PEC Track
Explore the ultimate building blocks of the Universe.
From the tiniest particles to the vastness of the cosmos, the Elementary Particles & Cosmology Track combines experimental breakthroughs and theoretical insights to understand how nature works at its most fundamental level.
Department of Theoretical Physics
(CIAFF-UAM)
🔬 Experimental Particle Physics – Exploring the Tiniest Universe
Ordinary matter is made of quarks and leptons, described by the Standard Model through the strong, weak and electromagnetic forces. Yet many puzzles remain: the role of gravity, the origin of dark matter, why there are three generations of particles, the matter–antimatter asymmetry, and the nature of neutrinos.
CIAFF researchers tackle these questions through large-scale experiments:
- Beyond the Standard Model at the LHC – Participation in ATLAS and CMS, working on data analysis, triggering systems, and detector development (e.g., ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter, CMS muon drift tubes). A Tier-2 node of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid is also operated by the group.
- Neutrino Physics – Involvement in Super-Kamiokande and NEXT, probing neutrino properties, proton decay, and neutrinoless double-beta decay.
- Dark Matter Searches – Development of detectors for the Migdal experiment (RAL, UK), seeking to detect dark matter below 1 GeV through the atomic Migdal effect — a truly multidisciplinary effort in particle physics, microelectronics, and engineering.
⚛️ Quantum Technologies – Shaping the Second Quantum Revolution
Beyond experimental particle physics, CIAFF explores quantum information and computation as tools for fundamental science:
- Multipartite Entanglement in Superconducting Circuits – Developing protocols to harness entanglement in qubit systems and microwave photons, with applications from quantum computers to boson-sampling devices.
- Quantum Simulation of Field Theories and Nuclear Models – Using state-of-the-art quantum computers and analogue simulators to model quantum fields, gravity, and nuclear systems, complemented by machine-learning error-mitigation techniques.
Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT-UAM/CSIC)
💫 The Origin of Mass
Understanding how particles acquire mass is a cornerstone of modern physics. Following the discovery of a 126 GeV boson at CERN, researchers study Higgs physics, neutrino masses and mixing, and the matter–antimatter asymmetry. Experiments such as LHCb, CMS, and ATLAS provide unprecedented precision on heavy quarks, CP violation, and Higgs properties.
🌌 Quantum Fields, Strings & Gravity
IFT teams seek a unified picture of quantum mechanics and Einstein’s gravity. String theory, holography, and lattice field theory illuminate strongly coupled systems, black holes, and fundamental aspects of quantum fields, offering bridges between high-energy physics, condensed matter, and cosmology.
✨ The Origin and Composition of the Universe
Particle physics and cosmology are deeply connected. Researchers study dark matter, dark energy, and the early Universe through direct detection experiments (e.g., XENON), cosmic-ray and gamma-ray observatories (e.g., Fermi), precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background, and large galaxy surveys such as DES, Euclid, and BOSS.
🧠 Condensed Matter & Quantum Information
The frontiers of quantum many-body systems meet high-energy physics here. Work spans entanglement, conformal field theories, quantum simulations for particle physics, tensor networks, computational complexity, and quantum error correction, linking information theory with fundamental physics.