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04/12/2021

Composite image showing how the M87 system looked, across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, during the Event Horizon Telescope's April 2017 campaign to take the iconic first image of a black hole. Requiring 19 different facilities on the Earth and in space, this image reveals the enormous scales spanned by the black hole and its jet, launched just outside the event horizon and spanning the entire galaxy.

Messier M87 is 55 million light years away from Earth. As is the case for probably all galaxies, there is a huge black hole in its center. In 2017, a host of telescopes observed the object over the entire energy spectrum. The spectacular result of this extensive observation campaign was the famous…

03/31/2021

Germanium detector mounted on a PEN holder: The transparent plate also carries the electronic components for signal detection. (Photo: M. Willers/MPP)

The LEGEND 200 experiment is set to search for extremely rare neutrinoless double beta decay. Finding it could answer a central physics question: is the neutrino its own antiparticle? To detect the decay, scientists use highly sensitive Germanium detectors. However, in order to identify “real”…

03/25/2021

The spectrometer of the KATRIN experiment, set to measure the neutrino mass. (Photo: M. Zacher/KIT)

There are many questions surrounding the elementary particle neutrino, in particular regarding its mass. Physicists are also interested in whether besides the “classic” neutrinos there are variants such as the so-called sterile neutrinos. The KATRIN experiment has now succeeded in strongly narrowing…

03/18/2021

Team work in the clean room: MPP employees are mounting an optical measuring system onto the drift tube layers. It monitors potential deformations due to the self-weight of the muon chamber. The signal wires in the drift tubes are positioned with an accuracy of 1 hundreth of a millimeter. (Photo B. Wankerl/MPP)

Despite the corona pandemic, the production of next-generation ATLAS muon chambers at the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) is proceeding as planned. Due to the current contact restrictions, the technicians are only permitted to work in shifts that vary on a daily basis. Nevertheless, the…

03/09/2021

Cluster algebras are interconnected sets of formulas. They were developed from “toy models”, and used for a genuine quantum field theory for the first time. (Graphic: Carolin Leyck)

Theoretical particle physicists sometimes compare Feynman integrals to “wild beasts”. Three physicists have now succeeded in partially taming these wild beasts with the help of mathematics. Their scientific achievement should make theoretical calculations of particle collisions considerably easier.

03/04/2021

The Belle II detector records about 5,000 collision events per second. However, only a fraction of these are of interest for physical questions. In order to distinguish the real signals from unusable data, the experiment uses “triggers”. Since the end of February, Belle II has been working with an…

02/15/2021

The Max Planck Institute for Physics, together with the Hanrieder Research Foundation for Excellence, is initiating a new funding program. The Hanrieder Research Fellowship aims to support junior physicists from countries in Latin America in a targeted way. Accordingly, the program is aimed at…

02/09/2021

3D design drawing of COSINUS in the Gran Sasso underground lab (LNGS) (Image: L. Giaffoni/U. di Sabatini/R. Stadler)

Until now, all experiments have been unable to detect the mysterious dark matter. All? Not quite. The DAMA experiment has been providing reliable signals for more than 20 years. The problem: To speak of a discovery in science, signals of dark matter have to be confirmed in other experiments. With a…

02/04/2021

Students in the MPP's lecture hall. This will not be the case for the Masterclasses 2021: All events take place in a virtual format. (Photo: B. Wankerl/MPP)

First hand research: In February and March, three particle physics courses will be held for high-school students. On these days, participants will learn about research methods, identify elementary particles in particle collisions, and “visit” experiments at an observatory on La Palma, at the…

12/18/2020

The last measurements of the GERDA experiment were analyzed and published in 2020. The phote shows the experiment's opening in 2010. (Photo: MPP)

The GERDA experiment designed to prove the existence of neutrinoless double beta decay is coming to an end. The research collaboration has now evaluated the full data set produced by the experiment and published it in Physical Review Letters. Even though no signal was found, all goals set for the…

Many eyes see more: Black hole under observation

Industrial plastic optimizes background detection in LEGEND experiment

Search for sterile neutrinos: It's all about a bend in the curve

ATLAS muon chambers in series production

How mathematical detective work opens up new paths in particle physics

Belle II: Picking the best data cherries with neural networks

MPP launches the Hanrieder Research Fellowship

A new dark matter experiment: The search for a stand-alone signal

Researching particle physics

Masterclasses: three digital workshops for high school students

The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay continues with new LEGEND experiment

Final results and completion of the GERDA experiment

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