Hadron physics and high energy particle physics
Physicists of our faculty of physics and astronomy research (in theory and experiment) the fundamental building blocks of matter with scientific methods.
Finding out about the innermost workings of the universe
Experimental and theoretical physicists in Bonn investigate the fundamental building blocks in the areas hadron physics and high energy particle physics. The experimental groups participate in projects in Bonn (ELSA) and at external research experiments, e.g. CERN or KEK and research bound states of quarks (hadrons) or look for physics effects beyond the standard model of particle physics at the highest energies or in rare hadron decays.
Theoretical research encompasses a large variety of topics from lattice gauge theory, quantum field theory beyond the standard model all the way to string theory. Models are being developed for the description of the microcosm. These models are checked for consistency and predictive power. Predictions of those theories are compared to experimental measurements.
Relevant research institutions
CERN
CERN is the central European laboratory for particle and accelerator-based research near the town of Geneva in Switzerland. The most important accelerator is currently the large hadron collider (LHC) that started in 2008. Research groups at the University of Bonn participate in the ATLAS, ALICE and LHC-b experiments.
DESY
The physics institute has a research cooperation with DESY with a joint professorship in detector development (Jülich cooperative model).
Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Europe FAIR
Der FAIR accelerator complex is currently under construction at the GSI in Darmstadt. Research groups at Bonn participate in the construction of the PANDA detector, a device for precision experiments in proton-antiproton scattering experiments.
Research center Jülich
The institutes of physics in Bonn have a close research cooperation with Jülich in the form of several joint professorships (Jülich cooperative model).
High Energy Accelerator Research Organization KEK
The KEK is a research center for particle physics near Tokio in Japan. The core of the facility is the Super-KEKB accelerator with the BELLE-II experiment. Bonn participates in the construction and operation of its pixel detector. We are also involved in the analysis of BELLE-II data.