News and Announcements

Since October 2024, Tyler Kutz has held a tenure-track assistant professorship in experimental hadron and nuclear physics at the Institute for Nuclear Physics, where he is PI at the PRISMA⁺ Cluster of Excellence. After his postdoctoral position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he moved to Mainz to begin his professorship, where his expertise in electron scattering makes him a key addition to the MESA (Mainz Energy-recovering Superconducting Accelerator) team. ...

Saskia, PhD student in Prof. Achim Denig's group and MPA Fellow, was interviewed as part of the 'Women in research' series. Congratulations!

'Women in research' is a blog aimed to increase the visibility of women in science. It is a project of the platform Women in Research initiated by physicist Ulrike Boehm and it is supported by the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings." ...

The first high-frequency power amplifiers for MESA (9 of a total of 17) were successfully put into operation at the end of last week. It is particularly noteworthy that the output power of 4 modules could be combined with low losses, resulting in a microwave transmission power of 74 kilowatts in the direction of the MESA pre-accelerator (see photo). This is enough to accelerate the average beam current of 10 milliamperes intended for MESA. Another encouraging aspect is that the cooling water supply, which is fed into the modulator hall from the new CFP I research building, has thus passed its first test. This success is the result of long and difficult installation work which, along with many others involved, demanded extraordinary efforts from the High Frequency Department (Hochfrequenzabteilung) and the accelerator team (TB Beschleuniger) in particular. Many thanks to everyone involved!

Ralf Gugel received the ATLAS Outstanding Achievement Award 2024 at the ATLAS Collaboration Meeting in Thessaloniki. This year 9 papers were awarded, a very prestigious honor in a collaboration with over 6000 members.

Ralf was honored for his contributions to the commissioning of the new ATLAS Trigger, whose components were partly developed and built in Mainz and have been successfully commissioned under his leadership in recent years.

On 25 April 2024, the MESA electron source produced beam for the first time at its intended final location in the LINAC tunnel. The beam could be easily transported to the first light screen without having to switch on a single focusing magnet. The picture shows the beam spot displaced by the Earth’s magnetic field out of the center of the light screen, which can be easily corrected by a correction magnet. On 29 April, the deflection system with the alpha magnet and other components was also successfully put into operation, so that the construction of the spin manipulation system can now begin soon.

Dr. Encieh Erfani was invited to make a video speech at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS). The session on 3 March 2024, which was dedicated to "Honoring 2023 Nobel Science: Attosecond Physics, Quantum Dots, Human Rights", concluded with a discussion on the importance of human rights. In this context, the imprisoned Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi was also honoured. She is the winner of the 2018 Andrei Sakharov Prize awarded by the APS and the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. In her contribution, Encieh Erfani emphasised the importance of academic freedom and the threat to it posed by oppressive regimes. She herself comes from Iran and has been a scientific researcher at JGU since September 2023. ...

Francesca Bonaiti, currently PhD student in the group of Prof. Dr. Sonia Bacca and associate member of the Mainz Physics Academy, was selected as the 2024 theory fellow of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). This prestigious fellowship is awarded to highly qualified individuals with exceptional potential to conduct high-caliber research in the field of rare-isotope science. Francesca will join Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher in Fall 2024.
Francesca’s current research, focused on the application of ab initio many-body techniques to calculate of electromagnetic reaction observables, will be extended to neutron-rich nuclei. The precise calculation of quantities such as electric dipole polarizabilities and isoscalar monopole resonances, together with findings at future experiments at FRIB, will be key to determine unique constraints on the nuclear equation of state in neutron stars. Francesca’s work as an FRIB theory fellow will also serve as input for other studies conducted at FRIB, such as beta-decay rates, which are a key input for nucleosynthesis simulations.
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This prize recognizes outstanding and exemplary achievements in teaching and research at universities in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. At the same time, this award highlights personalities that significantly promote young academics through their dedicated work.
The award ceremony will be held at the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur" (Mainz) on November 30th, 2023 at 18:00. Registration open until November 23rd 2023.
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The renowned journal Science recently reported on progress in the construction of the neutrino experiment JUNO in southern China. Prof. Michael Wurm and his group are involved - especially in the installation and commissioning of the predetector OSIRIS....

The 16th edition of the "International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon" (MENU 2023) is organized on October 16-20, 2023 by the Institute for Nuclear Physics of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz....

From 26.06.2023 to 30.06.2023 PREN 2023 will be held together with µASTI in Mainz....

Our latest annual report (in German) is ready. Enjoy browsing and reading....

Dr. Bastian Schlag receives the "ATLAS Thesis Award 2022" during the ATLAS Collaboration Meeting. The former PhD student of Prof. Dr. Volker Büscher is now doing postdoctoral research in the USA. Since 2010, the ATLAS collaboration honors its best PhD students with this award. Congratulations! ...

In August 2022 the Wavy Dark Matter Summer took place in Mainz. The 3-week event, which deals with the search for dark matter, was a great success. Now there is a video about it. ...

The first Carl Zeiss Humboldt Research Award goes to a visiting scientist at JGU. Alexej Jerschow from New York University will collaborate with Dmitry Budker from the Cluster of Excellence PRISMA⁺. ...

First results from XENONnT ...

Students interested in research may apply by September 9. ...

Our latest annual report (in German) is ready. Enjoy browsing and reading. ...

Dr. Stefan Schoppmann has a particular interest in a new class of liquid detectors. As a postdoc and holder of a Detection Innovation Fellowship, he has been undertaking the corresponding research at the PRISMA⁺ Cluster of Excellence since April 2022 ...

