Conveners
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-1
- Edward Nkadimeng (University of Witwatersrand)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-2
- Arnab Laha (University of the Witwatersrand)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-3
- Mukesh Kumar
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-4
- Arnab Laha (University of the Witwatersrand)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-5
- Phuti Rapheeha (University of the Witwatersrand)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-6
- Edward Nkadimeng (University of Witwatersrand)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-7
- Mpho Gololo (University of Johannesburg)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-8
- Mpho Gololo (University of Johannesburg)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-9 Division Meeting
- Mukesh Kumar
- Sifiso Ntshangase (University of Zululand)
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-10
- There are no conveners in this block
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-11
- There are no conveners in this block
Nuclear, Particle and Radiation Physics -2: Session-12
- There are no conveners in this block
-
Phodiso Maroeshe (School of Physics and Institute for Collider Particle Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa)07/07/2026, 09:30Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Searches for new resonances at hadron colliders are typically optimized for benchmark models and high transverse momentum final states in order to suppress large Standard Model backgrounds. However, potential signals of new physics may appear in less explored regions of phase space where traditional analyses may have reduced sensitivity. This project investigates the use weak supervision in...
Go to contribution page -
Dr Mukesh Kumar07/07/2026, 09:50Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
We study the radiative decay $S \to W^{+}W^{-}\gamma$, motivated by the multi-lepton anomalies at the LHC and by the emergence of a statistically significant narrow scalar resonance at $152 \pm 1$~GeV in the $\gamma\gamma$, $Z\gamma$, and $W^{+}W^{-}$ channels in association with leptons, missing transverse momentum, and $(b)$-jets. This motivates a search for a corresponding excess in the...
Go to contribution page -
Thabo James Lepota (University of the Witwatersrand)07/07/2026, 10:10Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Dark photons ($Z_D$) with direct vector ($g_V$) and axial ($g_A$) couplings to Standard Model (SM) fermions provide a well-motivated portal to physics beyond the SM. In contrast to kinetic mixing scenarios, which are strongly constrained, models with direct fermion couplings can remain consistent with current experimental limits. The top quark, as the heaviest SM fermion, offers a sensitive...
Go to contribution page -
Karabo Mosala (University of the Witwatersrand)07/07/2026, 11:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Future electron-proton ($e^- p$) colliders offer a clean and sensitive environment to probe Axion-Like Particle (ALP) interactions with the top quark via single anti-top production in association with an ALP, $e^- p \to \bar{t}~a_x~\nu_e$. We investigate the precision with which the ALP-top quark coupling $C_{a\bar{t}}/f_{a}$ and the ALP-photon coupling $C_{a\gamma}/f_{a}$ can be constrained,...
Go to contribution page -
Thapelo Gerry Leboho (University of Witwatersrand)07/07/2026, 11:20Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
We investigate the sensitivity to charged Higgs interactions in single anti-top production at the proposed \textit{Large Hadron Electron Collider} (LHeC) via the process $e^- p \to \bar{t}\,\nu_e$. Within the real $Y=0$ scalar triplet model ($\Delta$SM), the charged Higgs $H^+$ contributes as a t-channel mediator, inducing characteristic deviations from the Standard Model expectation. This...
Go to contribution page -
Edward Nkadimeng (University of the Witwatersrand)07/07/2026, 11:40Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
We investigate the sensitivity to anomalous Higgs couplings through di-Higgs production at the proposed Large Hadron Muon Collider (LH$\mu$C), which collides 500~GeV (1~TeV) muons with 7~TeV protons at center-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s} \approx 3.74$ (5.3)~TeV. Using the charged-current process $\mu^{+}p \rightarrow hhj\nu_{\mu}$, we probe the sensitivity of the Standard Model Higgs...
Go to contribution page -
Dr Mukesh Kumar07/07/2026, 12:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
We investigate the sensitivity of future electron-proton colliders to anomalous $t \bar{t} \gamma$ interactions throught the photo-production process $\gamma p \to t \bar{t}$ where the photon is radiated from the incoming electron beam, and the neutral-current process $e^{-} p \to e^{-} t \bar{t}$ where the photon is exchanged between one of the top-quarks and the incident electron beam. We...
