2024 research activities

Head Prof. Ran Budnik

Picture of Prof. Ran Budnik
Head

Prof. Ran Budnik

Office +972-8-934-4462

Overview

The Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics is engaged in both experimental and theoretical research, in various directions. These include elementary particle physics, field theory, string theory, theoretical astrophysics, observational astrophysics, particle astrophysics, relativistic heavy ion physics, molecular physics, nuclear physics, plasma physics, and radiation detection physics.

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  • Picture of Prof. Ofer Aharony

    Prof. Ofer Aharony

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    Non-local deformations of quantum field theories
    Collaboration with:  D. Kutasov, A. Giveon, N. Itzhaki, S. Dubovsky, N. Barel
    Counting black hole microstates using localization and complex gravitational solutions
    Collaboration with:  F. Benini, O. Mamroud, P. Milan
    Understanding gauge/gravity duality at weak coupling
    Collaboration with:  S. Chester, E. Urbach, T. Solberg, T. Sheaffer
    QCD in 1+1 dimensions and its string theory dual
    Collaboration with:  L. Yung, T. Sheaffer
    The charge-convexity conjecture in conformal field theories
    Collaboration with:  E. Palti, Y. Breitstein

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  • Picture of Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami

    Dr. Sagi Ben-Ami

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    White Dwarf Exoplanets
    White Dwarf Transits
    Habitable Zone - Short Period
    M-Dwarfs Habitability
    Collaboration with:  Yossi Shvartzvald
    Flares - UV, Visible, High Resolution
    Habitability
  • Picture of Prof. Micha Berkooz

    Prof. Micha Berkooz

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    Theoretical high energy physics
    String theory, Field theory, Gravity
    Particle Phenomenology
    Conformal field theory applications in condensed matter systems
    Quantum information and black holes

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  • Picture of Prof. Amos Breskin

    Prof. Amos Breskin

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    Noble-liquid neutron and gamma radiography concepts for detection of concealed explosives and nuclear materials (Homeland security)
    Photon imaging detectors
    Noble-liquid detector concepts for Dark-matter searches, neutrino physics and medical diagnostics
    Advanced gas-avalanche electron multipliers
    Particle tracking detectors for future particle and astroparticle experiments
    Methods of Nano-dosimetry for precise evaluation of radiation effects at the DNA level
    Methods for rapid evaluation of core fluids content in oil and gas wells

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  • Picture of Dr. Shikma Bressler

    Dr. Shikma Bressler

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    ATLAS experiment
    Data analysis - Searches for physics beyond the standard model
    Lepton flavour violating decays of the Higgs and Z bosons
    Asymmetry in electron/muon final states
    Generic data driven searches
    Instrumentation - Upgrade of the ATLAS muon spectrometer
    Production and testing of the sTGC chambers
    Performance studies
    Installation in the ATLAS cavern
    Detector physics
    Collaboration with:  RD51 collaboration
    Basic R&D
    The role of resistive materials in gaseous detectors
    Charge and light amplification in Liquid Argon
    Applicative R&D
    Physics applications - future calorimeters in accelerators
    Civil applications - muon tomography for hazardous material detection, volcanology, medicine and more

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  • Picture of Dr. Ran Budnik

    Dr. Ran Budnik

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    Dark Matter detection:
    The XENON Dark Matter project: Data analysis, physics interpretations, development and construction XENONnT , PMTs, calibration techniques, statistical inference
    Detector physics:
    Novel effects in LXe detectors
    Future concepts and technologies for rare event detection - optically measuring single defects in crystals and molecules
    Other:
    Future concepts for Cosmic Ray precision detection

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  • Picture of Prof. Ehud Duchovni

    Prof. Ehud Duchovni

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    Hardware: the construction of sTGC (stripped Thin Gap Chambers) for the ATLAS new small wheel
    Search for "Physics Beyond the Standard Model" by studying super energetic events with large number of jets
    Search for micro black holes
    Search for RPV SUSY
    Search for RPC SUSY
    Search for very heavy resonance decaying into jets
  • Picture of Prof. Yitzhak Frishman

    Prof. Yitzhak Frishman

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    Non-Abelian Gauge Theories and Bound States
    Collaboration with:  Prof Jacob Sonnenschein
    Current quarks, Constituent quarks, and Hadron Masses
    Collaboration with:  Prof Marek Karliner

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  • Picture of Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam

    Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam

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    Cosmic explosions
    Core-collapse supernova explosions: their origins, nature, physics and population statistics
    Thermonuclear supernova explosions (SNe Ia): their nature and rates
    Gamma-Ray Bursts: their origin and relation to supernovae
    New types of cosmic explosions

