Many substances change their properties when they are cooled below a certain critical temperature. Such a phase transition occurs, for example, when water freezes. However, in certain metals there are phase transitions that do not exist in the macrocosm. They arise because of the special laws of quantum mechanics that apply in the realm of nature’s smallest building blocks. It is thought that the concept of electrons as carriers of quantized electric charge no longer applies near these exotic phase transitions. Researchers at the University of Bonn and ETH Zurich have now found a way to prove this directly. Their findings allow new insights into the exotic world of quantum physics. The publication has now been released in the journal Nature Physics.

A one-day meeting on particle phenomenology was organized by Herbi Dreiner's group in Bonn together with groups from Aachen, Heidelberg, Nijmegen and U. Amsterdam.

Prof. Dr. Simon Stellmer has been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) as part of a program designed to help researchers translate their ideas from previous ERC projects into commercial applications. The grant is endowed with €150,000.

From 22 - 25 March, the Physics Show of the University of Bonn made a guest appearance at the University of Tübingen.

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.