My research in theoretical high energy physics aims to seek connections between observable particle physics and the domain of fundamental theory. The goals of my research are to understand and improve the extent to which the anticipated data from collider, cosmological, and neutrino detection experiments can probe Planck/string and/or unification scale physics. My current work focuses on new TeV-scale physics and the physics of neutrino masses and lepton flavor mixing.
With the momentous discovery of a Higgs boson in 2012 by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the LHC, the origin of the electroweak scale remains one of the profound questions in high energy physics. I have worked on a variety of topics in this area, from theories with extended gauge and Higgs sectors to aspects of CP violation and flavor physics to implications for proton decay in unified field theories. Within the well-known paradigm of TeV-scale supersymmetry, I have extensively studied the mysterious and vast parameter space associated with supersymmetry breaking. I have co-authored a review article for Physics Reports on this topic, which can be found here (comments/feedback can be sent to leverett@wisc.edu).
Neutrino oscillation experiments have revealed not only that neutrinos are massive, but also that leptons display a striking flavor mixing pattern that is in sharp contrast to that of the quarks, providing a new facet to the already puzzling and exciting area of flavor physics. My work in this area includes studies of the impact of Cabibbo-sized effects in the lepton sector as expected within the general paradigm of quark-lepton unification, and flavor and CP violation within the realm of discrete non-Abelian family symmetries.
My complete list of publications can be found on iNSPIRE.