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Our THEP group is composed of one professor, four postdoc researchers, five graduate students and some research students. We are strongly tied to high energy physics groups such as SNU, SNU-tech, KIAS, IBS-CTPU, Yonsei Univ and Konkuk Univ. We are also in collaboration with CERN theory department in Switzerland, Univ of Sussex in UK, Univ of Paris-Saclay in France, Helsinki Univ in Finland, etc.
Postdoc Fellows
Postdoc Fellows
Dr. Jongkuk Kim (Sejong fellow) 김 종 국 연구 교수
E-mail : jongkuk.kim927@gmail.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Dark Matter Models, Neutrino Physics.
Experiences
2024.03 - NRF research professor in CAU (Sejong fellow).
2019.03 - 2024.02. Postdoc fellow in KIAS.
2019.02. Ph.D in Sungkyunkwan University, Korea.
Publications in CAU
Sarif Khan, Jongkuk Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Decaying vector dark matter with low reheating temperature for KM3NeT signal and its impact on gravitational waves, arXiv:2509.17129 [hep-ph].
Jongkuk Kim, Seong-Sik Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Rojalin Padhan, Neutrino masses and mixed dark matter from doublet and singlet scalars, arXiv:2505.00121 [hep-ph].
Sarif Khan, Jongkuk Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Higgs-portal vector dark matter at a low reheating temperature, arXiv:2503.17621 [hep-ph].
Jongkuk Kim, Seong-Sik Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Rojalin Padhan, Small neutrino masses from a decoupled singlet scalar field , arXiv:2407.13595 [hep-ph].
Dr. Sarif Khan (Brain Pool fellow) 사리프 칸 연구 교수
E-mail : sarif.khan@uni-goettingen.de Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Dark Matter Models, Baryogenesis, Collider Physics
Experiences
2024.11 - Brain Pool research professor in CAU.
2019.11 - 2024.10. Postdoc fellow in University of Goettingen, Germany.
2019.10. Ph.D in Harish-Chandra Research Institute, India.
Publications in CAU
Sarif Khan, Jongkuk Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Decaying vector dark matter with low reheating temperature for KM3NeT signal and its impact on gravitational waves, arXiv:2509.17129 [hep-ph].
Sarif Khan, Jongkuk Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Higgs-portal vector dark matter at a low reheating temperature, arXiv:2503.17621 [hep-ph].
Sarif Khan, Hyun Min Lee, WIMP-FIMP option and neutrino masses via a novel anomaly-free B-L symmetry, arXiv:2503.02635 [hep-ph].
Dr. Rojalin Padhan (NRF fellow) 로잘린 파드한 연구원
E-mail : rojalinpadhan2014@gmail.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
BSM and Collider Physics, Dark Matter Phenomenology.
Experiences
2024.02 - NRF fellow in CAU.
2023.10. PhD in IOP, Bhubaneswar, India.
Publications in CAU
Jongkuk Kim, Seong-Sik Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Rojalin Padhan, Neutrino masses and mixed dark matter from doublet and singlet scalars, arXiv:2505.00121 [hep-ph].
Jongkuk Kim, Seong-Sik Kim, Hyun Min Lee, Rojalin Padhan, Small neutrino masses from a decoupled singlet scalar field , arXiv:2407.13595 [hep-ph].
Dr. Arghyajit Datta (NRF fellow) 아르고짓 다타 연구원
E-mail : arghyad053@gmail.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Matter-antimatter asymmetry, Dark Matter, (P)reheating, Gravitational Waves.
Experiences
2025.03 - NRF fellow in CAU.
2024.10. - 2025. 02. Postdoc fellow in Jeongbuk National University.
2023.10. - 2024. 09. Postdoc fellow in Kyungpook National University.
2023.07. PhD in Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India.
Publications in CAU
Ph.D Students
Ph.D Students
Lucca Radicce Justino 루카 라디스 저스티코
(PhD: Fall 2024~)
E-mail : lradiccej@gmail.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Dark Matter Phenomenology, Cosmology, BSM.
Current work
Dark matter models.
Indirect detection for dark matter.
Self-interacting dark matter.
Boosted dark matter.
Presentations
A Z4 symmetric model for self-resonant dark matter, oral presentation in Summer Institute 2025, Yeosu, Korea, Aug 2025.
A Z4 symmetric model for self-interacting dark matter, CUBES-07, K-hotel Sandong, Gurye, Korea, April 2025.
