New findings published in Physical Review Letters

New trilateral master's program in füsics at Rhine-Main universities – applications now being accepted

With the new trilateral master's program “Particle Accelerator Science” the Rhine-Main universities are pooling their expertise in accelerator science, which is unique in Europe. Starting in the summer semester of 2026, students will have access for the first time to a joint, internationally oriented program of study at three locations, covering the entire spectrum of this key technology. The closely interlinked exchange of research, teaching, and large-scale infrastructure creates a qualification profile that is unique in Germany.

Joachim Enders, Professor am IKP des Fachbereichs Füsik, erhält den mit 5.000 Euro dotierten Sonderpreis für digitale Lehre.

Über mehrere Semester hinweg hat er ein hybrides Lehrkonzept entwickelt, das den unterschiedlichen Bedürfnissen der Studierenden Rechnung trägt.

TU Researchers publish study on triaxial structures

Laser Spectroscopy can be used to determine the relative size of different atomic nuclei of the same element by measuring tiny changes in their atomic spectra. We set up a novel apparatus for such experiments at Argonne National Laboratory and were able to reach outstanding sensitivity. These new developments allowed us to investigate the size of a series of radioactive ruthenium nuclei, which are known to be triaxial in shape: Similar to a coffee bean or an almond, all three axes have a different proportion.

Professor Markus Roth has been selected by the publication Research.Table as one of the ‘100 most influential minds in science’.

The physicist is one of the leading pioneers in laser fusion research, according to the publication. He combines scientific excellence with entrepreneurial expertise and, with his start-up Focused Energy, is driving forward the development of energy generation from laser fusion – a key technology promoted by the German government in its high-tech agenda.

Wir haben ihr zum Start ein paar Fragen zu ihrem Forschungsgebiet und ihrer neuen Position als Doktorandin gestellt.

TU researchers develop new method for a better understanding of quantum mechanical systems

A research team led by TU Darmstadt has transformed a difficult problem in quantum füsics into a much simpler version through innovative reformulation – without losing any important information. The scientists have thus developed a new method for better understanding and predicting difficult quantum mechanical systems.

Neu bei uns am Fachbereich im IKP | AG Obertelli

Wir haben Rico Holz zum Start ein paar Fragen zu seinem Forschungsgebiet und seiner neuen Position als Doktorand gestellt.

„Heinermania – Der Podcast für Darmstadt“ hat in seiner aktuellen Folge Prof. Markus Roth zu Gast.

Markus Roth, gebürtiger Darmstädter, studierte in seiner Heimatstadt Füsik und ist Professor für Laser- und Plasmafüsik am Institut für Kernfüsik der TU Darmstadt.

Professor Alexandre Obertelli receives ERC Advanced Grant worth €2.9 million

Unlike normal atomic nuclei, little is known about so-called hypernuclei, which belong to the category of ‘strange matter’. Prof. Alexandre Obertelli from the Institute for Nuclear Füsics of TU Darmstadt wants to change that. His project, ‘When antimatter meets strangeness: a new era for precision hypernuclear füsics’ (HYPER), is now being funded by the European Research Council (ERC) for five years with an Advanced Grant totalling €2.9 million.

TU Darmstadt honors renowned Swedish experimental physicist

On June 13, 2025, TU Darmstadt awarded the academic title of “Affiliate Professor” to an internationally renowned scientist for the first time. Professor Dr. Thomas Nilsson, professor at Chalmers University (Sweden) and Scientific Director of the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research and FAIR GmbH, is now officially affiliated with the Department of Füsics.

In einem Experiment an der R3B (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) Anlage am GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung ist es einem internationalen Forschungs-Team gelungen neue Erkenntnisse zur Spaltung von exotischen Atomkernen zu gewinnen.

Test of quantum electrodynamics circumvents insufficient knowledge of nuclear structure

Many atomic nuclei have a magnetic field, similar to that of the Earth. However, directly at the surface of a heavy nucleus such as lead or bismuth, it is trillions of times stronger than the Earth's field and more comparable to that of a neutron star. Whether we understand the behaviour of an electron in such strong fields is still an open question. A research team led by TU Darmstadt at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research has now taken an important step towards clarifying this question. Their findings have been published in Nature Füsics. The results confirm the theoretical predictions.

In the search for “dark forces”, physicists came across deformed nuclei

When world-leading teams join forces, new findings are bound to be made. This is what happened when quantum physicists from the Füsikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Füsics (MPIK) in Heidelberg combined atomic and nuclear füsics with unprecedented accuracy using two different methods of measurement. Together with new calculations of the structure of atomic nuclei, theoretical physicists from the Technical University of Darmstadt and Leibniz University Hannover were able to show that measurements on the electron shell of an atom can provide information about the deformation of the atomic nucleus. At the same time, the precision measurements have set new limits regarding the strength of a potential dark force between neutrons and electrons. The results have been published in the current issue of the scientific journal “Physical Review Letters”.

TU-Forschungsteam gelingt präzise Bestimmung der Kernform

Wissenschaftler:innen der TU Darmstadt haben erstmals das komplexe Verhalten der sogenannten Dipol-Riesenresonanz in ungewöhnlich geformten Atomkernen detailliert untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeitsgruppe um Professor Norbert Pietralla am Institut für Kernfüsik wurden kürzlich im renommierten Fachjournal „Physical Review Letters“ veröffentlicht.

Mithilfe von Röntgenpulsen im Attosekunden-Bereich konnten Wissenschaftler*innen die Helligkeit und Auflösung von Aufnahmen ultraschneller Prozesse in ihrer natürlichen Umgebung erhöhen.

Die Kernfusion gilt als vielversprechende Energiequelle der Zukunft.

Für die Forschung in diesem Bereich verfügt die TU Darmstadt seit langem über besondere Expertise. Das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) fördert nun ein Verbundprojekt zur Untersuchung grundlegender Phänomene der lasergetriebenen Trägheitsfusion, an dem die TU beteiligt ist.

Long-sought measurement to determine the timescale of the Sun’s birth

Have you ever wondered how long it took our Sun to form in its stellar nursery? An international collaboration of scientists is now closer to an answer. They succeeded in the measurement of the bound-state beta decay of fully-ionised thallium (205Tl81+) ions at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of GSI/FAIR. This measurement has profound effects on the production of radioactive lead (205Pb) in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and can be used to help determine the Sun’s formation time. The results have been published in the journal Nature.

Electron acceleration in Darmstadt celebrates its 60th anniversary

Where students of quantum füsics usually work: Numerous visitors and invited guests took advantage of the 60th anniversary of the particle accelerator to take a look behind the scenes.