Center for Axion and
Precision Physics Research

Director

Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research

Director Yannis K. Semertzidis

Director Yannis K. Semertzidis, a fellow of the American Physics Society and a tenured, senior physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, was appointed as director of the IBS research center in October 2013 in recognition of his experiments in precision particle physics and his experimental plan to search for the dark-matter axion. The IBS center was set up at KAIST with a new IBS building location already chosen to house the experiment and a number of other IBS centers at KAIST.

Until recently, he focused mainly on two experimental projects: one exploring the dark-matter axion, and another doing precision physics in storage rings including the muon g-2 experiment and searching for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of protons with unprecedented sensitivity. According to the theory of quantum mechanics (QM) the existence of the EDM of protons would violate the discrete symmetries of P-parity and T-time reversal symmetries. Those symmetries are linked to the matter-anti-matter asymmetry problem and an observed proton EDM will help solve that mystery.

Contact:  Yannis at kaist.ac.kr

Education

• 1987 - 1989

  PhD. In Physics, University of Rochester, NY, USA

• 1985 - 1987

  MSc. in Physics, University of Rochester, NY, USA

• 1979 - 1984

  BSc. in Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Experience

• October 2013 - Present

  Director of the Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research (CAPP), of IBS, at the KAIST Campus, Daejeon, Korea and Professor of Physics, KAIST

• September 2012

  Senior Scientist with Tenure, Department of Physics, BNL

• May 2011

  Lecturer at the Heilborn Symposium 2011, Northwestern University together with John Ellis of CERN, Paris Sphicas of CERN and University of Athens, and Laurie Littenberg of BNL : http://www.heilbornsymposium.northwestern.edu/2011/ The year’s theme was: “The Three Frontiers of Particle Physics”.

• March 2000 - 2013

  Tenured Physicist at BNL

• 1997 - February 2000

  Physicist, Department of Physics, BNL

• 1995 - 1997

  Associate Physicist, Department of Physics, BNL

• 1993 - 1995

  Fellow, PPE Division, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research, Switzerland)

• 1992 - 1995

  Assistant Physicist, Department of Physics, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY USA

• 1990 - 1992

  Research Associate in Physics, University of Rochester

Selected Publications

• rf Wien filter in an electric dipole moment storage ring: The “partially frozen spin” effect, William M. Morse, Yuri F. Orlov, and Yannis K. Semertzidis, Published 27 November 2013 (7 pages), Published in Phys.Rev.ST Accel.Beams 16 (2013) 114001 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.16.114001. Impact factor : 1.57. Selected as Editor’s choice.
• “Correcting systematic errors in high sensitivity deuteron polarization measurements”, N.P.M. Brantjes et al., Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A664, 49-64, 2012, cited three times. Impact factor : 1.109.
• “Prospects for searching Axion-like Dark Matter Particles with Dipole, Toroidal, and Wiggler Magnets”, O.K. Baker et al., Physical Rev. D85, 035018, 2012 ePrint: arXiv:1110.2180 [phys.ins-det], cited 14 times. Number of co-authors: 7. Impact factor 4.964.
• “Search for a permanent EDM of charged particles using storage rings”, Lee B. Roberts, James P. Miller and Yannis K. Semertzidis, Review article in “Lepton dipole moments, Advanced series on directions in high energy physics”, Lee B. Roberts and William J. Marciano eds., 2010, p. 655-682. Number of co-authors : 2.
• “Azimuthal Charged-Particle Correlations and Possible Local Strong Parity Violation”. STAR Collaboration (B.I. Abelev (Illinois U., Chicago) et al.). Sep 2009. 6 pp. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 (2009) 251601. e-Print: arXiv:0909.1739 [nucl-ex], cited 179 times. Impact factor : 7.328.
• “Improved limit on the muon electric dipole moment”, G.W. Bennett et al., Physical Review D80, 052008, 2009. e-Print Archive: arXiv/0811.1207. Number of co-authors: 75, cited 42 times. Impact factor : 4.964
• “Flavour physics of leptons and dipole moments”, M. Raidal et al., Eur.Phys.J. C57 (2008) 13-182. e-Print: arXiv:0801.1826 [hep-ph], cited 180 times. Impact factor : 3.248.
• “Resonant method of electric-dipole-moment measurements in storage rings”, Yuri F. Orlov, William M. Morse, Yannis K. Semertzidis, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 214802, 2006. e-Print: arXiv:0603175 [hep-ex], cited 41 times. Impact factor: 7.621. Number of coauthors : two.
• “A New Method of Measuring Electric Dipole Moments in Storage Rings”, F.J.M. Farley et al., Physical Review Letters 93, 052001, 2004. Number of co-authors: 8, cited 81 times. Impact factor : 7.218.
• “Final Report of the Muon E821 Anomalous Magnetic Moment Measurement at BNL”, G.W. Bennett et al., Physical Review D73, 072003, 2006. e-Print Archive: hepex/0602035. Number of co-authors: 75, cited 621 times. Impact factor : 4.964.
• “First results from the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST)”, K. Zioutas et al., Physical Review Letters 94, 121301, 2005. e-Print Archive: hep-ex/0411033. Number of co-authors: 67, cited 248 times. Impact factor : 7.218.
• “Measurement of the Negative Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment to 0.7 ppm”, G.W. Bennett et al., Physical Review Letters 92, 161802, 2004. e-Print Archive: hepex/0401008. Number of co-authors: 61, cited 500 times. Impact factor : 7.218.
• “The Brookhaven Muon g-2 Storage Ring High Voltage Quadrupoles”, Y.K. Semertzidis et al., N.I.M. A503, 458-484, 2003. Number of co-authors: 11, cited 20 times. Impact factor : 1.109.
• “New Laboratory Technique for Measuring the Photon Charge”, Y.K. Semertzidis, G.T. Danby, and D.M. Lazarus, Physical Rev. D67, 017701, 2003. Cited 7 times. Impact factor: 4.964. Number of co-authors : 2.
• “Electro-optical measurements of pico-second bunch length of a 45 MeV electron beam”, T. Tsang et al., Journal of Applied Physics 89, 4921-4926, 1 May 2001. Impact factor: 2.128. Number of co-authors : 8.
• “Precise Measurement of the Positive Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment” H.N. Brown et al., Physical Review Letters 86 2227-2231, 2001. Number of co-authors: 67, cited 628 times. Impact factor : 6.668.
• “Sensitive search for a permanent muon electric dipole moment”, Yannis K. Semertzidis et al., HIMUS Dec. 1998 proceedings KEK/Japan, cited 70 times. e-Print : 001287 [hep-ph].
• “Measurement of the Spin-Dependent Structure Function g1p(x) of the Proton”, D. Adams et al., Physics Letters B329, 399 (1994). Number of co-authors: 149, cited 518 times.
• “Search for Solar Axions”, D. Lazarus et al., Physical Review Letters 69, 2333 (1992). Number of co-authors: 6, cited 82 times. Impact factor: 7.621.
• “Limits on the Production of Scalar and Pseudo-scalar Particles”, Y. Semertzidis et al., Physical Review Letters 64, 2988 (1990). Number of co-authors: 9, cited 40 times. Impact factor: 7.621.
• “Results of a Laboratory Search for Cosmic Axions and Other Weakly-Coupled Light Particles”, W.U. Wuensch et al., Physical Review D40, 3153 (1989). Number of coauthors: 9, cited 95 times. Impact factor: 4.964.

