String theory is a theory to unify two otherwise incompatible concepts: It creates a mathematical substructure to accommodate both quantum physics and gravity. With string theory our reality would not be composed of particles, but of tiny, vibrating things. We would live with many more dimensions,…

The Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) has a new Head of Administration: Sabine Krabichler succeeds Andreas Hartmann.

Dark matter is essential for understanding the rotation speed of stars in galaxies and the motion of galaxies in clusters. But what exactly is dark matter? This question has occupied researchers for decades. But it is not only observations of galaxies that play a role in answering it. Physicists are…

The MAGIC telescopes on La Palma are on the hunt for dark matter. For 233 observational hours, their cameras were pointed at the center of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Scientists suspect a particularly large accumulation of non-luminous, invisible matter there. However, the search yielded no…

As of January 1, 2023, there are new spokespersons in the research collaborations MAGIC and AWAKE. The choice fell on two scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Physics. Patric Muggli will in future represent for the AWAKE project at CERN, which is developing an innovative accelerator…

Physicist Allen Caldwell is the new Managing Director at the Max Planck Society's Semiconductor Laboratory (HLL), effective immediately. In this role, he works closely with Jelena Ninkovic, who is the head of the HLL and responsible for operation of the lab. Allen Caldwell succeeds Siegfried Bethke,…

The two MAGIC telescopes on the Canary Island of La Palma have been in existence for 20 years. With a mirror diameter of 17 meters and special cameras, they measure what cannot actually be measured on Earth: Gamma rays that reach us from extremely energetic objects in the universe.

Dr. Axel…

Galaxy clusters consist of up to several thousand galaxies and are the largest known structures in the cosmos. The collision of galaxy clusters releases more energy than any other physical process since the Big Bang. Much of this energy propagates through the thin gas that fills the space between…