Xiao Luo

Xiao Luo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a position he has held since July 2019. His research focuses on particle physics, particularly neutrino physics, using advanced liquid argon detector technologies.

His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Physics from Boston University (2009-2015), a B.S. from Nanjing University (2005-2009), and a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University (2015-2019).

Professor Luo's research centers on fundamental particle interactions with emphasis on neutrino properties and detection. He leads experimental efforts in major international collaborations including Fermilab's Short Baseline Neutrino program (SBN), Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), MicroBooNE, and ProtoDUNE at CERN. His work investigates physics beyond the Standard Model through liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) technologies, focusing on anomalies like the Low-Energy-Excess and neutrino mass mechanisms.

His group has produced significant results published in Physical Review Letters and Physical Review D, particularly regarding neutrino interaction cross-sections and detector calibration techniques. Recent work emphasizes advancing liquid argon capabilities for next-generation experiments.

He has received prestigious recognition including:

• Department of Energy Early Career Award (2022)
• Hellman Fellowship (2022)

Professor Luo mentors four graduate students (Erin Yandel, Nate Kaneshige, Madeleine, and Bow Jun Leibovitch) and supervises postdoc Dante Totani. His research is supported by a 5-year DOE Early Career Award for new physics searches and a Hellman Foundation grant for muon-to-positron conversion experiments. The group maintains active collaborations with Fermilab and CERN.

The Luo research group operates within UCSB's high-energy physics infrastructure, with direct access to the CERN Neutrino Platform. Current initiatives include Xe-doping analysis for ProtoDUNE, SBND detector development, and DUNE prototype studies. Future directions involve rare process searches to resolve the neutrino mass puzzle and novel detector technologies for precision neutrino measurements.