Pekka K. Sinervo

{{Short description|Experimental particle physicist}}

{{Autobiography|date=February 2024}}

Pekka K. Sinervo is an experimental particle physicist who has studied

quarks,{{cite journal |last1=Gell-Mann |first1=M. |title=A Schematic Model of Baryons and Mesons |journal=Phys. Lett. |date=1 February 1964 |volume=8 |issue=3 |page=214 |doi=10.1016/S0031-9163(64)92001-3|bibcode=1964PhL.....8..214G }} gluons{{cite journal |last1=Soding |first1=P. |title=On the Discovery of the Gluon |journal=The European Physical Journal H |date=26 April 2010 |volume=35 |issue=1 |page=3 |doi=10.1140/epjh/e2010-00002-5|bibcode=2010EPJH...35....3S |s2cid=8289475 |url=http://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/92607/files/EPJH35.pdf }} and vector bosons{{cite journal |last1=Arnison |first1=G. |display-authors=etal |title=Experimental observation of isolated large transverse energy electrons with associated missing energy at sqrt(s) = 540 GeV |journal=Phys. Lett. |date=24 February 2003 |volume=122B |page=103 |doi=10.1016/0370-2693(83)91177-2}}{{cite journal |last1=Banner |first1=M. |display-authors=etal |title=Observation of single isolated electrons of high transverse momentum in events with missing transverse energy at the CERN proton-antiproton collider |journal=Phys. Lett. |date=17 March 2003 |volume=122B |page=476 |doi=10.1016/0370-2693(83)91605-2|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/142759 }}{{cite journal |last1=Arnison |first1=G. |display-authors=etal |title=Experimental observation of lepton pairs of invariant mass around 95 GeV/c2 at the CERN SPS collider |journal=Phys. Lett. |date=5 July 2003 |volume=126B |issue=5 |page=398 |doi=10.1016/0370-2693(83)90188-0|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/163857 }}{{cite journal |last1=Bagnaia |first1=P. |display-authors=etal |title=Evidence for Z0→e+e− at the CERN proton-antiproton collider |journal=Phys. Lett. |date=15 September 2003 |volume=129B |page=130 |doi=10.1016/0370-2693(83)90744-X|url=http://cds.cern.ch/record/146503 }} using high-energy electron and proton collisions. He is a professor of physics at University of Toronto, where he has taught and pursued research since 1990.

He is known for his contributions to the discovery of the top quark{{cite journal |first=F. |last=Abe |display-authors=etal |title=Observation of Top Quark Production in Proton-Antiproton Collisions with the Collider Detector at Fermilab |journal=Phys. Rev. Lett. |date=3 April 1995 |volume=74 |issue=14 |pages=2626–2631 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.2626 |pmid=10057978 |arxiv=hep-ex/9503002 }} and studies of its properties (see, e.g., {{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=F. |display-authors=etal |title=Measurement of the Top Quark Pt Distribution in Proton-Antiproton Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV |journal=Phys. Rev. Lett. |date=20 August 2001 |volume=87 |issue=10 |page=102001 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.102001|pmid=11531473 |hdl=1969.1/183004 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=F. |display-authors=etal |title=Precision Top Quark Mass Measurement in the Lepton + Jets Topology in Proton-Antiproton Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV |journal=Phys. Rev. Lett. |date=19 January 2006 |volume=96 |issue=2 |page=022004 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.022004|pmid=16486564 |hdl=1969.1/178529 |s2cid=119351771 |arxiv=hep-ex/0510049 }}{{cite journal |last1=Aad |first1=G. |display-authors=etal |title=Measurement of the top quark-pair production cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV in dilepton final states with ATLAS |journal=Phys. Lett. B |date=7 February 2012 |volume=707 |page=459 |doi=10.1016/j.physletb.2011.12.055|arxiv=1108.3699 }}), along with collaborators in the CDF (Collider Detector at Fermilab) and ATLAS experiments. He was also a member of one of the teams that discovered the Higgs boson.{{cite journal |last1=Aad |first1=G. |display-authors=etal |title=Observation of a new particle in the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC |journal=Phys. Lett. B |date=7 September 2012 |volume=716 |issue=1 |page=1 |doi=10.1016/j.physletb.2012.08.020|arxiv=1207.7214 |bibcode=2012PhLB..716....1A }}

