QCD at hadron colliders and in Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Abstract

In the first part of my thesis I am concerned with the phenomenology of DGLAP equations, and in particular I propose an algorithm to solve them numerically and discuss its implementation in a computer program. I also illustrate some applications of these studies, including a prediction for the total cross section for Higgs detection at the LHC and for study of the Drell-Yan process for the PAX experiment. In the second part of my thesis I analyze some characteristic patterns of cosmic ray showers in the atmosphere through theoretical modeling and computer simulations, with the main idea of looking for some signatures to discriminate between exotic and standard events. In particular my attention has been focused on decay events of mini black holes, the formation of which is predicted by theories with extra dimensions.