News from the Physics Department

Science is exciting! These pages keep you up to date on what is happening at the Physics Department: scientists report on research and campus life.

TV report about TUM's corona research

2022-01-11 – On December 27 and 28, Sat.1 Bayern reported about corona research in Bavaria. Among the key topics was a new X-ray technology that could be used to diagnose Covid-19. Dark-field X-ray imaging is a novel technology developed by Franz Pfeiffer, Professor of Biomedical Physics and Director of the Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering (MIBE) at the Technical University of Munich.

New materials for quantum technologies

2021-12-23 – While conventional electronics relies on the transport of electrons, components that convey spin information alone may be many times more energy efficient. Physicists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart have now made an important advance in the development of novel materials for such components. These materials may also be the key to quantum computers that are less susceptible to interference.

The tetra-neutron – a miniature neutron star

2021-12-13 – While all atomic nuclei except hydrogen are composed of protons and neutrons, physicists have been searching for a particle consisting of two, three or four neutrons for over half a century. Experiments by a team of physicists of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) at the accelerator laboratory on the Garching research campus now indicate that a particle comprising four bound neutrons may well exist.

Twisting elusive quantum particles

2021-12-07 – While the number of qubits and the stability of quantum states are still limiting current quantum computing devices, there are questions where these processors are already able to leverage their enormous computing power. In collaboration with the Google Quantum AI team scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Nottingham used a quantum processor to simulate the ground state of a so-called toric code Hamiltonian – an archetypical model system in modern condensed matter physics, which was originally proposed in the context of quantum error correction.

Prof. Dr. Rainer Blatt new TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor

2021-11-26 – Prof. Dr. Rainer Blatt, experimental physicist and Scientific Director of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, was awarded the TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professorship on 11 November 2021.

Coronavirus : Current information on studies, teaching and exams ("2G rule" / study progress checks are extended in winter semester 2021/22)

2021-11-23 – In view of the dynamics of the current situation, we refer to the relevant information on the TUM website and restrict ourselves to a few specific instructions from the Faculty of Physics . In order to identify changes quickly, the date of the last change is added to the individual paragraphs.

Obituary: Prof. Dr. Shawn Bishop (1971 - 2021)

2021-10-29 – The Physics Department mourns the untimely loss of Prof. Dr. Shawn Bishop. After a long and serious illness he passed away on 19 October 2021, just a few days before his 50th birthday.

New X-ray technology first used with patients

2021-10-26 – For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have successfully used a new X-ray method for respiratory diagnostics with patients. Dark-field X-rays visualize early changes in the alveolar structure caused by the lung disease COPD and require only one fiftieth of the radiation dose typically applied in X-ray computed tomography. This permits broad medical application in early detection and treatment follow-up of respiratory ailments.

Unusual superconductivity with two phases

2021-09-30 – Materials with multiple superconducting phases have so far rarely been observed. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids and the Technical University of Munich are now reporting on the discovery of a two-phase unconventional superconductivity in the heavy fermion superconductor CeRh\(_2\)As\(_2\). Their observations have been published in the journal Science.

The virus trap

2021-07-15 – To date, there are no effective antidotes against most virus infections. An interdisciplinary research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now developed a new approach: they engulf and neutralize viruses with nano-capsules tailored from genetic material using the DNA origami method. The strategy has already been tested against hepatitis and adeno-associated viruses in cell cultures. It may also prove successful against corona viruses.

Mechanical stimuli influence organ growth

2021-07-13 – In addition to chemical factors, mechanical influences play an important role in the natural growth of human organs such as kidneys, lungs and mammary glands – but also in the development of tumors. Now a research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has investigated the process in detail using organoids, three-dimensional model systems of such organs which are produced in the laboratory.

Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon for Volker Schönfelder

2021-06-24 – On 21 June 2021, the Bavarian State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Roland Weigert, awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon to Professor Dr Volker Schönfelder, former head of the Gamma Astronomy Group at MPE from 1982 to 2004 and professor at the Physics Department.

New light on making two-dimensional polymers

2021-06-11 – An international research team led by members from the Technical University of Munich, the Deutsches Museum, the Linköping University has developed a method to manufacture two-dimensional polymers with the thickness of a single molecule. The polymers are formed on a surface by the action of light. The discovery paves the way to new ultrathin and functional materials.

Borexino team receives prestigious Cocconi award

2021-06-01 – For their groundbreaking observations of solar neutrinos, with which the fusion reactions inside the sun could be experimentally proofed for the first time, the team of the Borexino collaboration receives the prestigious Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize. Every two years, the European Physical Society awards it to an outstanding discovery in astro-particle physics and cosmology of the past 15 years.

Making the gray cells happy

2021-05-21 – Depressive disorders are among the most frequent illnesses worldwide. The causes are complex and to date only partially understood. The trace element lithium appears to play a role. Using neutrons of the research neutron source at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), a research team has now proved that the distribution of lithium in the brains of depressive people is different from the distribution found in healthy humans.

Prof. Karen Alim receives international research award

2021-04-29 – Karen Alim, Professor on Theory of Biological Networks at the Technical University of Munich, together with a team of international scientists receives a prestigious research grant from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), a global program to promote excellent research in the life sciences. The grant is endowed with 1 Mio Dollar for three years.

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