His earlier work involved the study of mesons with charm quarks and strange quarks, and hadrons with bottom quarks (see, e.g., {{cite journal |last1=Ushida |first1=N. |display-authors=etal |title=Measurement of the D0 Lifetime |journal=Phys. Rev. Lett. |date=29 September 1980 |volume=45 |issue=13 |page=1049 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.45.1049}}{{cite journal |last1=Aston |first1=D. |display-authors=etal |title=Phys. Lett. B Observation of Two Non-leading Strangeness-one Vector Mesons |journal=Phys. Lett. |date=13 December 1984 |volume=149B |page=258 |doi=10.1016/0370-2693(84)91595-8|osti=1447163 }}{{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=F.|display-authors=etal |title=Ratios of Bottom Meson Branching Fractions Involving J/psi Mesons and Determination of b Quark Fragmentation Fractions |journal=Phys. Rev. D |date=1 December 1996 |volume=54 |issue=11 |pages=6596–6609 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.54.6596|pmid=10020669 |arxiv=hep-ex/9607003 |bibcode=1996PhRvD..54.6596A}}).

He is currently working on searches for new particles (see, e.g., {{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=F. |display-authors=etal|title=Search for a W′ Boson via the Decay Mode W′→μνμ in 1.8 TeV proton-antiproton Collisions |journal=Phys. Rev. Lett. |volume=84 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.5716 |date=19 June 2000|issue=25 |pages=5716–5721 |pmid=10991038 |url=https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:37895 |arxiv=hep-ex/9910004 }}{{cite journal |last1=Aad |first1=G. |display-authors=etal |title=Search for single production of a vectorlike T quark decaying into a Higgs boson and top quark with fully hadronic final states using the ATLAS detector |journal=Phys. Rev. D |date=25 May 2022 |volume=105 |issue=9 |page=092012 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.105.092012|arxiv=2201.07045 |bibcode=2022PhRvD.105i2012A }}) and dark matter{{cite book |last1=Cham |first1=Jorge |last2=Whiteson |first2=Daniel |title=We Have No Idea |date=2017 |publisher=Riverhead Books |location=New York |isbn=9780735216631}} at the SNOLAB Underground Laboratory, as a member of the SuperCDMS Collaboration.{{cite journal |last1=Albakry |first1=M.F. |display-authors=etal |title=Search for low-mass dark matter via bremsstrahlung radiation and the Migdal effect in SuperCDMS |journal=Phys. Rev. D |date=30 June 2023 |volume=107 |issue=11 |page=112013 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.107.112013|arxiv=2302.09115 |bibcode=2023PhRvD.107k2013A }}

Sinervo served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Craig |title=Arts and Science at Toronto: A History 1827-1990 |date=2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-4426-4513-4 |pages=339}} from 2003 to 2008, and as senior vice-president, research at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Craig |title=A Generation of Excellence |date=2007 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-8020-9232-8 |pages=352}} from 2009 to 2015.

He has written on international research collaborations, science and Judaism, and popular science (see, e.g.,

{{cite book |editor-last1=Baron |editor-first1=B. |editor-last2=Amrhein |editor-first2=C. |author1=P. Sinervo |author2=D. Therien |author1-link=The role of international research networks in global universities : emergence of international research collaborations and the effect they are having on recognition and impact |title=Building success in a global university : government and academica - redefining the relationship around the world |date=2013 |publisher=Lemmens Medien |location=Bonn |isbn=9783868560084 |page=296}}{{cite web |last1=Sinervo |first1=P. |title=Confessions of a Jewish Physicist |date=26 April 2018 |url=https://sinaiandsynapses.org/content/confessions-of-a-jewish-particle-physicist/ |publisher=Sinai and Synapses |access-date=25 February 2024}}).

He is a member of the Reform Jewish Community of Canada,{{cite web |title=Reform Jewish Community of Canada |url=https://www.therjcc.ca/ |access-date=25 February 2024}} serving as its president from 2017 to 2021, and has served in leadership roles in the Union for Reform Judaism{{cite web |title=Union for Reform Judaism |url=https://urj.org/ |access-date=25 February 2024}} and the World Union for Progressive Judaism.{{cite web |title=World Union for Progressive Judaism |url=https://wupj.org/ |access-date=25 February 2024}}

He has been recognized for his contributions with appointments to numerous scientific societies with fellowships in the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Canada recognizing his contributions to the discovery of the top quark. He was appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2018{{cite web |last1=Governor General of Canada |title=Recipients Order of Canada |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-10515 |access-date=25 February 2024}} for his contributions to the discoveries of the top quark and Higgs boson, and his leadership in the Canadian Jewish community.