Manfred Lindner Can Dark Matter Particles Be Detected Directly by Using a Xenon-based Detector?
Manfred Lindner is Director at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, as well as a Professor for physics and astronomy at the University of Heidelberg. Before joining the Max Planck Society, he spent 13 years teaching and conducting research as a Professor of theoretical physics at the Technical University Munich. Lindner’s research interest lies in the field of particle and astro-particle physics where he addresses formal theoretical questions but also engages in experimental projects. He has been contributing significantly to internationally leading projects on direct Dark Matter search, neutrino oscillations and lepton number violation. In 2016, Lindner was awarded an honorary doctorate of the Royal Institute of Technology (Kungliga Tekniska Högsksolan, KTH) in Stockholm for important contributions to neutrino physics.
Area of Research
Theoretical Particle Physics
since 2006
since 2007
Professor
Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)
2009-2011
1993-2006
Professor
Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München)
Physics Department
1991-1993
Fellow
Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)
Institut für Theoretische Physik
1989-1991
Research Fellow
CERN
1987-1989
Postdoc
Fermi National Accelerator Lab
1987
PhD
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
1984
Diploma
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
- Co-spokesperson of the XENON collaboration
- Double Chooz Collaboration (Member of the Executive Committee) (since 2006)
- Initiator and Member of the GLoBES Collaboration (since 2002)
- Spokesperson of the International Max Planck Research School ‘Precision Tests of Fundamental Symmetries'
- Scientific Committee of the International School on Astro-Particle Physics European Doctorate School (ISAPP) (2006)
Prizes
- Honorary Doctorate at the Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Sweden (2016)
Fellowships
- Member of the "Gutachterausschuss Astroteilchenphysik" of the German Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF) (since 2013)
© Maximilian Dörrbecker
Max Planck Society
"The Max Planck Society is Germany's most successful research organization. Since its establishment in 1948, no fewer than 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists, putting it on a par with the best and most prestigious research institutions worldwide. The more than 15,000 publications each year in internationally renowned scientific journals are proof of the outstanding research work conducted at Max Planck Institutes – and many of those articles are among the most-cited publications in the relevant field." (Source)
Institute
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK) is one out of 83 institutes and research establishments of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften (MPG) (Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science). The MPG was founded in 1948 as successor to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (established in 1911) and is committed to basic research.
The MPIK has been founded in 1958 under the leadership of Wolfgang Gentner. Its precursor was the Institute for Physics at the MPI for Medical Research led by Walther Bothe from 1934 to 1957. The initial scientific goals were basic research in nuclear physics and the application of nuclear-physics methods to questions concerning in the physics and chemistry of the cosmos. Since 1966 the MPIK is led by a board of directors. Today, the activities concentrate on the two interdisciplinary research fields quantum dynamics and astroparticle physics. (Source)
Map
Theoretical models suggest that a large part of our universe is made up of dark matter - this has not yet been directly observed but the existence of dark matter is inferred from its gravitational effects such as the rotation of galaxies. Currently researchers work on directly detecting these particles instead of just predicting them theoretically. In this video MANFRED LINDNER describes the detector used by the team of the XENON Dark Matter Project: Essentially, it is a vessel filled with liquefied xenon and equipped with highly sensitive light sensors. When a particle enters the detector, it will generate light pulses which enable the researchers to pinpoint the exact location of the interaction as well as the type of particle. The high sensitivity of the instrument requires that extreme care is taken to eliminate any background signals.
LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10366
XENON100 Dark Matter Results from a Combination of 477 Live Days
- Elena Aprile, Federica Agostini, Matteo Alfonsi, Francesco Amaro, Matthew Anthony, Francesco Arneodo, Catalin Balan, Laura Baudis, Boris Bauermeister and Manfred Lindner
- Physical Review D
- Published in 2016