A Z4 symmetric model for self-interacting dark matter and its detection probes, Korean Physical Society, Daejeon Convention Center, Korea, April 2025.
Constraints to the inert doublet model, CAU High Energy Physics Center Workshop, Hyundai Bloomvista, Korea, Dec 2024.
Exploring the inert doublet model of dark matter with very high-energy gamma-rays observatories, Group meeting, Nov 2024.
Honors & Awards
CAYSS scholarship, Chung-Ang University, 2024-2026.
Jun-Ho Song 송 준 호
(BS: 2021~2022, MS: 2023~2025, PhD: Fall 2025~)
E-mail: thdwnsgh1003@naver.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Cosmology, Mathematical structure of quantum field theory
Current work
Higgs physics.
Inflation.
Leptogenesis.
Dark matter.
Presentations
Leptogenesis in the PQ pole inflation, oral presentation in Summer Institute 2025, Yeosu, Korea, Aug 2025.
PQ inflation for axion kinetic misalignment and baryogenesis, Korean Physical Society, Daejeon Convention Center, Korea, April 2025.
Reheating and dark axion abundance in PQ pole inflation, oral presentation at Korean Physical Society, Yeosu Convention Center, Oct 2024.
Non thermal leptogenesis in the simplest α-attractor T model, poster presentation at Summer Institute 2023, Taiwan, August 2023.
Non-thermal leptogenesis in Starobinsky-like inflation, poster session at Korean Physical Society, Daejeon, April 2023.
Searching for right-handed Majorana neutrino mass in thermal leptogenesis, poster presentation in CAU physics day, Nov 2022.
Searching for Higgs boson, oral presentation in CAU physics day, Nov 2021.
Honors & Awards
Research Assistant scholarship (B), Chung-Ang University, 2024-2025.
MS Students
MS Students
Junghak Han 한 정 학
(BS: 2022~2024, MS: Spring 2025~)
E-mail: oreo1929@naver.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Cosmology, Quantum field theory.
Current work
Nonlinear quantum mechanics.
Generalized symmetries.
Higgs inflation and phase transitions.
Presentations
Higgs pole inflation in light of ACT results, poster presentation in Summer Institute 2025, Yeosu, Korea, Aug 2025
Inflation and reheating in abelian Higgs models with general gauge condition, CAU High Energy Physics Center Workshop, Hyundai Bloomvista, Korea, Dec 2024.
Inflation and reheating in abelian Higgs models with general gauge condition, poster presentation in CAU Physics Day, Oct 2024.
Generalized symmetries, CAU High Energy Physics Center Workshop, Dec 2023.
Generalized symmetries in the Maxwell theory without charges, poster presentation in CAU physics day, Nov 2023.
Honors & Awards
GRS (Graduate Research Scholar, MS) scholarship, Chung-Ang University, 2025-2027.
Junho Kang 강 준 호
(BS: 2021, 2023~2024, MS: Spring 2025~)
E-mail : junobonnie@naver.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
I'm interested in particle physics and computer science. So I'm studying the Standard Model, beyond Standard Model (GUT, MSSM, etc.) and computer simulations based on python.
Current work
Dark matter N-body simulation.
Dark QCD and SIDM.
Pseudo scalar dark matter.
Presentations
General Pseudo Scalar Dark Matter and Direct Detection, poster presentation in Summer Institute 2025, Yeosu, Korea, Aug 2025.
SIMP dark matter with dark U(1) gauge symmetry, poster presentation in CAU Physics Day, Oct 2024.
Simulation of galaxy density profiles with velocity-dependent self-interaction, CAU High Energy Physics Center Workshop, Dec 2023.
Simulation of galaxy density profiles with velocity-dependent self-interaction, poster presentation in CAU Physics Day, Nov 2023.
Chapter review, Peskin's Concepts of Elementary Particle Physics, Group meeting, July 2021.
Honors & Awards
GRS (Graduate Research Scholar, MS) scholarship, Chung-Ang University, 2025-2027.
Sanghun Lee 이 상 훈
(MS-PhD: Spring 2025~)
E-mail : yisanghun9@naver.com Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Dark matter model, Dark matter phenomenologies, Effective Field Theory approaches to DM phenomenologies.
Current work
EFT for dark matter.
Vector dark matter.
Presentations
Vector Dark Matter From Hidden Gauge Symmetry : U(1)_D and SU(2)_D, poster presentation in Summer Institute 2025, Yeosu, Korea, Aug 2025.
