top-quark pairs with bottom-quark pairs are very difficult to constrain and represent the main systematic uncertainty for current experimental measurements. We aim at providing more accurate theoretical predictions for these processes by considering both QCD and EW corrections and their effects in the evolution from production to detection energies. We have a long experience of higher-order QCD and EW calculation and we have recently developed an automatized framework (NLOX) to perform them. We would like to continue developing this framework, to develop the interface with parton-shower generators, and to specifically use it in the study of the aforementioned background processes. On the other hand, we would like to explore the problem of constraining new physics interactions by studying their effects on EW and Higgs-boson precision observables using an Effective Field Theory (EFT) approach. As part of the HEPfit collaboration, we have recently studied the effect of combining Higgs-boson measurements and precision EW measurements to constrain the form of new physics interactions. We look forward to continuing and developing these studies using the wealth of data coming from Run 2 of the LHC and to extend them to the reach of the High-Luminosity LHC.
Postdocs in our group interact daily with faculty and students, developing collaboration and mentoring skills. They travel to conferences and other institutions to give talks and build professional connections. I will assure mentoring towards job application and grant proposal writing.