Curriculum
APPOINTMENTS
2025/today: RTDA - Young Researcher grant, Sapienza Università di Roma
2024/25: Assegno di Ricerca - Seal of SapiExcellence grant, Sapienza Università di Roma
2024/24: Assegno di Ricerca - Senior, INFN
2021/23: Senior Research Fellow, CERN
2017/21: Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Oklahoma
EDUCATION
2013/17: PhD in Physics, Sapienza University of Rome - Excellent
2011/13: Master's degree (MSc) in Physics, Sapienza University of Rome - 110 cum laude
2008/11: Bachelor's degree (BSc) in Physics, University of L'Aquila - 110 cum laude
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
2025: Seal of Excellence, ‘DarkJetTracking’ - Horizon Europe MSCA
2024: Premio “Ettore Pancini” prize - Società Italiana di Fisica
(5 k€)
for fundamental contributions to new physics searches in ATLAS and the development of a
displaced track reconstruction algorithm, advancing the search for long-lived particles
2024: Seal of Excellence, ‘AnomalousJetTagger’ - Horizon Europe MSCA
2022: ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Award (AOAA): “For the integration of large-radius tracking into the standard ATLAS reconstruction”
2017: Springer PhD Thesis Award, Sapienza Università di Roma, published on Springer (500 €)
2016: CERN Associate position (48k CHF)
2015: “Pietro Blaserna” prize, Sapienza University of Rome (1k €)
2015: Premio “Wanted The Best”, Sapienza Università di Roma (3.3k €)
2013: Premio Società Italiana di Fisica (1.7k €)
GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS
2024: “AnomalousJetTagger” project - Young researchers, Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca (208 k€)
2024: Seal of SapiExcellence, Sapienza Università di Roma (50 k€)
2016: Cooperation Associate position, CERN and INFN (48 kCHF)
2012: Summer student, MEG experiment (3.3 kCHF)
2005: Extreme Energy Events, CERN and INFN (600 €)
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Over the past few years, I gained an extensive overview of the physics programme at collider experiments, with a main focus on searching for beyond the Standard Model (BSM) Higgs decays, dark matter (DM) and long-lived particles (LLPs). I developed tracking reconstruction algorithms and hardware technologies outside ATLAS.
Data analysis in ATLAS
I led the first study of the tensorial spin-0 structure of the decay amplitude of the Higgs in the h→ZZ*→4l channel. The results based on the Run 1 data provided the most stringent results of the spin-CP Higgs properties, confirming the SM expectations. I also provided the sensitivity projections for HL-LHC.
I was the main analyser (MA) of all the mono-jet searches based on Run 2 data, serving as the analysis contact (AC) for the legacy Run 2 analysis and producing the inputs for the European Strategy. This is the most sensitive channel for a wide range of models predicting ‘invisible’ particles in the final state. As a convener of the Jet and Dark Matter subgroup, I deepened and expanded the DM investigation, reviewing and approving 10 analyses now public. I served as the AC of the legacy combination of searches for Higgs to invisible decays, setting the most stringent limit to date on such a branching ratio, and contributed to several DM and dark sector combinations. To widen the search for DM and NP, I led searches for hidden sectors foreseeing BSM Higgs decays in LLP within the ATLAS ID. At first, exploiting the performance of b−tagging algorithm, and then, designing a novel analysis strategy focused on reconstructing large radius tracks (LRT) and displaced vertices, I filled a gap in the proper lifetime of NP candidates still unexplored. In the last years, I expanded my focus on dark QCD scenarios and led the first searches for semi-visible jets in ATLAS. I coordinated the first search emerging jet based on 2022-23 Run 3 data and I am developing a new model-agnostic search strategy using anomaly detection techniques to tag anomalous jet using track information. I am currently the convener of the ATLAS Exotics physics group, including about 75 active analyses and 600 ATLAS members.
