Yoshihara's Lab, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Research

My research focuses on advancing particle physics and detector technologies, exploring phenomena beyond the Standard Model. Here, you can find an overview of my current projects and past contributions to large-scale international experiments.

Current Research

  1. R&D for iTOP Electronics for the Belle II Upgrade (04/2024 - Present): Addressing the high-temperature challenges in iTOP modules to prevent quantum efficiency degradation in photosensors. We collaborate with Nalu Scientific LLC to design low-power ASICs with potential applications in astrophysics and particle physics experiments.
  2. Development of Beam Diagnosis System (06/2021 - Present): Designing systems to analyze significant beam losses at SuperKEKB. By integrating fast loss monitors and GPS-synchronized White Rabbit timing, we identified the origin of beam losses and continue to investigate underlying mechanisms.
  3. New Physics Search in Electroweak Penguin Diagrams: Probing flavour-changing neutral-current (FCNC) transitions such as b → sll, b → dll, and b → sgamma. These rare processes, suppressed in the Standard Model, provide insights into potential new physics effects.

Past Research

  1. Belle II Run Coordination (05/2020 - 04/2023): Oversaw daily SuperKEKB/Belle II operations as Deputy Run Coordinator. Responsibilities included collaborating with the accelerator group, resolving detector issues, and preparing manuals for Belle II Commissioning Group (BCG) shifts.
  2. Beam Background Mitigation with Movable Collimator (03/2020 - 06/2022): Optimized vacuum collimator settings to minimize beam backgrounds while maintaining injection efficiency and beam lifetime, ensuring stable operation under changing conditions.
  3. KLM Operation (02/2020 - 03/2021): Reduced readout system errors (e.g., ttlost and b2llost) by 90% through optimized cable configurations and grounding improvements. Developed an online monitoring system using Elasticsearch for hardware diagnostics.
  4. Supersymmetry Searches at LHC-ATLAS (10/2014 - 04/2020): Conducted searches for top-quark superpartners (stop) and Higgsinos, leveraging advanced machine learning methods to improve detection sensitivity.
  5. TRT Detector Operation at LHC-ATLAS (02/2016 - 01/2019): Managed the ATLAS TRT detector's full readout chain, achieving near-100% operational efficiency even under high luminosity and pileup conditions.
  6. Higgs to WW∗ Analysis (05/2011 - 09/2014): Contributed to the discovery of the Higgs boson by improving systematic uncertainty in fake-lepton background estimation. Introduced a data-driven template method for low-pT electron measurements, increasing signal significance by 18%.