Second Funding Phase for Heidelberg Research Training Group in Particle Physics

A Heidelberg research training group to explore topical issues in particle physics – the RTG 1940 “Particle Physics beyond the Standard Model” – will continue its successful work for another four and a half years. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved approximately 3.9 million euros for the doctoral training programme. It is based at Heidelberg University's Faculty for Physics and Astronomy, traditionally in close cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics. The Research Training Group (RTG) makes it possible for young researchers to bridge various areas of theoretical and experimental elementary particle physics in their doctoral projects. The second funding phase will start in October 2018.

The Research Training Group focuses on the exploration and uniform description of particle physics effects, ranging from very low to the very highest energy scales. “The Large Hadron Collider, i.e. the particle accelerator at the European research centre CERN, offers the opportunity to answer questions for example about the nature of dark matter in the context of particle physics and thereby to gain new insights into fundamental structures of nature,” says Prof. Dr Tilman Plehn from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, who shares the role of spokesperson with Prof. Dr Stephanie Hansmann-Menzemer from the Institute for Physics.

The graduate programme contributes to the integrated training in theoretical and experimental particle physics. “Heidelberg has been a leading international player in elementary particle physics for decades. In the second funding phase this Research Training Group will enable our team to continue feeding research directly into the training of excellent young researchers and further strengthen our area of research as well as the Heidelberg research campus.”