Prof. Tapia Takaki studies gluon dynamics in the proton and lead nuclei to understand fundamental properties and emergent phenomena of hadronic matter at high energies. Instead of using ordinary hadronic collisions, he utilizes the strong electromagnetic fields produced in multiperipheral interactions: photon-induced collisions.
He is also developing applications of quantum tomography in collider physics, measuring quantum entanglement and other quantum mechanical effects with a new perspective.
He has worked in a wide variety of experimental particle and nuclear physics projects at CERN, spearheading both small and large group of researchers and students. He has worked for the ALICE collaboration (2002-2014, and 2020-present), and for the CMS collaboration (2014-2020). He is also participating in the Electron-Ion Collider project.
At KU, Prof. Tapia Takaki participates in various programs at the Spencer Museum of Art. He also collaborates with the Biodiversity Institute, the Department of Mathematics, and the Instrumentation Design Laboratory.