Raj Gandhi

Research Summary:

My research has mainly focussed on neutrino physics and the particle physics/astrophysics interface. As evidenced by the substantial number of ongoing and planned neutrino experiments (SuperKamiokande, SNO, Borexino, Kamland, AMANDA, BAIKAL, ICECUBE to name a few), this promises to be an area of substantial experimental and theoretical activity in the coming decade.

Over the past year I have been actively involved along with several other physicists in writing and preparing a proposal for a planned Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO). With Anindya Datta, I have done detailed studies of the physics possibilities and potential of the INO detector.This work is ongoing, and currently Poonam Mehta, a student from Delhi University, and Srubabati Goswami are also actively contributing to the INO effort at HRI.

With collaborators (A. Bandopadhyayay, S. Choubey, S. Goswami and D. P Roy) we have also performed a detailed analysis of KamLAND and global solar data, identifying the allowed parameter space which forms a much awaited solution to the longstanding solar neutrino problem.

I am also working on CPT ciolating solutions to the solar neutrino problem, with Poonam Mehta, Anindya Datta and Uma Sankar, and this work is close to completion.

With my student, Pomita Ghoshal, I am working on studies of the effects of muon polarization at neutino factories.

Publications:

R. Gandhi, K. Kar and S. Uma Sankar, Pramana 60, 405 (2003).

A. Bandyopadhyay, S. Choubey, R. Gandhi, S. Goswami and D. P. Roy, Phys. Lett. B 559, 121 (2003) [arXiv:hep-ph/0212146].

A. Bandyopadhyay, S. Choubey, R. Gandhi, S. Goswami and D. P. Roy, arXiv:hep-ph/0211266. (JHEP, to appear)

Preprints:

CPT violating solutions of the Solar Neutrino Problem with A. Datta, P. Mehta and S. Uma Sankar, in preparation.

Neutrino Physics with a Large Mass Iron Calorimeter, with A. Datta (in preparation)

Conference/Workshops Attended:

International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, Neutrino 2002 , Munich, May 2002.

Next Nucleon Decay and Neutrino Detector, NNN 02, Stony Brook, October 2002.

PASCOS, International Conference on Particles, Strings and Cosmology, TIFR, Mumbai, January 2003.

Invited Lectures/Seminars:

Lectures on Neutrino Physics, SERC School on High Energy Experimental Physics, SINP, Kolkatta, September 2002.

Physics at INO, Collaboration Meeting, SINP, Kolkatta,

Other Activities:

Over the last two years, I have been actively involved in all aspects of the planning and proposal preparation for the Indian Neutrino Observatory (INO) as a Core Committee (CC) member. This has involved several meetings with other CC members (N Mondal, G Rajasekaran, M V Murthy) to discuss and take decisions on (with consultation from other senior physicists, and directors of various institutes and Scientific Advisors to the collaboration) detector choices, site surveys, planning, cost analyses in addition to exploring the physics to be done with INO.

I am guiding Pomita Ghoshal, a graduate student at HRI, who has just begun her research work, and also have been working with Poonam Mehta, a Delhi University student who is close to completing her thesis and has spent a large amount of time at HRI working on neutrino physics.

I have worked on the National Organizing committee for PASCOS. I also taught the Particle Physics course during Fall 2002.

Finally, I have convened and/or served on institute committees.