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Panoramic view on the North Campus © Jürgen Huhn​/​TU Dortmund
RESEARCH AT CERN

Further 4.7 Million Euros for Particle Physics Research

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LHC tunnel: long tube under the ground © Samuel Joseph Hertzog​/​CERN
The LHC tunnel is an underground tube about 27 kilometers long in which protons are accelerated to the speed of light and then collide.
The CERN research center in Switzerland, home to the world’s most powerful particle accelerator – the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – attracts scientists from all over the world. Around 50 physicists from TU Dortmund University are participating in two major experiments at the LHC, as well as helping to develop theoretical models. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding their work as part of the ErUM-Pro (Research on the Universe and Matter) program with a further 4.7 million euros for three years.

At CERN, international scientists are searching for particles so far unknown. To solve questions in physics unanswered to date, they also study the properties and interactions of already known elementary particles. In a ring-shaped underground tunnel about 27 kilometers long, packets of protons are accelerated to almost the speed of light and made to collide. This creates billions of elementary particles. Gigantic detectors record their tracks, energy and decay.

The physicists from TU Dortmund University are working on two detectors: The Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment (LHCb) and the ATLAS experiment. “The funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research provides the basis for our participation at CERN,” says Professor Kevin Kröninger. Young scientists also profit from the ministry’s support in the shape of opportunities to undertake doctoral studies; students studying physics at TU Dortmund University or enrolled on the international Master’s program “Advanced Methods in Particle Physics” can use the data from the particle accelerator for their studies and even take part in research on site. Furthermore, the work performed at CERN is also fundamental for other projects: For example, the experiments deliver important data for “Color meets Flavor”, the planned Cluster of Excellence with which particle physicists at TU Dortmund University, together with partners, are competing within the Excellence Strategy.

Rare decays and unknown forces

The questions explored at the LHC are very wide-ranging: Professor Johannes Albrecht’s team, for example, is conducting precision measurements as part of the LHCb experiment and looking for rare decays. The group is also helping to operate and upgrade the detector and, among other things, oversees a scintillating fiber tracker developed in Dortmund. In addition, the scientists are investigating new algorithms that can help to record interesting data more systematically and to identify particles more accurately.

The group led by Professor Kevin Kröninger is contributing to the ATLAS experiment, where they are searching for forces and elementary particles so far unknown. One of the team’s tasks is to help operate the tracker developed in Dortmund and elsewhere. As members of the large international CERN team, the physicists are also building new detector components for ATLAS, which will be needed in the future as part of a comprehensive LHC upgrade.

Together with Professor Emmanuel Stamou, the research group led by Professor Gudrun Hiller is conducting theoretical investigations of the processes taking place in the particle accelerator. Theoretical models and analyses are needed to interpret the data, particularly in relation to rare decays of ‘beauty’ and ‘charm’ quarks. TU Dortmund University’s two Emmy Noether Junior Research Groups at the Department of Physics, led by Dr. Chris Delitzsch and Dr. Dominik Mitzel, are also contributing to the research work underway at CERN.

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