International Conference on Particle Physics

Theoretical and experimental physicists will converge at Heidelberg University for an international conference on the fundamental questions in the field of particle physics. Ruperto Carola will host the upcoming “10th Workshop on the Unitarity of the CKM Triangle” from 17 to 21 September 2018. The workshop on the latest developments in heavy flavour physics will focus on the differences in the behaviour of particles and antiparticles. The conference is held every two years at different international locations.

The research groups of Prof. Dr Stephanie Hansmann-Menzemer and Prof. Dr Ulrich Uwer of the Heidelberg University’s Institute for Physics are hosting this year‘s gathering. Both groups are involved in the LHCb experiment at the world‘s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located at the CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research. The experiment is intended to shed light on why our universe is composed mainly of matter and not antimatter. The researchers are hoping to uncover the reason for this particle-antiparticle asymmetry by looking for new, unknown particles that can be detected only indirectly in decay processes.

Approximately 200 participants from around the world are expected to attend the conference in Heidelberg. In addition to matter-antimatter asymmetry, they will also discuss the search for rare “decays” of particles that the standard model of physics actually does not permit. “We want to understand at what point it is no longer possible to describe nature using this model, and perhaps even establish a new fundamental theory of particle physics,” states Prof. Hansmann-Menzemer. She explains that heavy quarks – so-called heavy flavours – provide an “ideal laboratory” for these studies. “Extremely precise theoretical predictions combined with a large number of experimentally measured events allow the standard model to be tested precisely.”

The “10th Workshop on the Unitarity of the CKM Triangle” will be held within the framework of the Heidelberg Karlsruhe Strategic Partnership (HEiKA), the strategic partnership between Heidelberg University and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology.