Mark Gonzalez successfully defends thesis
On April 10, 2026, Mark Gonzalez successfully defended the thesis, “Detectorology and its Phenomenological Applications” (advisor: Ian Moult).
Gonzalez explained, “My thesis work involved calculating observables that can be measured at particle colliders, such as the Large Hadron Collider, in order to study properties of the strong interaction and its underlying theory, quantum chromodynamics. In particular, I studied energy correlators, which are correlation functions of operators that behave like energy detectors in collider experiments and have direct applications in collider phenomenology. In my thesis, I developed novel energy correlators whose phenomenological applications, in some cases, inspired measurements of these observables by my experimental colleagues. Alongside their phenomenological utility, energy correlators can be rigorously defined in quantum field theory through the language of light-ray operators. Such definitions invite the use of formal, field-theoretic techniques that I employed in calculating and physically interpreting these observables.”
He continued, “Moving forward, I am excited to apply the quantitative skills I have developed during my PhD to a career in industry. I also look forward to maintaining my love and passion for physics and fundamental science.”
Thesis Abstract
Fully leveraging the capabilities of particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider to further study and constrain the Standard Model requires the continual development of observables which keenly probe the relevant physics, are accessible to current or near term experiments, and are underpinned by well-defined, field-theoretic objects. One such observable with applications to studies of the strong interaction and quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the energy correlator (EEC). As a jet substructure observable, energy correlators have already been used to measure the strong coupling constant and show promise in revealing properties of confinement, the quark-gluon plasma, and heavy quark effects. We will formulate the energy correlator both in terms of a weighted cross section and the correlation function of light-ray operators in a conformal field theory, revealing its phenomenological and formal properties. We will then use these properties to construct novel energy correlator observables, including the three-point energy correlator for heavy quark jets, the four-point energy correlator in QCD for particular kinematic limits, and correlators which measure powers of particle energy. Throughout, we will discuss applications of these observables which include precision measurements, studies of the light-ray operator product expansion, and non-perturbative functions in QCD.
Thesis committee: Ian Moult (advisor), David Poland, Thomas Appelquist, Laura Havener, Carlota Andres (CPHT, Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France)