Go to contribution page -
Roja Rimer07/07/2026, 14:40Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The search for dark matter motivates searches for new particles beyond the Standard Model (SM), such as the dark photon $\gamma_d$. The work described in this presentation focuses on the search for massless $\gamma_d$ via a hypothetical Higgs boson decay $H\rightarrow Z+\gamma_d$, with $Z\rightarrow l^+l^-$. The non-interacting nature of the dark photon would give arise to a missing...
Go to contribution page -
Arnab Laha (University of the Witwatersrand)07/07/2026, 15:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The Standard Model (SM) encapsulates our best understanding of fundamental particles and their interactions. While it is remarkably successful in describing experimental data, it fails to account for several fundamental observations, including the nature of dark matter. This has motivated extensive exploration of physics beyond the SM, particularly models involving a hidden or Dark Sector (DS)...
Go to contribution page -
Bralyne Vanessa Kamga Matoukam (University of The Witwatersrand)07/07/2026, 15:20Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) records and processes large amounts of data from proton-proton collisions. With the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the data volume is expected to increase by more than an order of magnitude, posing new challenges for storage, data throughput, and analysis scalability.
Go to contribution page
To meet this challenge, ATLAS is transitioning to... -
Kevin Barends (University of Cape Town)08/07/2026, 09:50Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The production of a top quark in association with a Z and W boson (tWZ) is a rare Standard Model process that provides a sensitive probe of top quark electroweak couplings and constitutes an important background to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. This contribution presents a study of the sensitivity to tWZ production in the four-lepton (4โ) final state with the ATLAS...
Go to contribution page -
Nkosiphendule Njara08/07/2026, 10:10Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The Paarl Africa Underground Laboratory (PAUL), which will be located in the Huguenot Tunnel under the Du Toitskloof Mountains near Cape Town, South Africa, is Africa's first underground facility specifically for rare-event physics. The site has about 800 m of rock overburden, which protects it from cosmic rays and makes it possible to look for dark matter. Previous GEANT4 studies and...
Go to contribution page -
Baballo-Victor Ndhlovu (University of the Witwatersrand)08/07/2026, 11:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
In this work, we study the sensitivity of a diphoton analysis to potential resonant signals using ATLAS Run-3 data and Monte Carlo (MC) simulated samples. The analysis focuses on optimising event selection and object identification, including studies of electron identification working points and event-level requirements, to improve discrimination between MC signal and Standard Model...
Go to contribution page -
Mr Vuyolwethu Happyboy Kakancu (School of Physics and Institute for Collider Particle Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa)08/07/2026, 11:20Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Searches for di-photon resonances at the ATLAS experiment in the intermediate mass range of $130-200\,\mathrm{GeV}$ remain largely unexplored, with previous studies primarily focusing on the low-mass $66-110\,\mathrm{GeV}$ and high-mass $200-3000\,\mathrm{GeV}$ regions. In this work, we investigate the $\gamma\gamma + 1\tau^{\mathrm{had}}$ final state in the intermediate-mass region,...
Go to contribution page -
Kgothatso Ntumbe (Universitty of the Witwatersrand(ZA))08/07/2026, 11:40Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
A study of the background composition and modelling in a search for scalar resonances in the diphoton-plus-muon ($\gamma\gamma + 1\mu$) final state is presented, using $164~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at $\sqrt{s} = 13.6~\mathrm{TeV}$ during 2022--2024 LHC Run~3 operations. Events are selected by requiring two isolated photons with...
Go to contribution page -
Njokweni Mbuyiswa (University of the Witwatersrand)08/07/2026, 12:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Motivated by persistent Run-1 and Run-2 anomalies, including an excess near $m_{\gamma\gamma}\approx152\pm1~$GeV with combined ATLAS and CMS significance of 5.5$\sigma$ (5.3$\sigma$ global), this analysis searches for scalar resonances in diphoton final states with leptons using 2022โ2024 ATLAS $pp$ data corresponding to 164 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=13.6~$TeV. To support this search, a dedicated...
