Brief Introduction

Christina (Yang) Gao is an assistant professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Fermilab and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her primary research interest lies in beyond-the-Standard-Model particle phenomenology, particularly the direct detection of dark matter. She is keen on utilizing quantum systems and astronomical observations to search for dark matter and new physics. She is also interested in exploring dark matter-neutrino interactions and applying machine learning techniques in high energy physics.

Research Interests

◆High Energy Physics

◆Beyond-the-Standard-Model Physics

◆Dark Matter Direct Detection

◆Particle Cosmology

Educational Background

◆2012-2018 University of California Davis, Phd in Physics

◆2008-2012 Oxford University, Bachelor and Master of Physics

Professional Experience

◆2024 - Now  Southern University of Science and Technology, assistant professor

◆2021 - 2024 University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, postdoctoral researcher

◆2018 - 2021 Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, research associate

Honors & Awards

2023  Simons Foundation Travel Grant, Simons Foundation

2009  New College Scholarship, Oxford University

Selected Publications

1. Christina Gao, William Halperin, Yonatan Kahn, Man Nguyen, Jan Sch¨utte-Engel, and John William Scott, “Axion wind detection with the homogeneous precession domain of superfluid helium-3”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 211801 (2022). 

2. A. J. Brady, C. Gao, R. Harnik, Z. Liu, Z. Zhang and Q. Zhuang, “Entangled sensor networks for dark-matter axion searches”, Phys. Rev. X Quantum 3, 030333 (2022). 

3. Christina Gao and Roni Harnik, “Axion Searches with Two Superconducting Radio-frequency Cavities”, J. High Energy Phys. 07, 053 (2021). 

4. Christina Gao, Jia Liu, Lian-Tao Wang, Xiao-Ping Wang, Wei Xue and Yi-Ming Zhong, “Re-examining the Solar Axion Explanation for the XENON1T Excess”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 131806 (2020). 

5. Christina Gao, Stefan Hoeche, Joshua Isaacson, Claudius Krause and Holger Schulz, “Event Generation with Normalizing Flows”, Phys. Rev. D 101, 076002 (2020).