Energy Flow in Particle Collisions

TL;DR

This thesis introduces a geometric, energy flow-based framework for analyzing particle collisions, unifying observables, and defining particle flavor using only measurable information, with implications for theory and experiment.

Contribution

It develops a new bottom-up approach centered on energy flow, unifies various observables as geometric objects, and proposes a flavor definition based solely on observable data.

Findings

Established a metric space for collision events based on energy flow

Unified many observables as geometric objects in the new space

Proposed a flavor definition using only observable information

Abstract

In this thesis, I introduce a new bottom-up approach to quantum field theory and collider physics, beginning from the observable energy flow: the energy distribution produced by particle collisions. First, I establish a metric space for collision events by comparing their energy flows. I unify many ideas spanning multiple decades, such as observables and jets, as simple geometric objects in this new space. Second, I develop a basis of observables by systematically expanding in particle energies and angles, encompassing many existing observables and uncovering new analytic structures. I highlight how the traditional criteria for theoretical calculability emerge as consistency conditions, due to the redundancy of describing an event using particles rather than its energy flow. Finally, I propose a definition of particle type, or flavor, which makes use of only observable information. This definition requires refining the notion of flavor from a per-event label to a statistical category, and I showcase its direct experimental applicability at colliders. Throughout, I synthesize concepts from particle physics with ideas from statistics and computer science to expand the theoretical understanding of particle interactions and enhance the experimental capabilities of collider data analysis techniques.