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  • Picture of Prof. Eilam Gross

    Prof. Eilam Gross

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    Higgs Physics with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
    Collaboration with:  Students: Michael Pitt and Jonathan Shlomi
    Search for Charged Higgs Boson
    Search for Higgs Decay to Charm Quarks
    Chram Tag
    Strtiatics in High Energy Pjysics

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  • Picture of Prof. Shmuel Gurvitz

    Prof. Shmuel Gurvitz

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    Multi-dimensional tunnelling.
    Collaboration with:  Xin-Qi Li, D. Sokolovski
    Two-potential approach to tunneling problems
    Cluster decay
    Modified tunneling Hamiltonian
    Tunneling of the Bose-Einstein Condensate
    Time-dependent quantum transport in mesoscopic system.
    Collaboration with:  A. Aharony, O. Entin-Wohlman, Xin-Qi Li, Wei-Min Zhang
    Number and energy resolved master equations for quantum transport
    Relaxation and dephasing in persistent current
    Zeno effect and quantum description of classical apparatus
  • Picture of Prof. Haim Harari

    Prof. Haim Harari

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    Neutrino Physics (Particle Physics, cosmology, astrophysics implications)
    Patterns of quarks and leptons (masses, mixing, substructure)

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  • Picture of Prof. Uri Karshon

    Prof. Uri Karshon

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    Heavy quark production at the HERA e-p collider.
    Collaboration with:  ZEUS Collaboration, DESY, Hamburg
    Gluon density in the proton and partonic structure of the photon.
    Collaboration with:  ZEUS Collaboration, DESY, Hamburg
    Tests of QCD dynamics in high energy e-p collisions.
    Collaboration with:  ZEUS Collaboration, DESY, Hamburg
  • Picture of Dr. Boaz Katz

    Dr. Boaz Katz

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    Open questions in theoretical astrophysics including:
    How do stars explode to produce supernovae? (I think there is an actual chance to finally answer this soon due to accumulating data and new ideas!)
    The three body problem (surprisingly connected to supernovae)
    Where do Cosmic Rays come from and how are they accelerated?

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  • Picture of Dr. Doron Kushnir

    Dr. Doron Kushnir

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    Problems within the field of high-energy astrophysics and gravitational waves astronomy. Especially supporting the ideas that:
    Supernova explosions of type Ia are due to direct collisions of white dwarf stars.
    Core-collapse supernovae are thermonuclear explosions.

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  • Picture of Prof. Yitzhak Maron

    Prof. Yitzhak Maron

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    Study of High-Energy-Density Plasmas:
    Collaboration with:  Cornell Univ. , Princeton Univ. , Sandia National Laboratories , Naval Research Laboratory, University of Jena in Germany , HZDR Institute-Dresden , Michigan State Univ. , Univ. of CA in San Diego , LLNL- NIF facility
    Experimental platform: Z-pinch systems, with and without externally applied magnetic fields
    Development of non-invasive spectroscopic diagnostic methods (from visible to x-rays) for investigating matter under extreme conditions. Development of measurements of high spectral , spatial , and temporal resolutions.
    Design and build up of fast (ns) and ultra-fast (sub ns) spectroscopic systems.
    Study of Instabilities and turbulence phenomena.
    Radiation transport in non-equilibrium plasmas.
    Conversion of electric and magnetic-field energy into particle kinetic energy and radiation.
    Close collaboration with Universities and National laboratories in the US (Cornell, Sandia National Laboratory, National Ignition Facility, and Naval Research Labs).
    Line shape computations in hot and dense plasmas
    Measurements of ion temperature and turbulence in current driven and radiation driven plasmas Measurements of magnetic fields in current driven implosions and in laser-matter interaction experiments
    High-Power-Laser matter interaction:
    Collaboration with:  University of Jena and HZDR-Dresden in Germany , LLNL - National Ignition facility, Sandia National Laboratories.
    Warm dense matter (solid-state density with temperatures of the order of the Fermi energy) formed by intense laser-matter interaction.
    Intense-laser-beam guiding by plasma channels.
    Experiments are performed in major European facilities: Jena University and HZDR - Drezden (Germany), Ѐcole polytechnique - LULI (France).
    Analysis of x-ray data from NIF

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  • Picture of Prof. Giora Mikenberg

    Prof. Giora Mikenberg

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    Maintenece and construction of the upgrade of the ATLAS-MUON End-Cap MUON System
    Search for Higgs bosons and SUSY particles at LHC.
    Collaboration with:  E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. Lellouch
    Search for the standard-model and SUSY Higgs-bosons at LEP.
    Collaboration with:  E. Duchovni, E. Gross, L. Levinson, D. Lellouch
  • Picture of Prof. Alexander Milov

    Prof. Alexander Milov

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    Detector upgrades for ATLAS and PHENIX
    Collective dynamics.
    Heavy boson production and boson-jet correlations
    Global event characterization
    Analysis of the Heavy Ion data from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC

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  • Picture of Dr. David Mross

    Dr. David Mross

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    Fractional quantum Hall effect
    Non-Abelian states at filling factor 5/2
    Composite Fermi liquids and particle-hole symmetry
    Edge-states and disorder effects
    Quantum magnetism
    Quantum spin liquids in frustrated magnets
    Unconventional quantum phase transitions
    Dualities
    Applications of dualities in condensed matter physics
    Derivation of new dualities through coupled-wire constructions

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  • Picture of Prof. Yosef Nir

    Prof. Yosef Nir

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    Particle cosmology
    Collaboration with:  Marta Losada, Elina Fuchs
    Baryogenesis; Leptogenesis; Dark matter
    Higgs physics
    Flavor physics
    CP violation
    Neutrino physics
    Collaboration with:  Marta Losada, Gilad Perez
    Gender in physics
    Collaboration with:  Maytal Eran-Jona, Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli, Sharon Diamant-Pick

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  • Picture of Prof. Eran Oded Ofek

    Prof. Eran Oded Ofek

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    Gravitational lensing and microlensing
    Astronomical algorithms and high contrast imaging.
    Search for km-size Kuiper Belt objects and Oort Cloud objects.
    Transients and supernovae; shock breakout observations and measuring the properties of supernova progenitors; Eruptions prior to supernova explosions and interaction between the supernova ejeecta and its circumstellar matter; Design of the ULTRASAT UV space telescope.
    Search for isolated black holes in the Galaxy via astrometric microlensing.
    The Large Array Survey Telescope

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  • Picture of Prof. Gilad Perez

    Prof. Gilad Perez

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    What gives masses to the particles? We believe that it is related to electroweak symmetry breaking which raises the hierarchy problem, the huge gap between the weak and Planck scales. The LHC experiments is addressing some of these questions and at the same time rising new ones. Recent cosmological-observation raised additional puzzles: What is the source of dark matter and energy? We explore experimental and theoretical methods to improve our knowledge regarding these issues. We also propose to use optical atomic clock spectroscopy to Search for Higgs-mediated interactions in atoms at table top experiments
    Interpreting a 750 GeV Diphoton Resonance, By Rick S. Gupta, Sebastian Jager, Yevgeny Kats, Gilad Perez, Emmanuel Stamou. arXiv:1512.05332 [hep-ph].
    Is the Higgs Mechanism of Fermion Mass Generation a Fact? A Yukawa-less First-Two-Generation Model, By Diptimoy Ghosh, Rick Sandeepan Gupta, Gilad Perez. arXiv:1508.01501 [hep-ph].
    A Universe without weak interactions, By Roni Harnik, Graham D. Kribs, Gilad Perez. hep-ph/0604027. Phys.Rev. D74 (2006) 035006.
    Probing New Long-Range Interactions by Isotope Shift Spectroscopy By Julian C. Berengut et al.. arXiv:1704.05068 [hep-ph]. 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.091801. Phys.Rev.Lett. 120 (2018) 091801.
    Probing Atomic Higgs-like Forces at the Precision Frontier By Cédric Delaunay, Roee Ozeri, Gilad Perez, Yotam Soreq. arXiv:1601.05087 [hep-ph]. 10.1103/PhysRevD.96.093001. Phys.Rev. D96 (2017) no.9, 093001.

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  • Picture of Dr. Noam Tal Hod

    Dr. Noam Tal Hod

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    Physics analysis with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC (CERN)
    Collaboration with:  NIKHEF, The University of Michigan, University of Wuppertal
    Direct tests of lepton universality
    Search for new physics beyond the standard model in dilepton+X final states (heavy resonances, contact interactions, clockwork-like signals, lepton flavour violation)
    Upgrade of the ATLAS muon spectrometer
    Collaboration with:  Multiple institutions (mostly from Canada, Chile, Russia, China and the USA)
    Construction and integration of the sTGC detectors in the New Small Wheel of ATLAS
    LUXE experiment at DESY
    Collaboration with:  DESY, Albert-Ludwig Universitaet Freiburg, Max-Planck Institute of Structure and Matter, Helmholtz-Zentrum Jena, Friedrich-Schiller Universitaet Jena, Queens University Belfast, University College London, University of Plymouth, Tel Aviv University, Technion
    Unparalleled tests of strong-field QED in collisions between high-energy electron/photon beam and high-intensity laser pulses. The Schwinger limit is expected to be reached (at the collision centre of mass frame) for the first time in a clean environment.
    Development of solid-state detectors for tracking and calorimetry
    Design, simulation and analysis of the entire experimental setup
    Probing novel beyond the standard model physics which may be enhanced in the presence of strong-fields, e.g. production of axion-like particles which are associated with solution to many of the outstanding problems in particle physics, and which can be furthermore linked to the origin of dark matter.

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  • Picture of Prof. Igal Talmi

    Prof. Igal Talmi

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    Theory of nuclear structure
    Collaboration with:  Shalom Shlomo, Texas A & M University
    The shell model, its application and its foundations

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  • Picture of Prof. Itzhak Tserruya

    Prof. Itzhak Tserruya

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    Electron pair production in relativistic heavy ion collisions: search for quark-gluon plasma and chiral symmetry restoration.
    Collaboration with:  I. Ravinovich
    R&D, construction and installation of an HBD (Hadron Blind Detector) for the PHENIX experiment at RHIC.
    Collaboration with:  I. Ravinovich
    Study of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions using the PHENIX detector at RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the CERES detector at CERN
    Collaboration with:  I. Ravinovich

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  • Picture of Prof. Vladimir Usov

    Prof. Vladimir Usov

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    Physical processes in relativistic electron-positron plasma.
    Collaboration with:  G.Z. Machabeli
    The theory of nonthermal radiation from compact astronomical objects (pulsars, white dwarfs, gamma-ray bursters etc.).
    Collaboration with:  A.K. Harding, D.B. Melrose, M. Milgrom, A.G. Muslimov, A.E. Shabad
    Physical processes in very strong magnetic fields.
    Collaboration with:  A.E. Shabad
    Physical processes at the surface and astrophysical appearance of strange-quark-matter stars.
    Collaboration with:  K.S. Cheng, T. Harko, M. Milgrom, F.Weber
    Hydrodynamics and high-energy physics of colliding stellar winds in binary systems.
    Collaboration with:  N.N. Pilyugin
  • Picture of Prof. Eli Waxman

    Prof. Eli Waxman

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    Theoretical astrophysics
    Collaboration with:  Avishay Gal-Yam, Boaz Katz, Doron Kushnir, Eran Ofek, Yossi Shvartzvald
    Cosmic explosions (Fast radio bursts, Neutron star mergers, Gamma-ray bursts, Supernovae)
    High energy and plasma astrophysics
    Neutrino and cosmic-ray astrophysics
    The ULTRASAT UV satellite project
    Collaboration with:  Sagi Ben-Ami, Avishay Gal-Yam, Eran Ofek, Yossi Shvratzvald

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  • Picture of Dr. Barak Zackay

    Dr. Barak Zackay

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    gravitational wave data analysis
    Collaboration with:  Matias Zaldarriaga - IAS princeton Tejaswi Venumadhav - UCSB
    Searching for binary black holes
    Exact signal processing - Methods for exact determination of statistical significance Coping with changing statistical models Robust statistics Bayesian parameter estimation
    Searching for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)
    Search for exoplanets
    Collaboration with:  Tsevi Mazeh - Tel Aviv University
    High contrast imaging - Developing a novel method for directly imaging planets by using precision waveform estimation and exact statistics.
    Detecting transiting planets - Improving the search for transiting planets in all regimes (long-periods, short-periods) and around binary stars. Binary planets and exo-moons Exact population modeling of exoplanets.
    Precision photometry - using advanced statistical methods for cancelling systematic noise in ground and space based precision photometry campaigns.
    Pulsar and FRB astronomy
    Collaboration with:  Thomas Prince - Caltech Victoria Kaspi - McGill university
    Searching for pulsars near the black hole in the galactic center
    Searching for pulsars in relativistic binary systems
    Lattice algorithms for solving the timing problem
    Searching the micro-second radio sky for fast radio bursts
    Solving the periodicity of gamma-ray pulsars and FRBs using the lattice algorithms

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  • Picture of Prof. Daniel Zajfman

    Prof. Daniel Zajfman

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    Atomic and Molecular Physics
    Collaboration with:  Oded Heber
    Ion trapping, storage rings, photodissociation, photodetachement, cluster physics, laboratory astrophysics
    Science Education

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