Our best understanding of physics cannot explain why the visible universe is dominated by matter. The Big Bang should have produced matter and antimatter in equal amounts, which would have annihilated into light. But the universe we observe is rich in matter which suggests there are subtle differences in the laws of physics that favour matter over antimatter. One known effect, called Charge Parity (CP) violation, makes matter and anti-matter behave differently. However, we have only seen CP violation in rare processes and at a level far too small (about one part in ten billion) to explain our matter-dominated universe. 

My research looks to address this problem through precision measurements of the Higgs boson using the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). My work focuses on the decays of the Higgs boson into tau leptons. Tau leptons are unstable and decay into several lighter particles. By studying the angular correlations between these decay products we can detect new sources of CP violation which could explain the universe’s preference for matter over antimatter.

My other research interests include searchers for as-of-yet undiscovered heavy particles at the LHC. I have led several searches for such particles including new Higgs bosons and leptoquarks. 

I welcome opportunities to present my research to both specialist and non-specialist audiences—please get in touch if you would like to arrange a talk.