Honors & Awards
GRS (Graduate Research Scholar, MS-PhD) scholarship, Chung-Ang University, 2025-2028.
Research Students
Research Students
Songmin Lee 이 송 민
(BS: 2023-09~)
E-mail : minn402@cau.ac.kr Office: 102/811-2
Research interests
Theories that can explain every phenomenon in the universe, Cosmology, Particle physics.
Current work
Quantum field theory in time-dependent backgrounds.
Inflation and reheating.
Presentations
Reheating mechanisms in the early universe, CAU High Energy Physics Center Workshop, Hyundai Bloomvista, Korea, Dec 2024.
Reheating mechanisms in the early universe, poster presentation in CAU Physics Day, Oct 2024.
Welcome to join!
You are welcome to join!
You are welcome to join!
Domestic graduate students: spring and fall entrances. fellowships: GRS, Department TA, RA.
Postdoc fellows: job opening(2016), job opening(2019), job opening(2020), job opening(2022), job opening(2024), job opening(2025)
Foreign graduate students: CAYSS program in CAU. position opening(2019), position opening(2024).
Foreign postdoc fellows: Brain Pool Fellowship (BP) program, (Korean). supported by National Research Foundation in Korea (regular application every two months).
News on our group
News on our group
Dr. Arghyajit Datta has joined our group as a postdoc fellow (March 2025). Welcome!
Sanghun Lee has joined our group as a MS-PhD student (March 2025). Welcome!
Dr. Sarif Khan has been selected as a Brain Pool postdoc fellow to join our group on November 1st, 2024.
Lucca Justino has joined our group as a PhD student (September 2024). Welcome!
Dr. Jongkuk Kim has joined our group as a research professor (March 2024). Welcome!
Dr. Rojalin Padhan has joined our group as a postdoc fellow (Feb 2024). Welcome!
Songmin Lee & Hyung-Jun Park have joined our group as a research student (Sept 2023 & March 2024). Welcome!
Prof. Hyun Min Lee has become a new director for CAU High Energy Physics Center as of March 2023.
Junghak Han has joined our group as a research student in Nov 2022. Welcome!
Sung-Bo Sim and Joonsik Yoo have joined our group as a research student in July/August 2022. Welcome!
Joon-Ho Song has joined our group as a research student in August 2021. Welcome!
Junho Kang has joined our group as a research student in July 2021. Welcome!
Myeong-Joong Seong joined us as a research student in spring 2021. Welcome to our group!
Dr. Kimiko Yamashita has been selected as a Brain Pool fellow to join our group on October 1st, 2021.
Dr. Shuntaro Aoki has joined our group as a postdoc fellow as of April 1st, 2021.
Congratulations on the extension of Basic Research Lab "Lab for Dark Universe" from March 2021 for the next three years.
Congratulations on the selection of Brain Korea Four Program "Educational Program for Quasi-particles and Fundamental Particles in Physics " from September 2020 for the next eight years.
Prof. Hyun Min Lee has been appointed as the CAU Distinguished Scholar (Honor Class) for 2019-2021, with trophy and research funds.
Prof. Hyun Min Lee has, Basic Science Research Program, "Connecting new particles to the origin of the Universe", selected for 2019-2022.
Prof. Hyun Min Lee spent a sabbatical leave as a Scientific Associate in CERN for the period of Sep 2019 - June 2020.
Congratulations on the BRL program selected for 2018-2020 (cohosted with Yonsei and Chungnam National University).
Previous members
Previous members
Previous postdocs
Dr. Carlo Branchina (postdoc): Renormalization group equations and effective potential (December 2022 - March 2024), now postdoc fellow (April 2024 - ) at University of Calabria, Italy.
Dr. Shuntaro Aoki (postdoc): Higgs inflation and reheating (April 2021 - Aug 2023), postdoc in Sept 2023 - Dec 2024 at IBS CTPU, Korea - researcher at RIKEN, Japan (Jan 2025 - ).
Prof. Kimiko Yamashita (postdoc): Inflation and models for flavor and muon g-2 (Oct 2021 - Feb 2023), affiliated to CAU as a visiting scientist until March 2023, now assistant professor (April 2023 - ) at department of physics, Ibaraki University, Japan.
