Contact
Name
Marco Drewes

Position
Academic staff

Email
marco.drewes@uclouvain.be

Address
Centre for Cosmology, Particle Physics and Phenomenology - CP3
Université catholique de Louvain
2, Chemin du Cyclotron - Box L7.01.05
B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
Belgium

Phone
+32 10 473232

Office
E.248

Personal homepage
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0521-7586

UCL member card
http://www.uclouvain.be/marco.drewes
People responsibilities
Postdocs
Juraj Klaric (IISN - NA62) (member since October 2021)
Jamie McDonald (UCL-FSR) (member since November 2020)
I have worked on various topics at the intersection of early universe cosmology, particle physics and astroparticle physics, these include leptogenesis, curved space QFT, inflation, superradiance, axions/ALPs and axion dark matter in particular in the context of compact objects, e.g. neutron stars. My work at CP3 focuses principally on neutrinos.
Isabel Oldengott
My research focuses on the intersection between particle physics and cosmology. By applying Monte Carlo methods on cosmological data of e.g. the cosmic microwave background or the large scale structure of the Universe I constrain theories of physics beyond the standard model. I am particularly interested in aspects of neutrino physics like non-standard interactions or large lepton asymmety but I also have a strong interest in the even less understood particle content of the Universe, namely dark matter.
Sebastian Zell (IISN) (member since October 2022)
My research revolves around open questions at the interface of particle physics and cosmology. I am particularly interested in dark matter – a yet unknown form of matter – as well as inflation – an early phase of exponential expansion in our Universe. For addressing these issues, I employ (primordial) black holes, sterile neutrinos, axions and inflationary scenarios driven by the Higgs fields. Close connections exist with various other topics, which range from classical and quantum aspects of gravity, scale symmetry as well as infrared physics to the mass scales of Nature, quantum information and analogue gravity.

PhD students
Mubarak Abdallah (UCL-CAI) (member since April 2021)
Yannis Georis (Other - FSR 2021) (member since October 2021)
Working on potential explanations for the origin of Baryonic and Dark matter. I focus on extensions of the Standard Model with "light" particles, e.g. particles having a mass at the MeV to TeV scale for which thermal corrections are crucial.
Valentin Weber
I am currently working on light hidden sector Dark Matter (including sterile neutrinos and ALPs). The main focus of this work lies on the Dark Matter production in the early universe, in particular on the computation of thermal corrections to the product during freeze-in. I want to make more reliable predictions for the relic density in such models, which can be tested in experiments.

Master students

Visitors
Michele Lucente (member since January 2016)
I work on extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics aimed at accounting for the observed neutrino masses and flavour mixing, the origin of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe and the nature of dark matter. I am currently developing a new computer tool (MadbaM) devoted to precision computations of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe in beyond the Standard Model realisations.

Interns

Former members
Research statement
Many properties of the cosmos that we observe today can be understood as the result of quantum processes in the hot and dense plasma that filled the universe in the first moments after the "big bang". This allows cosmologists to understand the history of the observable universe in terms of elementary particles and the fundamental interactions between them. On the other hand, the extreme conditions in the primordial plasma allow particle physicists to test their ideas in an environment that cannot be created in the laboratory. With our research, we exploit this mutual benefit to learn about both, the fundamental laws of nature and how they shaped the cosmos that we live in.
Projects
Research directions:
Cosmology and General Relativity
Phenomenology of elementary particles
Theories of the fundamental interactions

Active projects
Neutrino Masses as a Key to New Physics
Marco Drewes, Yannis Georis, Juraj Klaric, Michele Lucente

We study the perspectives to probe the origin of neutrino mass with existing or near future experiments. The focus lies on low scale seesaw scenarios involving heavy right handed neutrinos. We are also interested in cosmological implications, such as leptogenesis or connections to Dark Matter.
Neutrinos in the Early Universe
Marco Drewes, Jamie McDonald, Isabel Oldengott

We study the production and interactions of neutrinos in the primordial plasma from first principles of quantum field theory. This includes Standard Model computations such as QED corrections to Neff as well as constraints on new neutrinos species from cosmology and astrophysics.
New Paths to Hidden Sectors
Marco Drewes, Andrea Giammanco, Juraj Klaric

We study the perspectives to search for new long lived particles with existing accelerator facilities. This includes searches for non-standard signatures at the LHC main detectors, fixed target experiments and searches in heavy ion collisions.
New Physics in compact stars
Marco Drewes, Jamie McDonald

We investigate constraints on the properties of new elementary particles from the observation of compact stars.
Non-thermal Dark Matter
Marco Drewes, Yannis Georis, Juraj Klaric, Valentin Weber

We study the production of Dark Matter from non-thermal initial states in the early universe, e.g., in freeze-in scenarios. A focus of the project lies in the computation of thermal corrections.
Scalar Fields in the Early Universe
Mubarak Abdallah, Marco Drewes

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of scalar fields in the early universe in the framework of the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. We are interested in several applications, including inflation, reheating, Dark Matter production and the fate of the Higgs field in the early universe.
Testable Baryogenesis
Marco Drewes, Yannis Georis, Juraj Klaric, Michele Lucente

We study the perspectives to probe the origin of baryonic matter in the observable universe with laboratory experiments. Currently the focus lies on low scale leptogenesis scenarios. A key element of our approach lies in the description of CP violating nonequilibrium processes in the early universe from first principles of nonequilibrium quantum field theory.
Publications in IRMP
All my publications on Inspire

Number of publications as IRMP member: 49
Last 5 publications

2023

IRMP-CP3-23-17: LiteBIRD and CMB-S4 Sensitivities to Reheating in Plateau Models of Inflation
Drewes, Marco and Ming, Lei and Oldengott, Isabel

[Abstract] [PDF]
46 pages plus appendices, 43 figures
Refereed paper. March 24.

2022

IRMP-CP3-22-52: Distinguishing Dirac and Majorana Heavy Neutrinos at Lepton Colliders
Drewes, Marco

[Abstract] [PDF]
Contribution to the proceedings of the ICHEP2022 conference.
Contribution to proceedings. November 9.
CP3-22-41: Connecting Cosmic Inflation to Particle Physics with LiteBIRD, CMB S4, EUCLID and SKA
Drewes, Marco and Ming, Lei

[Abstract] [PDF]
Refereed paper. August 30.
CP3-22-35: New Benchmark Models for Heavy Neutral Lepton Searches
Drewes, Marco and Klari\'c, Juraj and L\'opez-Pav\'on, Jacobo

[Abstract] [PDF]
Report for the PBC working group on HNLs
July 8.
CP3-22-23: Low-scale leptogenesis with flavour and CP symmetries
Drewes, Marco and Georis, Yannis and Hagedorn, Claudia and Klari\'c, Juraj

[Abstract] [PDF] [Journal] [Dial]
66 pages, 41 figures, 10 tables
Refereed paper. March 17.

More publications