Eventi INFN Sezione di Bari

Recent progress on the application of machine learning in holographic QCD will be presented. Within the holographic framework, the extra radial dimension of the bulk spacetime geometrically encodes the renormalization group scale of the boundary quantum field theory. Inspired by the structural similarity between holography and deep neural networks, machine learning provides new tools to study strongly coupled QCD in a data-driven way.

Several applications will be discussed, including parameter optimization in holographic models, uncertainty quantification through Bayesian inference, solving inverse problems by reconstructing bulk dynamics from QCD observables, and discovering analytical relations using symbolic regression. These developments demonstrate that machine learning can significantly improve the predictive power and flexibility of holographic QCD models and may provide new insights into strongly coupled quantum field theories.

Speaker: Xun Chen (Assegnista INFN Bari)

When: 13 March 2026 at 10:30

Where: Aula Multimediale (Dipartimento di Fisica)

Although the gravitational effects of Dark Matter (DM) are firmly established across a wide range of astrophysical and cosmological observations, its particle nature remains unknown, as no definitive evidence for non-gravitational interactions has yet emerged despite decades of experimental searches. In this framework, the sub-GeV mass range remains largely unexplored due to the limited sensitivity of current direct-detection experiments to low-energy nuclear recoils.

In this talk, I will discuss how the study of the interactions between high-energy Cosmic Rays (CRs) and dark matter provides a novel pathway to probe light DM particles. I will show that CR-DM scatterings occurring in astrophysical environments can modify the CR transport, leaving observable signatures in the gamma-ray emission produced during their propagation. In particular, I will examine the impact of CR–DM interactions in two astrophysical settings. First, I will focus on starburst galaxies, which act as efficient cosmic-ray reservoirs and prominent sources of high-energy gamma rays. I will then consider active galactic nuclei, where relativistic jets accelerate particles to extreme energies and generate broadband electromagnetic emission. Hence, I will discuss the resulting constraints on DM properties and demonstrate how these astrophysical probes can complement and extend current experimental searches into previously inaccessible regions of parameter space.

Speaker: Marco Chianese (Scuola Superiore Meridionale & INFN Napoli)

When: 24 March 2026, at 15:15

Where: Aula Multimediale (Dipartimento di Fisica)

Neutrino physics with accelerator neutrino beams is on the verge of a new era, driven by the imminent construction of second-generation experiments such as Hyper-Kamiokande and DUNE, expected to come online within the next few years. This presentation will provide an overview of our current understanding of neutrino oscillations and of the key open questions that Hyper-Kamiokande is designed to address.

The experiment is based on a multi-megawatt, high-intensity muon-neutrino beam produced on the Pacific coast of Japan and directed toward a newly constructed water Cherenkov detector located 295 km away. The far detector will have an unprecedented fiducial mass of approximately 260 kton and is currently in a crucial phase of construction, with Italian institutes playing a major role in its realization.

Hyper-Kamiokande will, for the first time, make it possible to probe the value of the so-called CP-violating phase with high statistical precision, shedding light on the symmetry properties of neutrino and antineutrino oscillations. Owing to its large mass, the experiment will also enable the study of neutrinos from supernova explosions as distant as the Andromeda galaxy, as well as searches for proton decay with sensitivities far beyond current limits, potentially leading also to unexpected discoveries.

Speaker: Andrea Longhin (INFN & Universita’ di Padova)

When: 12 May 2026, at 15:15

Where: Aula Multimediale (Dipartimento di Fisica)