Collaborations outside ATLAS
I am a long-term member of the DM and LLP LHC working groups (WGs), composed of theoretical and experimental physicists, to establish guidelines and benchmark signals for searches performed at LHC experiments. I participated into the Snowmass Energy Frontier effort to define a guideline for future perspectives of DM and dark shower searches. I am now the convener of the novel Prompt BSM LHC WG aiming at harmonising the LHC search programme which complements the DM and LLP signatures and including scenarios such as leptoquarks, vector-like fermions, supersymmetry, anomaly detection.
I played a key role as a MA in measuring the cosmic muon flux with the Cosmic Ray Cube detector at Mt. Soratte. The project combines outreach activities with the scientific purpose of providing the mountain tomography.
Algorithms development - I developed the novel LRT reconstruction algorithm, for which I was awarded the ‘ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Award’ and the ‘Pancini’ prize. It allowed for reducing fake displaced tracks by a factor of 20 with respect to the past. This impacted dramatically the CPU time and disk-space consumption allowing its integration into the standard ATLAS online and offline reconstruction chains for the first time, a game changer for the next generation of LLP searches. I also characterised the secondary vertex reconstruction algorithm to detect the LLP decay products. Currently, I am developing an innovative Level-0 muon trigger algorithm for HL-LHC, employing a GNN integrated on FPGAs to further expand the ATLAS upgrade programme.
Hardware & Detectors
I joined the MATHUSLA experiment project, a detector proposal to broaden the exploration of LLPs at HL-LHC, characterising a variety of SiPMs coupled to scintillators. I played a key role in the MALTA project characterising radiation-hard monolithic pixels sensors, initially designed for the ATLAS ITk upgrade and future collider applications. I also estimated the resolution of the MALTA telescope based on six chips permanently installed at SPS at CERN and used by several ATLAS upgrade projects.
EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
2025: Paper editor - Run 3 emerging jet search.
2022/2023: Paper editor - MALTA telescope resolution.
2022/2023: Paper editor - reconstruction of high impact parameter tracks in ATLAS
2021: Public note editor - ATL-PHYS-PUB-2021-020
2018/21: Editorial Board Member - JHEP 02 (2021) 226
2018: Public note editor - ATL-PHYS-PUB-2018-043
Journal Reviewer
2024: Journal of High Energy Physics
2022: Referee of Proceedings SIF - New Cim. C 45 (2022) 5, 107
RESPONSIBILITIES & COORDINATION ACTIVITIES IN ATLAS
2025/today: Convener of the Exotics analysis group in ATLAS (~600 authors and 75 analyses).
2025/today: Convener of the Prompt BSM LHC WG.
2022/2025: Coordinator of the Run 3 emerging jet analysis (~20 members).
2021/2023: Coordinator of the analysis (~30 authors) of combining searches for invisible Higgs boson decays.
2020/22: Convener of the 'Jets and Dark Matter' subgroup (~150 authors and 20 analyses).
2019/21: Tracking liaison - contact person for the Exotics group of the track reconstruction algorithm
2017/22: Coordinator of the mono-jet analysis (~20 authors)
2019: Inner detector shifter in the control room.
2016/today: Expert on-call - Muon / B-physics High Level Trigger
Contributions at conferences & workshops, and seminars
I had about 15 (4) oral presentations at international (national) conferences/workshops, including 1 invited talk, and 4 talks invited by the ATLAS speakers committee. I also contributed to 4 poster sessions
As a member of the scientific committee, I organised and chaired 4 sessions at international workshops.
I gave 3 seminars and I am a co-organiser of the Young@INFN seminar series for young researchers at Sapienza.
SUPERVISION, & TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Student supervision: 4 PhD, 4 MSc, 3 BSc - CERN, University of Oklahoma, Sapienza Università di Roma
2024: 'Searching for Dark Matter', CERN - ATLAS lecture series
2022: PhD thesis External referee, IFAE, Barcelona