Alexey Petrov
@alexeypetrov
Theoretical particle physicist, University professor, book author, and sometimes blogger. Now a Department Chair at USC!
The Encyclopedia of Particle Physics is now published! Everything you wanted to know about particle physics (but were afraid to ask) is now available here: www.sciencedirect.com/referencewor... I wrote a chapter of this encyclopedia describing CP violation. 🧪
The premise, style, and even the perceived timing of Michael Kratsios’ 2026 paper, "Science: A New Golden Age," invites a comparison with Vannevar Bush's classic "Science, the Endless Frontier," written in 1945, which established the US science funding doctrine. 🧪
Mark Wise died over the weekend… He was a great physicist whose contributions to particle physics were enormous. I learned a lot from him. RIP… 🧪
Happy Independence Day! I'd like to take this opportunity to emphasize that our nation's 250-year resilience is rooted in forward-thinking investments in science, research, and development, with a triad of fundamental science, applied science, and engineering propelling our country's advancement. 🧪
We are off to a good start with the XVI International Conference on Beauty, Charm, and Hyperons in Hadronic Interactions (BEACH 2026) in beautiful Florence; it's great to see old friends and listen to great talks. 🧪
This tape contains Paul Dirac’s lecture (yes, that Paul Dirac, one of the founders of quantum mechanics) at the University of South Carolina. This tape is also legendary; it has been missing for the past 32 years! And guess what: Prof. Frank Avignone found it today! Now we need to digitize it! 🧪
The beautiful campus of the University of South Carolina. Two weeks until the finals... 🧪
New paper! In this article, we show that new Mu2e experiment at FNAL not only can probe new physics in the mu-to-e interactions with nuclei, it can also probe light axion-like particles in the interactions of muons with atomic shell electrons. 🧪 inspirehep.net/literature/3...
We are introducing Darden Fellows in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of South Carolina: senior physics majors serving as peer mentors to their freshman and sophomore colleagues, sharing advice, etc. Do you have similar initiatives? Do they work well at your institution? 🧪
New paper! In this article for the journal Annual Reviews of Nuclear and Particle Science, we review the physics case and technology solutions for the new tau-charm factory. 🧪 inspirehep.net/literature/3...
I had a great time at the Astronomy on Tap event at Tin Roof yesterday. There was a very good turnout, a responsive crowd, and good food. People said they will be back for the next installment! 🧪
So, is it more than rumors? Does anyone have something in writing regarding the DOE Nuclear Theory budget? What about High Energy? Why is it happening? The Nuclear Theory budget is tiny compared to other items in the government budget… 🧪
I just received a message from the Department of Energy, my main federal sponsor. There is a strategic realignment that unites the Office of High Energy Physics and the Office of Nuclear Physics. What do you think will happen to the overall level of funding? 🧪
New paper! In this article for the journal Annual Reviews of Nuclear and Particle Science, we review the latest achievements in the physics of muons. 🧪 inspirehep.net/literature/3...
What does a modern particle experiment look like? Here are some pictures of one under construction: Mu2e at Fermilab. This year, I became a theory member of this experiment. I would like to thank Mu2e co-spokesperson, Robert Bernstein, for showing us the experiment and providing great explanations.🧪
A concortium of private donors gave $1B to CERN! Could Fermilab in the US build a muon collider with the help of private investors? 🧪
Big news from Fermilab! The new FNAL director, Dr. Norbert Holtkamp, will start on 12 January 2026! 🧪
Happy Thanksgiving! (The image was created by ChatGPT. Do you have a policy for using AI at your University?)
New paper! This is a review article prepared for the upcoming Encyclopedia of Particle Physics. 🧪 inspirehep.net/literature/3...
New paper! Together with Arnau Bas i Beneito and Svjetlana Fajfer we study baryon number violating mixing of a Lambda baryon with its antiparticle. We show that indirect constraints on Lambda-antiLambda oscillations preclude its observation at colliders. 🧪 inspirehep.net/literature/3...
Next week is the Nobel week! Let’s speculate on who might get the Physics prize this year? My pick: Aharonov and Berry 🧪
A cool car that I saw in Germany. You can park everywhere - and if there is no parking spot available, you just put it in your backpack!
Our two brand new Technology-Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) labs are (almost) ready to welcome new students next week! We use them to teach Studio Physics at the University of South Carolina 🧪
The 8-point vision from the Elementary Particle Physics review panel from the National Academies: muon collider and FCC 🧪
A great crowd for our first Astronomy on Tap at Bierkeller Columbia! Thank you for joining us! Let’s do it again! 🧪 @astronomyontap.bsky.social
Some say that one should not read the papers when cleaning your room. If I did not, I would have thrown out that paper that the great John Bahcall sent to me back in 2000 when I was a postdoc at Cornell… 🧪
Congratulations to my colleagues on ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments on their 2025 Breakthrough Prize! 🧪
Join us at Bierkeller Columbia on April 16th at 6:30 pm for the first Astronomy on Tap in Columbia, SC! We’ll have two talks, trivia, and prizes! Brought to you by USC and Bierkeller! #astronomyontap #AstroOnTap 🧪