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.

The Physics Department's international information event will take place on Tuesday, 4 November 2025, at 3:30 p.m. in S207/109.

On 17 October 2025, the Department of Physics at TU Darmstadt honoured its graduates in a festive ceremony in the Maschinenhaus.

A total of 59 Bachelor's, 50 Master's and 44 Doctoral graduates were recognised for their successful degrees – a special moment marked by a festive atmosphere, inspiring speeches and musical highlights.

With exciting insights into research, teaching and campus life

For a few weeks now, the Department of Physics at TU Darmstadt has been active on LinkedIn with its own official channel. With this new presence, we aim to offer all those interested in physics – especially international students and researchers – an up-to-date look at the diverse world of physics at TU Darmstadt.

Mit aktuellen Veranstaltungshinweisen für alle, die Forschung und Wissenschaft hautnah erleben möchten.

Ob spannende Einblicke in die Welt der Quanten bei “Saturday Morning Physics“, ein “Winterspaziergang durchs Universum“ mit Blick in die Tiefen des Kosmos, faszinierende Forschung aus erster Hand bei „Wissenschaft für Alle“ oder eine Woche für neugierige Nachwuchsphysiker*innen beim “TUdiscover Girls’ Camp“ – in den kommenden Monaten gibt es wieder viele Gelegenheiten, Physik hautnah zu erleben.

Apply from 1-15 October

International students can apply for the performance-based scholarship if they are in the final phase of their studies.

Prof. Evgeny Epelbaum was the lecturer of our Theoretical Topical Lecture Week in Summer 2025 and presented 6 Lectures on “Effective theory of nuclear interactions” to the young Researchers of the SFB.

Darmstadt, Germany / Durham, USA – A research team at TU Darmstadt around Prof. Pietralla, has developed and applied a novel experimental approach that challenges conventional assumptions in nuclear physics. The data from a research project led by Dr. Isaak and analyzed and interpreted by Dr. Papst for his dissertation at the Institute for Nuclear Physics at TU Darmstadt, suggest that atomic nuclei may behave less randomly at high excitation energies than previously thought. Instead, special nuclear structure effects may continue to play a role.

Andreas Geißel (SFB 1245, B05) defended his dissertation entitled „Phase structure and Thermodynamics of cold and dense quark matter“ successfully. Congratulations.

TU researchers set a new benchmark

Adrian Brauch (AccelencE, ELEMENTS, Nuclear Photonics) defended his dissertation entitled “Versatile Bunch Length Measurement Setup for Femtocoulomb Bunch Charges at the S-DALINAC” successfully. Congratulations.

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 Physics of TU Darmstadt wants to change that. His project, ‘When antimatter meets strangeness: a new era for precision hypernuclear physics’ (HYPER), is now being funded by the European Research Council (ERC) for five years with an Advanced Grant totalling €2.9 million.

Giacomo Ricigliano (SFB 1245, B07) defended his dissertation entitled „Probing the origin of heavy elements in extreme conditions: the message of kilonovae“ successfully. Congratulations.

At the nearly-monoenergetic, fully-polarized gamma beam at HIGS, the isotope Nd-150 was irradiated at energies up to the particle threshold (approx. 7 MeV). A new mode of the facility for high beam resolution was used. The surprising result: the decays do not follow the so-called Porter-Thomas distribution, but indicate structure in the chaos of the highly-excited nuclear states, which in turn may also have far-reaching implications for the description of astrophysical processes.

We have just published in Phys. Rev. Lett. the result of the first experimental test of the Ratio Method to study halo nuclei.

The annual workshop of SFB 1245 took place from May 5 to 9 in Bad Honnef. The latest physics results in the SFB 1245 and in related fields were discussed in overall 36 presentations, including a few invited speakers.

Prof. Iain Moore was the lecturer of our Experimental Topical Lecture Week in Spring 2025 and presented 6 Lectures on “Nuclear Ground-State Properties” to the young Researchers of the SFB.