The W boson is the mediator particle of the electroweak force. Discovered in the 1980s at CERN, its properties remain challenging to measure within the Standard Model of particle physics. Members of the research group of Prof. Dr. Klaus Desch and Priv.-Doz. Philip Bechtle as well as of the research group of Prof. Dr. Ian Brock are involved in the latest and improved W boson mass measurement presented by ATLAS at the Moriond electroweak conference.

Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the cosmos, but still pose many mysteries to researchers. An international team with participation of the University of Bonn has now for the first time directly observed neutrinos produced in a particle accelerator. The physicists hope that their new discovery will enable them to better understand the nature of these almost massless elementary particles. The results were presented last weekend at the 57th Moriond Conference in Italy and will soon be submitted for scientific peer review in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Prof. Desch's working group supervised two student research projects on particle physics. With their work, the two students took 2nd place in the regional round of Jugend Forscht.

On March 7, 14, and 30, students in grades 10 and up can dive into the world of particle physics!

How can a large-scale, multinational social "experiment" — the UEFA European Soccer Championship 2020 — be used as a laboratory for assigning COVID-19 cases to short-term behavioural changes, and to understand how epidemiological conditions determine the impact of such changes?

19 – 21 Apr 2023 in Bad Honnef, Germany

The new website of the Physikalisches Institut is online!