High school students do research at the MAMI particle accelerator
12 August 2024
From July 30 to August 8, a total of 16 students (8 male, 8 female) aged 16-18 from all over Germany came together for the Particle Physics Academy on the campus of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Together with scientists from the Institutes of Physics and Nuclear Physics and the Cluster of Excellence PRISMA+, the participants, who had previously been selected through an application process, spent 10 days studying the elementary components of the universe, getting to know the university and the city of Mainz, and conducting independent research at the Mainz particle accelerator MAMI.
The program included courses by JGU lecturers on particle physics (Dr. Christoph Redmer), detector physics (Professor Wolfgang Gradl), accelerator physics (Professor Kurt Aulenbacher), new physics, as well as the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon g-2 (Professor Achim Denig), which scientists from Mainz are also intensively involved in both experimentally and theoretically. The Landé factor (g-factor) of the muon is one of the most precisely measured and theoretically predicted quantities in physics and thus allows a unique test of the standard model of particle physics.
The central part of the academy was “hands on” for the participants in workshops in which they independently built a particle detector and learned how to analyze the data collected with it. The detectors were then put to practical use at the Mainz particle accelerator, the “Mainz Microtron” (MAMI), where the students were able to carry out a physics experiment independently and try out their skills as particle physicists.
The event was rounded off by a colorful supporting program consisting of a film evening, city rally and barbecue, as well as the opportunity to get to know Mainz physics students personally and learn about the study opportunities at JGU.
About the Particle Physics Academy
The Mainz Particle Physics Academy is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Mainz contact location of the “Network of Particle-World” (“Netzwerk Teilchenwelt”) and is organized in cooperation with the Institutes of Physics and Nuclear Physics and the Cluster of Excellence PRISMA+. It takes place every summer during the school vacations on the JGU campus and offers places for 16 high school students. As the places are in high demand, participants are selected through an application process. Participation, travel, meals and accommodation in Mainz are free of charge for the students.