Anil Kumar
I am a Post-doctoral researcher at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen, Germany. The field of my research is high-energy physics, which deals with particles that have energy in the range of GeV and above. In high-energy physics, I am currently working on neutrino oscillations using the IceCube experiment, which is located deep inside the Antarctic Ice at the South Pole. IceCube detects neutrinos by observing the Cherenkov light emitted by secondary charged particles, which are produced during neutrino interactions. Cherenkov photons are detected by Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) that are embedded on the vertical strings inside Ice. The central region of the detector is known as DeepCore, where DOMs are densely spaced. I have worked on the precision measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters using DeepCore data. Currently, I am working on the search for a physics scenario beyond the Standard Model (BSM) using DeepCore, where neutrinos can decay into particles that remain invisible in the detector.
In the past, I was a research scholar at the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), where I worked on physics simulation studies of neutrino oscillations using atmospheric neutrinos at an Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector at INO. I explored the potential of ICAL to probe the BSM scenario, such as non-standard neutrino interactions, Lorentz invariance violation, non-unitarity of neutrino mixing, etc. While passing through Earth, atmospheric neutrinos undergo charged-current interactions with the ambient electrons inside Earth, giving rise to a potential known as the matter effect. Since this matter effect depends upon the density of electrons inside Earth, it can be used to obtain information about the density distribution inside Earth. This methodology is known as the neutrino oscillation tomography of Earth. I studied how atmospheric neutrinos at ICAL can be used as a tool to probe the internal structure of Earth. In the experimental part, I have also worked on detector response for the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), where I investigated the effect of the non-uniformity of the graphite layer on the detector response of RPC.
In physics, I like neutrinos, simulations, astronomy, astrophysics, and quantum physics. I also like to play with electronics and circuits.