Awards

• January 2005

  Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society citing the work on the muon g-2 experiment

• January 2003

  Recipient of the prestigious Brookhaven National Laboratory Science and Technology Award for contributions made to the muon g-2 experiment

Research

• 2013 - Present

  Director of the Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research with main goals to launch a competitive Axion Dark Matter Experiment in Korea, participate in state-of-the-art axion experiments around the world, play a leading role in the proposed proton electric-dipole-moment (EDM) experiment and take a significant role in storage-ring precision physics involving EDM and muon g-2 experiments

• 2009 - Present

  Spokesman and initiator of a proposal for a sensitive proton electric diplole moment (EDM) in storage rings using high intensity polarized beams. This approach of using storage rings to study the EDM of charged particles promises to probe popular models of physics beyond the Stardard Model, e.g. Supersymmetry (SUSY), with high sensitivity (>300TeV) and may elucidate the Baron-Antibaryon asymmetry in the Universe. The experiment, if successful at the level of 10-29e⋅cm will be the most sensitive experimental probe for CP-violation beyond the SM. We are preparing a proposal for a proton EDM experiment at Fermilab to be submitted by November 2014

• 2008 - Present

  Member of the new muon g-2 collaboration at FNAL. The experiment will be able to refute or confirm the current discrepancy between our experimental result and theory. If confirmed, it will be the best indication of Supersymmetry (SUSY) and will be able to place better constraints on certain SUSY parameters than the LHC. I am the electrostatic quadrupole system team leader and in charge of its upgrade. I have developed a tracking simulation program, which is accurate to sub-parts per billion in the g-2 frequency. In addition, our group is studying beam and spin dynamics, and the muon losses systematic errors

Committee Membership (Key Activities)

• 2012

  Member of the Scientific Program Advisory Committee for the International Workshop on EDM Searches at Storage Rings, held at Trento, Italy, October 1-5, 2012

• 2005 - 2008

  Co-convener for the WG on LFV and EDM plus g-2 of the “Flavour in the era of the LHC” series of workshops. We finished writing a report in three volumes including the physics reach of the flavor experiments

• 2005 - 2008

  I served as a member of the BNL RHIC/AGS Program Advisory Committee for a period of three years. This committee is charged with giving advice to the HENP Associate Lab Director on High Energy and Nuclear Physics proposals at BNL

• 2004

  Co-convener for WG4 of NuFact04: Muon Physics with Intense Beams. NuFact04: International Workshop on neutrino physics held in Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, July 26 - August 1, 2004

• 2003 - Present

  Member of the Scientific Program Advisory Committee for the International Symposium on Lepton Moments held in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, every two to three years since 2003

• 2001

  Co-organizer of the International Workshop held at BNL on the Future of the EDM Measurements of the Electron, Muon and Nucleon. Brookhaven National Laboratory, May 14-15, 2001