Weak decays of heavy hadrons provide an excellent way to test the flavour and QCD structure of the SM. In this talk, I will present recent results and ongoing work on the study of both inclusive and exclusive decays, in both the beauty and charm sectors. Specifically, I will start by discussing the current status of the heavy quark expansion (HQE) and its application to the study of heavy hadron lifetimes. Then, I will describe the analysis of non-leptonic two body $B$- and $D$-meson decays using the framework of light-cone sum rules (LCSR), in light of the observed tensions in channels like $B^0 \to D^+ K^-$, and of the recent discovery of CP violation in the charm sector.

Colloids are a beautiful example of the unseen richness of our world, with structures ranging from simple spheres to complex hierarchical structures that have fascinated scientists for centuries. Interfaces on the other side are ubiquitous in nature, industry and scientific setups. Passive colloids are known to show fascinating abilities such as surfactant-like stabilization of emulsions, for example the well-known Pickering emulsions. When tiny colloids are forced out of equilibrium, whether by catalytic processes, thermal effects or simple conjugation with biological objects, the resulting behaviour is fascinating and often offers unexpected parallels to the macroscopic world. We study both active and passive colloids in the presence of liquid interfaces, discovering rich behaviour despite the technical challenges of visualisation. [1] Wittmann, Martin, et al. "Active spheres induce Marangoni flows that drive collective dynamics." The European Physical Journal E 44 (2021): 1-11. [2] Sharan, Priyanka, et al. "Study of active Janus particles in the presence of an engineered oil–water interface." Langmuir 37.1 (2020): 204-210.

Calorimeters play a pivotal role in past, present and future experiments in particle physics. Final states of particle physics collision consist to a large fraction of jets. These jets are composed of electrons, photons and charged and neutral hadrons. A central requirement to meet scientific goals at future experiments is to keep the jet energy resolution at a level of 3-4% for jet energies between 45 GeV and around a TeV (or more). There are several proposal to meet this goal, by increasing the granularity of the calorimeters by dedicated precise measurements of hadrons and electromagnetic particles within a jet or by a combination of these features. This seminar will review the requirements to calorimeters in future experiments and the status and outlook on the current R&D to meet these requirements. The seminar will also sketch the potential to apply machine learning for calorimetry and how quantum sensing may dramatically change the design of future calorimeters. Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1P0fRA6z8l1XNLxh8bBXHHB0a90VHrjt63EOvA7wNEFg/edit?usp=sharing
Slides here...