The Large Hadron Collider, located in the CERN international research centre, investigates the fundamental nature of strong interaction using protons and heavy-ions accelerated to ultra-relativistic velocities. Heavy flavor (charm and beauty) quarks are produced in early perturbative Quantum-Chromodynamics (QCD) processes, and they survive throughout the later stages of the reaction. Thus, they provide a clean probe of the non-perturbative regime of vacuum QCD, including jet fragmentation or multiple-parton interactions. Besides that, In heavy-ion collisions they provide an excellent tool to understand the the properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma, a hot and dense state of matter that had once filled the young Universe. While data collected during the LHC Run-2 period allows for precision charm measurements, the upcoming Run-3, with an order of magnitude higher luminosity and an upgraded ALICE detector system, will allow for detailed charm studies as well as precision beauty measurements.
The primary task of the PhD candidate is to characterize flavor-dependent jet fragmentation mechanisms by completing differential measurements of heavy-quark production and correlations with the ALICE experiment, and to support the findings with phenomenological calculations. The novelty of the field requires development and application of new methods, however, it will also bring attention to the results within the scientific community.