For decades, we have known of the existence of matter. This "dark" matter is five times more abundant than ordinary matter and plays a crucial role in the evolution of the universe. However, we have not yet been able to identify the nature of this matter.

Anna Bertolini and Dominik Fuchs of the Max…

The workshop "Current Topics in Fundamental Physics" on the 16th of August will bring together experts from theoretical particle physics, cosmology and mathematics to discuss the latest developments at the interface of these three research areas.

Research in fundamental physics aims to answer…

Normally, physicists try to describe our world. It may therefore come as a surprise that over the last few decades more and more interest has developed in a theory that is at best a caricature of our universe. It bears the mysterious name N=4 Super Yang Mills Theory.

Julian Miczajka from the Max…

The CRESST experiment has specialized in the search for light dark matter particles, lighter than 1 Gigaelectronvolts (1 GeV). In order to reliably measure the tiny energy released by these particles in the detectors, those must be very precisely tuned. The scientists involved in CRESST are now…

Supernovae, stellar explosions of gigantic proportions, are powered by the lightest elementary particles of all: neutrinos. These come in three different varieties, which are called flavors. Until now, it was assumed that the neutrinos in a supernova retain their current flavor. Recent findings show…

The MADMAX project initiated by the Max Planck Institute is the focus of a newly established research collaboration: the French research organization CNRS and three German Helmholtz centers have joined forces to form the Dark Matter Lab (DMLab). The goal of the international research laboratory is…

When matter meets antimatter, they annihilate each other within fractions of a second. In the process, the entire mass is converted into energy. However, this annihilation process can be delayed if the particle density is extremely low and the temperature is very high. Such hot and thin…

On the occasion of the farewell of its long-time director Prof. Dr. Siegfried ("Siggi") Bethke, the Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) cordially invites to an honorary colloquium on May 16, 2023, 3:00 pm.

The proton is one of three building blocks of the atom. Thus protons, together with neutrons and electrons, form the matter we know. Since the 1960s, we have known that a proton consists of three quarks. However, researchers now have a much more differentiated picture of the familiar particle. And…