Prof. Bin Zhu (postdoc): Dark matter and new physics (Aug 2019 - Dec 2021), now associate professor (Jan 2022 - ) at school of physics, Yantai University, China.
Dr. Yang-Hwan Ahn (postdoc): Neutrino, axion and flavor physics (June 2019 - May 2021), postdoc in Seoultech (2021-2023) - researcher in Henan Normal University, China (2024).
Prof. Min-Seok Seo (postdoc): BSM and cosmology (Jan 2018 - Feb 2019), now assistant professor (March 2019 - ) at department of physics education in Korea National University of Education.
Prof. Ligong Bian (postdoc): Electroweak phase transition and dark matter (July 2017 - June 2019), now associate professor (July 2019 - ) at department of physics in Chongqing University, China.
Former graduate students
Seong-Sik Kim (PhD): Phenomenology of dark matter and new physics beyond the Standard Model (March 2020 - August 2025, PhD thesis title: Phenomenological approach for dark matter in particle physics), Postdoc in Chungnam National University (Sept 2025 - )
Sungbo Sim (MS): Muon g-2 and unified theories (March 2023 - Feb 2025, MS thesis title: Consistent supersymmetric SU(5) unification toward LHC data and low energy observables), Research assistant in CAU (March-August 2025), PhD student in UC Riverside, US (Sept 2025 - )
Myeongjung Seong (MS): Axion dark matter and PQ inflation (March 2023 - Feb 2025, MS thesis title: Axion dark matter from kinetic misalignment during inflation), Research assistant in CAU (March-August 2025).
Adriana Guerrero Menkara (PhD): Inflation models, dark matter, new physics models for experiments (September 2019 - August 2024, PhD thesis title: Towards self-consistent models for inflation and early universe cosmology), Postdoc with three-year contract in DESY, Germany (Oct 2024 - ).
Ji-Seon Song (MS): Dark matter and Higgs hierarchy problem (March 2020 - Feb 2022, MS thesis title: Cosmological relaxation of Higgs mass and dark matter production), to prepare for patent attorney.
Yoo-Jin Kang (MS/PhD): Massive graviton, Dark matter direct detection (March 2016 - Feb 2018, MS thesis title: Thermal Production and Detection of Dark Matter from Simplified Models; March 2018 - August 2021, PhD thesis title: Dark Matter and Massive Graviton in Warped Gravity and Clockwork Theory), to study data science.
Soon Bin Kim (MS): Clockwork models and extra dimensions (March 2019 - Feb 2021, MS thesis title: Hierarchy problems in the Standard Model and Clockwork solutions), in military service.
Soo-Min Choi (PhD): SIMP dark matter, inflation models, new physics models for experiments (March 2015 - Aug 2020, PhD thesis title: Dark Matter, Inflation and New Physics in the Era of Precision Cosmology), Postdoc with two-year contract in TUM, Germany (Oct 2020 - March 2021).
Tae Gyu Ro (MS): Leptoquarks and B-meson anomalies (Sep 2017 - Aug 2019, MS thesis title: Phenomenological constraints on the flavor structure of leptoquark and dark matter physics), work in SK Hynix.
Former undergraduate students
Hyun Jun Park (research student): Dark energy (2024-03~2025.08, done one poster).
Junsik Yoo (research student): Higgs inflation (2022.09~2024-02, 2025.03~08, done one poster).
Jiyoon Sun (research student): Basics on QFT and dark matter (September 2020 - July 2021, done one poster), student intern in MPI Munich, Germany.
Jong-Pil Yoon (research student): Inflation (Sep 2019 - Dec 2019, done one poster).
Seung-Hyun Jeong (research student): Higgs boson at LHC (Sep 2018 - May 2019, done one poster), graduate student in SNU.
Bu-Kyung Shin (research student): Self-interacting dark matter (Sep - November 2018, done one poster).
Jin-Kyung Cho (research student): The Standard Model (Nov 2017 - Feb 2018).
Sang Won Ahn (research student): Higgs physics (Sep 2015-June 2016, done one poster), Japanese translator.
Kang Cheol Kim (research student): Inflation (Oct 2014-Dec 2015, done two posters, designed this webpage), graduate student in computational science, Yonsei University.
Ji Eun Lee (research student): Higgs physics (Oct 2014-June 2015, done one poster), PhD and postdoc fellow in department of physics, Yonsei University.
Young Min Kim (MS student): Higgs physics and dark matter (Oct 2013-June 2014, done one poster).
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