Eight Clusters of Excellence

The existence of dark matter and the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe point to gaps in our understanding of the world around us. Even though virtually all the measurements that we can make in particle physics can already be described in detail by the Standard Model, deciphering the structure of subatomic matter is one of the most pressing questions in fundamental physics. Specifically, researchers are wondering where new phenomena of fundamental physics might be hiding. Some of the most intriguing measurements in recent years have involved interplay between the strong (“color”) and weak (“flavor”) interaction. It is this interplay that the researchers in the new Cluster of Excellence together with TU Dortmund University, the University of Siegen and Forschungszentrum Jülich now want to investigate in more detail in a close partnership between theory and experimentation. They will focus on the physics of quarks and the question of how these fundamental building blocks of matter form complex bonding states and are also intending to explore the properties of the Higgs boson and continue the hunt for the axion. With the masses of the six known quarks spanning several orders of magnitude, the experimental infrastructure needed to study them ranges from experiments at low-to-medium energy levels at the ELSA particle accelerator in Bonn all the way through to ultra-high-energy experiments using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, which will also offer an opportunity to investigate the Higgs boson.

Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Jochen Dingfelder, Elementary Particle Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Bonn; Speaker for the Research and Technology Center for Detector Physics

Universities and Institutions involved:
TU Dortmund University, University of Siegen, Forschungszentrum Jülich

The Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy addresses pressing societal and technological challenges such as global financial crises, rising inequality, political polarization, digitalization and climate change. Approximately 150 researchers from economics and related disciplines work on innovative approaches to analyze markets and public policy and develop responses to such challenges. At the heart of the research is human thinking and acting, including notions of fairness, beliefs and expectations – crucial factors for better understanding markets and deriving well-founded recommendations for policy and market design. In the second funding phase, the Clusters’ researchers will increasingly focus on the conditions under which policy proposals attract support in society.

Speakers:
Prof. Dr. Thomas Dohmen, Applied Micro-Economics, University of Bonn
Prof. Dr. Matthias Heinz, Director of the Reinhard Selten Institute, University of Bonn and University of Cologne
Prof. Dr. Pia Pinger, Economics, University of Cologne

Universities and Institutions involved:
University of Cologne, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn

The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) was founded in 2006 as the first-ever Cluster of Excellence for mathematics in Germany. It has evolved into an internationally significant center for mathematical research and teaching and for academic dialogue. The HCM produces a host of world-renowned award winners every year. Its research interests range from pure and applied mathematics and questions of economics through to interdisciplinary projects involving colleagues from fields such as materials research and the life sciences.

Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Valentin Blomer, Mathematical Institute, University of Bonn

Institutions involved:
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics

ImmunoSensation has done much to advance our understanding of the immune system ever since it was established in 2012. It involves over 80 research groups from the fields of immunology, neuroscience, system biology, bioinformatics, mathematics and clinical research working closely together. Through their joint efforts, they have made a major contribution to the identification and characterization of key innate immune system sensors, decoded new immune activation mechanisms and elevated the concept of immune sensing to international prominence. Essentially, this views the immune system as an immune sensory system—as a “sensory organ,” in other words. The cluster’s aim for the next funding period onward, when it will bear the new name of ImmunoSensation³, is to use these foundations to tackle the next scientific challenge on its agenda. This will be to conduct systematic research into immune diversity, i.e. the structural, functional and dynamic variety present in the immune system.

Speaker:
Prof. Gunther Hartmann, MD, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Bonn, University of Bonn

Institutions involved:
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)

Quantum computers lie at the heart of the ML4Q Cluster of Excellence, which was founded in 2019 by the University of Bonn, the University of Cologne and RWTH Aachen University together with Forschungszentrum Jülich. The cluster aims to lay the foundations for new computer and network architectures that are based on the principles of quantum mechanics and are more powerful than conventional computers. To this end, it works to analyze and optimize the quantum materials required to create various qubit platforms such as semiconductor qubits, superconducting qubits, topological qubits and Rydberg atoms. The cluster’s researchers are also devising algorithms for fault-tolerant quantum computing and strategies for quantum error correction.

Speaker:
Prof. Yoichi Ando, Solid State Physics, University of Cologne

Speaker in Bonn:
Prof. Dr. Simon Stellmer, Quantum Metrology, University of Bonn

Universities and Institutions involved:
University of Cologne, RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Jülich

The structure and development of our Universe is shaped by countless phenomena that follow some very different timescales, ranging from fractions of a second to billions of years. This new Cluster of Excellence,  in partnership with the University of Cologne, brings the various processes of astrophysics together through a combination of observations using new instruments, theory backed by innovative simulation and data science methods, and laboratory astrophysics. The aim is to come up with a complete description of the evolution of matter and energy flows over time. Within the Bonn/Cologne region, the cluster initiative is based in a internationally acclaimed center of expertise for radio astronomy, underpinned by four main pillars: (1) building state-of-the-art detectors and instruments for international telescopes; (2) leading large-scale observation programs; (3) running a world-class laboratory for astrophysics; and (4) simulating the dynamic evolution of planets, stars and galaxies on high-performance computers.

Speaker:
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Walch-Gassner, Astrophysics, University of Cologne

Speaker in Bonn:
Prof. Dr. Cristiano Porciani, Astrophysics, University of Bonn

Universities and Institutions involved:
University of Cologne (applicant), Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy, Bonn, Forschungszentrum Jülich, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Bonn