Theoretical Physics · VU Amsterdam · Nikhef
Proton structure, effective field theories, and neutrinos from the LHC to the cosmos through AI
Welcome to my website! I am a Professor of Theoretical Physics in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam and Group Leader at Nikhef, the Dutch National Institute for High Energy Physics. My research combines theoretical calculations and simulations with advanced machine learning & AI and statistical interpretations of particle physics data to chart the inner structure of the proton, unlock effective field theories for new physics searches, and fingerprint high energy neutrino scattering.
Research
Our group focuses on three core research topics: proton structure, effective field theories, and high-energy neutrino interactions. The common thread is the deep connection between theory calculations and the interpretation of experimental data, together with state-of-the-art AI methods and statistical techniques.
Proton Structure
Determining parton distributions with the NNPDF methodology: the quantum map of how momentum and spin is shared among quarks and gluons both in free nucleons and in heavy nuclei.
Effective Field Theories
Machine learning for fundamental physics: neural simulation-based inference, global SMEFT analyses with SMEFiT, and agentic AI as a research assistant for discovery.
High-Energy Neutrinos
Forward neutrino physics at FASER and SND@LHC and their bridge to ultra-high-energy astroparticle physics at IceCube and KM3NeT.
Recent News
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HEFT2026 in Valencia
I tremendously enjoyed Higgs and Effective Field Theories (#HEFT2026) in the wonderful city of Valencia, hosted in the beautiful setting of the Jardí Botànic: the perfect background for a week of intense discussions on effective field theories and the search for physics beyond the Standard Model: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1609241 EFTs give us…
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PLANCK2026 at CERN
Following my talk at the Nikhef (National Institute for Subatomic Physics) Neutrino Platform on Tuesday, today I had the privilege of presenting on the same topic, Physics with TeV Neutrinos and Muons from the LHC, at the PLANCK 2026 & 6th EuCAPT Symposium at CERN https://indico.cern.ch/event/1552644/ a joint conference bringing…
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New Physics Reach through Precision at Future Colliders: a Multi-Pronged Approach
Can we discover New Physics through Precision at Future Colliders such as CERN’s Future Circular Collider? We can but we need to use a multi-pronged approach, since searching for new physics at the FCC-ee will be very different than at the (HL-)LHC! With the European Strategy for Particle Physics 2026…
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NSBI for Proton Structure
NSBI for Proton Structure: We present a new approach to determine the proton structure at the LHC using Neural Simulation Based Inference (NSBI), moving beyond traditional analyses based on binned observables. Instead of compressing measurements into histograms (and inevitably losing information), we directly exploit the full, high-dimensional structure of collider…
The research group
My research group at the VU Amsterdam and the Nikhef Theory Program working across QCD, proton structure, effective field theories, high energy neutrinos, and applications of ML & AI for particle physics. Our research efforts are partially embedded in a number of collaborations including the NNPDF Collaboration for proton structure studies, the SMEFiT collaborations for global analyses of effective field theories, and the FASER Collaboration for measurements and interpretation of high energy neutrinos.
Juan Rojo's Website 