Go to contribution page -
Thapelo Gerry Leboho (University of Witwatersrand)08/07/2026, 14:50Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Despite the rich physics potential of the intermediate diphoton mass range of 130-200\,GeV, this regime remains one of the least constrained at the ATLAS experiment, motivating dedicated searches in the $\gamma\gamma + 0\ell1\tau$ final state. This work presents a study using Run~3 ATLAS data recorded between 2022 and 2024 at $\sqrt{s} = 13.6$\,TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of...
Go to contribution page -
Phuti Rapheeha (University of the Witwatersrand)08/07/2026, 15:10Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Motivated by multi-lepton anomalies reported in the literature, which suggest the possible existence of a new scalar resonance with a mass around 150~$\pm$~2 GeV, this analysis searches for resonances decaying into two photons produced in association with leptons. Phenomenological studies indicate a significant excess in the diphoton spectrum at $152\pm 2$ GeV, as well as deviations in final...
Go to contribution page -
Nkosiphendule Njara08/07/2026, 15:30Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
High-energy physics (HEP) experiments operate in data-intensive environments characterised by high event rates, complex detector systems, and the need to extract rare signals from significant backgrounds. This has led to the development of well-established methodologies for data acquisition, event selection, statistical inference, and large-scale data processing. In this work, we explore the...
Go to contribution page -
Karabo Tau (University of the Witwatersrand (ZA))09/07/2026, 09:30Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The High Granularity Timing Detector (HGTD) is a key upgrade to the ATLAS experiment for the High-Luminosity LHC, designed to mitigate the effects of high pile-up through precision timing measurements. The detector will be installed between the barrel and end-cap calorimeters, covering the pseudorapidity region $2.4 < |\eta| < 4.0$, and is based on Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGADs) with a...
Go to contribution page -
Thabo James Lepota (University of the Witwatersrand)09/07/2026, 09:50Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The High Granularity Timing Detector (HGTD) in the ATLAS experiment is designed to provide precision timing measurements for charged particle tracks in the forward region, enabling enhanced pileup mitigation at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). In this study, we investigate the integration of HGTD timing information into the Charged Hadron Subtraction (CHS) procedure within...
Go to contribution page -
Lehlohonolo Moloi (Student)09/07/2026, 10:10Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
Air quality profoundly impacts human health, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions like South Africa, where pollution from industrial and vehicular sources poses significant risks. Recent reviews highlight Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks as superior for modeling temporal dependencies in air quality data, outperforming traditional methods in pollution forecasting. Building on these...
Go to contribution page -
Edward Nkadimeng (University of the Witwatersrand)09/07/2026, 11:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) is a sampling hadronic calorimeter covering the central region of the ATLAS experiment, with steel as the absorber and plastic scintillators as the active medium. The High-Luminosity phase of the LHC, delivering five times the LHCโs nominal instantaneous luminosity, is expected to begin in 2029. TileCal will require new electronics to meet the requirements of a 1...
Go to contribution page -
Lungisani Phakathi (University of Witwatersrand)09/07/2026, 11:20Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The Phase-II upgrade of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider will also comprise the new finger Low Voltage Power Supply (fLVPS) boards to satisfy the new requirements on radiation tolerance, reliability and performance of the device. University of Witwatersrand in South Africa share the production of 2048 fLVPS boards with UTA in America....
Go to contribution page -
Donald Ngobeni09/07/2026, 11:40Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is undergoing a major upgrade to increase its luminosity, initiating the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The Phase-II upgrade of the ATLAS detector involves a complete upgrade of the Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) readout electronics to withstand higher radiation levels, increased trigger rates, and elevated pile-up conditions. This upgrade includes...
Go to contribution page -
Karabo Mosala (University of the Witwatersrand)09/07/2026, 12:00Track B - Nuclear, Particle and Radiation PhysicsOral Presentation
A study of the response, uniformity, and time stability of the E-cells of the ATLAS Tile Calorimeter is presented using isolated muons from $Z \to \mu\mu$ events in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13.6$~TeV. The E-cells, located in the gap and crack regions, measure the energy deposited in passive material and require dedicated calibration. This study provides an independent muon-based...
Go to contribution page