Masha Baryakhtar (she/her)

 My research in theoretical particle physics focuses on theories beyond the Standard Model and on creating new ideas and directions for testing these theories. This includes new physics that solves outstanding puzzles in our existing models which may be tested in colliders or in precision experiments;  pinning down the particle nature of dark matter using astrophysical observations and in the lab; and the broader intersection of particle theory with astroparticle physics and cosmology.

 I am currently pursuing the theoretical development of new precision searches for light dark matter candidates, as well as of searches for new ultralight particles with black holes, neutron stars, and gravitational waves. I am also interested in new ways of observing our universe, and am developing a new direction using intensity interferometry to make precise measurements of stellar motions.

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, I moved to the U.S. in middle school. Before arriving at the University of Washington I was a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and a James Arthur Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics at New York University.

See inspire for a complete list of publications.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact me.  

Awards and Honors: