Particle physics - Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY

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Navigation</h2> <ul id="bread-nav" class="nav"> <li> <a href="https://www.desy.de/index_eng.html" title="Home">Home /</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.desy.de/research/index_eng.html" title="Zu 'Research at DESY'">Research /</a> </li> <li> <span title="Sie sind hier: Particle physics">Particle physics</span> </li> </ul> <div id="main-content" class="dsy"> <a id="maincontent" title="maincontent"></a> <img alt="" src="/sites2009/site_www-desy/content/e141261/e143970/Universum_ger.jpg" />  <div class="section"> <div class="section htmltext-"> </div> <div class="section htmltext-"> <h1 class="desy_headline"> Particle physics</h1> <p class="desy_headline" role="doc-subtitle"> How does the universe work?</p> </div> <p id="e162278" class="summary">What is the world made of at its core, what are the smallest constituents of matter? Researchers have been pursuing these fundamental questions since antiquity. In their search, they have encountered ever smaller building blocks – first atoms, then atomic nuclei consisting of protons and neutrons, and finally tiny particles called quarks. Today, particle physicists are investigating the fundamental mysteries of the universe: How did the universe come into being? And how are the smallest particles connected to the development of the universe and the largest structures in it?</p> <div class="section htmltext-Wide"> <p> <span lang="EN-GB">When DESY was founded in 1959, the primary task of the centre was to investigate the fundamental particle structure of matter. Over the decades, DESY has contributed key findings to particle physics. With the PETRA storage ring, researchers discovered the gluon, the “glue particle” that holds the quarks together to form protons and neutrons, and without which there would be no atoms. Later, they used the HERA accelerator to investigate the inner structure of the proton with unprecedented precision. Today, DESY scientists are involved in large-scale international experiments in Switzerland and Japan, they are searching for dark matter in Hamburg, and they are laying the theoretical foundations for a comprehensive description of the building blocks of matter and the forces acting between them</span>.</p> <h2> In search of the smallest particles</h2> <p> <span lang="EN-GB">DESY researchers are strongly involved in the large-scale experiments at the world’s most powerful accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN research centre near Geneva in Switzerland. As part of the international research groups operating the ATLAS and CMS experiments, DESY contributes to the development and construction of important detector components, including those for the planned upgrade of the LHC to increase its “luminosity”, i.e. the collision rate of the protons in the accelerator. DESY is also involved in the operation of the detectors and makes decisive contributions to data analysis</span>.</p> <p> As part of the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB accelerator in Japan, DESY physicists are investigating, among other things, why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe. Together with other German institutes, DESY was responsible for the design and construction of the extremely sensitive pixel vertex detector, which registers the tracks of particle decays right at the collision point. DESY also plays a major role in the data analysis of Belle II and its predecessor experiment Belle.</p> <p> On the DESY campus in Hamburg, researchers intend to use several experiments to search for lightweights among the particles that could provide clues to “new physics” and, in particular, the mysterious dark matter. While ALPS II aims to send laser light through a wall in the search of light particles called axions, IAXO – with the prototype BabyIAXO – will look for axions from the sun. MADMAX will explore the dark matter that holds our galaxy together. Finally, with the LUXE experiment, DESY scientists aim to test the theory of quantum electrodynamics in strong electromagnetic fields.</p> <h2> Worldwide computer network</h2> <p> <span lang="EN-GB">Particle physics experiments produce enormous amounts of data. To manage this flood of data, the experts rely on grid computing, a variety of distributed computing, in which many computing centres around the globe act in concert. The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG), for example, involves more than 170 computing centres in over 40 countries. DESY plays an important role in this global network. In its Interdisciplinary Data and Analysis Facility (IDAF) with the Tier-2, NAF and Maxwell High-Performance Cluster computing facilities, DESY provides large-scale computing and storage systems for the national and international scientific community in all the research</span> areas of the centre. </p> <h2> Theoretical particle physics</h2> <p> <span lang="EN-GB">Without theoretical foundation, experiments cannot be interpreted correctly. </span>The best current description of the particles and forces known to us is provided by the Standard Model of particle physics. <span lang="EN-GB">But the model only works at low energies and leaves fundamental questions unanswered. What is the mysterious dark matter made of? What happened right after the big bang? Are there any extra dimensions of space-time </span>beyond the ones we are familiar with<span lang="EN-GB">? The DESY theory group is exploring various options for developing theories that are consistent and compatible with previous findings, which would answer these questions and comprehensively describe the particles and forces in the universe in the course of its evolution</span>.</p> </div> <div class="section smallteaser" style="" id="e144210"> <a href='http://fh.desy.de/' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternal' title='Particle Physics' alt='Particle Physics'> <img alt="" src="https://www.desy.de/e141261/e143970/e144210/@@DESYSmallTeaserImage" /> <a href='http://fh.desy.de/' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternal' title='Particle Physics' alt='Particle Physics'> <h2>Particle Physics</h2> <p>Particle physics at DESY</p> </a> </a> </div> <div style="clear:both" class="picturebreak" id="e162997"> </div> <div class="section smallteaser" style="height:230px" id="e144212"> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/lhc_experiments/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='LHC experiments' alt='LHC experiments'> <img alt="" src="https://www.desy.de/e141261/e143970/e144212/@@DESYSmallTeaserImage" /> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/lhc_experiments/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='LHC experiments' alt='LHC experiments'> <h2>LHC experiments</h2> <p>DESY researchers collaborate on the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC accelerator at CERN near Geneva</p> </a> </a> </div> <div class="section smallteaser" style="height:230px" id="e159901"> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/belle_ii/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='Belle II' alt='Belle II'> <img alt="" src="https://www.desy.de/e141261/e143970/e159901/@@DESYSmallTeaserImage" /> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/belle_ii/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='Belle II' alt='Belle II'> <h2>Belle II</h2> <p>DESY is involved in the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB accelerator at KEK in Japan</p> </a> </a> </div> <div class="section smallteaser" style="height:230px" id="e159871"> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/alps_ii/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='ALPS II' alt='ALPS II'> <img alt="" src="https://www.desy.de/e141261/e143970/e159871/@@DESYSmallTeaserImage" /> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/alps_ii/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='ALPS II' alt='ALPS II'> <h2>ALPS II</h2> <p>The ALPS II experiment at DESY is looking for lightweight particles called axions and for candidates of dark matter</p> </a> </a> </div> <div class="section smallteaser" style="height:230px" id="e159872"> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/idaf/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='Tier-2' alt='Tier-2'> <img alt="" src="https://www.desy.de/e141261/e143970/e159872/@@DESYSmallTeaserImage" /> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/idaf/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='Tier-2' alt='Tier-2'> <h2>Tier-2</h2> <p>The Tier-2 centre at DESY provides computing systems for particle physics experiments</p> </a> </a> </div> <div class="section smallteaser" style="height:230px" id="e144214"> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/naf/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='NAF' alt='NAF'> <img alt="" src="https://www.desy.de/e141261/e143970/e144214/@@DESYSmallTeaserImage" /> <a href='https://www.desy.de/research/facilities__projects/naf/index_eng.html' target='_self' class='LinkElementInternalClient' title='NAF' alt='NAF'> <h2>NAF</h2> <p>The National Analysis Facility at DESY serves particle physicists in Germany</p> </a> </a> </div> </div>  </div>  </div> <div id="page-footer" class="footer clearfix"> <a target="_blank" title="zu 'Die Website der Helmholtz Gemeinschaft'" href="https://www.helmholtz.de/"> <img id="logo-helmholtz" alt="Logo der Helmholtz Gemeinschaft" src="/++resource++desy/images/2017_H_Logo_RGB_EN.png" /> </a> <div class="address"> <h2 class="hidden">Footer Navigation</h2> <ul id="footer-nav" class="nav"> <li class="first"> <a class="doa_eng_version" href="//www.desy.de/declaration_of_accessibility/index_eng.html" title="Declaration of Accessibility">Declaration of Accessibility</a> </li> <li> <a href="//www.desy.de/data_privacy_policy/index_eng.html" title="Data Privacy Policy">Data Privacy Policy</a> </li> <li class="last"> <a href="https://www.desy.de/imprint/index_eng.html" title="Imprint">Imprint</a> </li> </ul> <p class="copyright"> © 2024, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY </p> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var dohide = false; 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Particle physics - Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY