Recent Outreach Activities

The LHCb collaboration has announced the discovery of a new particle, the Ξ_cc⁺⁺ state. Just like the protons that circulate in the Large Hadron Collider, the new particle is a baryon, composed of three quarks bound together by the strong force. However, unlike the proton which is made from three light quarks (two up quarks and a down quark), the Ξ_cc⁺⁺ contains one up quark and two charm quarks. This discovery opens the door for novel investigations of the strong force that binds hadrons together.

The field of spintronics is rapidly developing from its roots in magnetic metal multilayers. In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) materials came to the forefront and advances in this field are expected to occur based on hybrid systems. A plethora of novel 2D materials offers fascinating fundamental properties for spin transport and controlled spin-light interaction. In this context, silicene is a particularly promising candidate for the design of spintronic devices. In the paper, we show how disorder, normally associated with reduced charge transport characteristics, can be used in silicence to enhance spin transport.

A state-of-the-art telescope for detecting optical signatures of gravitational waves - built and operated by an international research collaboration, led by the Astronomy and Astrophysics group - has been officially launched.