Does Decay Matter?

Life in our universe is only possible due to the stability of matter, notably that of electrons, protons, and bound neutrons. Particle-physics experiments provide lower bounds on the lifetimes of these typically-assumed-to-be-stable particles that greatly improve on such anthropic arguments and far exceed the age of our universe itself. We will discuss the experimental signatures of decaying matter and survey if such decays are allowed or even preferred from a theoretical perspective.

Speaker bio: Julian Heeck is an Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Virginia. He works on theoretical astroparticle physics, in particular the phenomenology of theories that resolve existing puzzles such as dark matter and neutrino oscillations. Heeck was awarded his Ph.D. degree from Heidelberg University in Germany and held postdoctoral positions at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and the University of California, Irvine, before joining UVA in 2020.