The Cluster of Excellence PRISMA+ announces scholarships for Students at Ukrainian institutes who have already started a PhD in the field of nuclear, hadron or particle physics and had to leave their country. Prerequisite is a master's degree in physics. The fellowship is initially limited to a maximum of twelve months but can be extended. For an application or further information, please contact prisma@uni-mainz.de.

Transatlantic collaboration on precision experiments with muons to be strengthened / Kick-off meeting on January 25, 2002 ...

Students interested in research may apply by February 25. ...

String theory is an important cornerstone of the theoretical research program at the PRISMA⁺ Cluster of Excellence - and is represented by Professor Hans Jockers, a proven expert in the field....

Two contributions with participation from Mainz based physicists have made it to the ten finalists of the "Physics World Breakthrough of the Year" this year: The most precise measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon so far in the muon g-2 experiment (participation Prof. Dr. Martin Fertl) and a new method for laser cooling of antiprotons (participation Dr. Christian Smorra). The winner of the Physics World award will be announced on December 14. So now it's time to keep your fingers firmly crossed.....

The ATLAS Collaboration is studying the subtle differences in the energies and directions of top and antitop quarks produced in the LHC. A new analysis, led by MPA Fellow Alexander Basan shows agreement with the Standard Model, allowing to set limits on the influence of potential new particles and interactions. The ATLAS collaboration has published the new results and explained them for laymen in a "Physics Briefing"....

In order to be able to carry out an innovative research project in the field of detector development and construction, the Detector lab is once again inviting applications for an attractive fellowship. ...

Students interested in research may apply by August 31. ...

PRISMA⁺ scientists Prof. Dr Uwe Oberlack and Prof. Dr Michael Wurm are involved ...

Our latest annual report (in German) is ready. Enjoy browsing and reading. ...

Jens Erler was appointed to a professorship in “Precision Calculations for Low-Energy Experiments” in January, but he has been collaborating with colleagues on-site for many years....

In the summer semester, the IJCP offers online presentation training and launches a new round of the Career Support for Postdocs program. Register now until May 28!...

Students interested in research may apply by March 31. ...

PRISMA+ postdoc René Reimann receives prize for his doctoral thesis ...

Article highlights MESA and new insights into dark matter. ...

In a new measurement, the proton once again shows its small side. This is the first time that a new technique has been used. At the same time it is an important test for the theory of QED. Randolf Pohl, Professor of Experimental Atomic Physics at PRISMA⁺, is involved in this project. ...

Dr. Javier Fuentes Martin focuses on searching for New Physics that extends the Standard Model of particle physics. He holds a three-year "Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship" at Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics (MITP) ...

The first 3D-printer of the 3D-printing workshop of the PRISMA Detector Lab is in operation. Fiber-reinforced plastics, which are very light and yet very stable, can be printed. The photograph is showing the printing of a carbon-fiber reinforced frame for stretched foils, which are used in tracking detectors. ...

Dr. Hans Steiger began conducting research in the detector laboratory at the PRISMA⁺ Cluster of Excellence in July. He was awarded the 'Detector Innovation Fellowship'....

In the section 'What is your current research topic?', we introduce young scientists and their research projects. The series is to begin with Christine Claessens, PhD student at the Project 8 experiment....

Starting 2020 the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Sciences offers two scholarships (830 € per month each) for the Master of Science in Physics Program. The scholarship is granted for one year (12 months). Apply now until August 15!...

Two-day seminar shows the importance of body language and non-verbal communication. Register now!...

The construction site has been set up. Now the office and laboratory building of the Center for Fundamental Physics (CFP II) can really take off. ...

Timo Weigand was appointed to JGU and moved to Mainz at the beginning of 2020. His research focuses mainly on string theory - an important cornerstone of theoretical research at PRISMA⁺. ...

The construction site has been set up. Now the office and laboratory building of the Center for Fundamental Physics (CFP II) can really take off. ...

This year, our annual report (in German) is being published in an extended form for the first time. Enjoy browsing and reading. ...

The Career Support programme is designed for young researchers in Physics, Computer Science and Mathematics to help navigate a successful scientific career without losing sight of a work life balance. Apply now by April 15 ...

IJCP offers individual coaching for PhD and post-doctoral female physicists. Apply now by April 15 ...

The Mainz Physics Academy (MPA) within the Cluster of Excellence PRISMA⁺ offers several PhD Fellowships for outstanding graduates in an attractive and international research environment. ...

In order to be able to carry out an innovative research project in the field of detector development and construction, the Detector lab has launched an attractive offer....

The international ALPS II (“Any light particle search”) collaboration installed the first of 24 superconducting magnets today, marking the start of the installation of a unique particle physics experiment to look for dark matter. Mainz University is one of the institutional partners. ...

On August 14-16th, over 200 scientists from more than 80 institutions worldwide met in Mainz for the 7th Annual Workshop on Optically-Pumped Magnetometers (WOPM). Watch the video for a look into the exciting and collaborative atmosphere at this international event! ...

A special internship program regularly succeeds in getting talented young people to come to the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz’s PRISMA⁺ Cluster of Excellence. ...

Specialist manufacturer supplies the two cryomodules for the new MESA accelerator at the PRISMA Cluster of Excellence ...

Dr. Christian Schneider and Karl Geib, both of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) won the SWR quiz show „Quiz Helden”. The episode was broadcast March 4th on SWR TV. In an exciting game of puzzling and trivia, the two physicists showed how their expertise can help them answer tricky questions about the region without the use of mathematical formulas. ...

The first cryomodule for the new MESA accelerator will be delivered in early March. Kurt Aulenbacher and his team were able to visit the manufacturing center and take their first look into the heart of the new MESA accelerator.

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