Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

50 Years of experimental particle physics in Bonn. A personal recollection

  • Personal recollection
  • Published:
The European Physical Journal H Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The first synchrotron for electrons in Europe was built at the Physikalisches Institut Bonn in the fifties, and two electron accelerators were built in the following decades. For fifty years, accelerators in Bonn have been in use for studying particle physics in scattering experiments with electron and photon beams, and for research and development of new detector components in both accelerator and experimental technology. Also, for fifty years, experimental groups in Bonn have worked on external experiments at accelerators and storage rings in the large research centres CERN and DESY. In this article, the long history of experimental particle physics in Bonn and at external accelerators is reviewed. It is shown that the interplay between an institute at a university and research centres can be very fruitful. Running accelerators at the institute supported by well equipped workshops were the basis for a wide range of technical developments. Most of the work was carried out in the hands of students. This was successful and guaranteed optimal possibilities for their education. The article is based on the personal recollection of the author.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. The ALEPH Collaboration et al. 2006. Precision Electroweak Measurement on the Z Resonance. Phys. Rep. 427: 257

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Althoff, K.-H. 1969. Das 2.5 GeV-Electronen-Synchrotron der Universität Bonn. Sonderdruck des Landesamts für Forschung, JAHRBUCH 1969, Westdeutscher Verlag, Köln und Opladen

  3. Althoff, K.-H. et al. 1977. Photoproduction of pions on polarised protons and neutrons in the second resonance region. Nucl. Phys. B 131: 1

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Anderson, H.L. et al. 1952. Total Cross Sections of Positive Pions in Hydrogen. Phys. Rev. 85: 936

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Apsimon, R.J. et al. 1989. Inclusive photoproduction of single charged particles at high P(T). Z. Phys. C 43: 63

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. ATLAS Collaboration. 2012. Observation of a New Particle in the Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Phys. Lett. B 716: 1

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Barnes, V. et al. 1964. Observation of a Hyperon with Strangeness Minus Three. Phys. Rev. Lett. 12: 204

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Barth, J. et al. 2003. Evidence for the positive-strangeness pentaquark Θ+ in photoproduction with the SAPHIR detector at ELSA. Phys. Lett. B 572: 127

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Baum G. and U. Koch 1969. A Source of Polarized Electrons. Nucl. Instr. and Meth. 71: 189

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Boden, B. et al. 1991. Elastic electron deuteron scattering on a tensor polarised solid N D3 target. Z. Physik C 49: 175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Brandt, S. 1963. Wechselwirkung von negativen π-Mesonen eines Impulses von 10 GeV mit Protonen unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Erzeugung seltsamer Teilchen und der Methoden zur Auswertung von Blasenkammerbildern. Ph.D thesis, Bonn

  12. Breidenbach, M. el al. 1969. Observed Behavior of Highly Inelastic Electron-Proton Scattering, Phys. Rev. Lett. 23: 935

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Brianti, G. 2004. CERN’s contributions to accelerators and beams. Eur. Phys. J. C 34: 15

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Burmester, R. 2010. Die vier Leben einer Machine. Deutsches Museum. Abhandlungen und Berichte. Neue Folge. Band 26. Wallstein Verlag

  15. Chekanov, S. et al. 2007. Jet-radius dependence of inclusive-jet cross sections in deep inelastic scattering at HERA. Phys. Lett. B 649: 12

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. CMS Collaboration. 2012. Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. Phys. Lett. B 716: 36

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Courant, E.D., S. Livingston, H.S. Snyder 1952. The Strong-Focusing Synchrotron - a New High Energy Accelerator. Phys. Rev. 88: 11190

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Drees, J. and W. Paul 1964. Beschleunigung von Elektronen in einem Plasmabetatron. Z. Phys. 180: 340

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Dutz, H. et al. 1995. An internal superconducting holding coil for frozen spin targets. Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 256: 111

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Dutz, H. et al. 2004. Experimental Check of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Sum Rule on H. Phys. Rev. Lett. 93: 032003

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Edwards, R. et al. 2011. Nuclear Physics from Lattice QCD. arXiv:1104.5152

  22. Englert, F. and R. Brout 1964. Broken symmetry and the Mass of Gauge Vector Bosons. Phys. Rev. Lett. 13: 321

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Freytag, D. et al. 1965. Measurement of the Cross Sections for the Photoproduction of Positive Pions on Hydrogen in the Region of the first Resonance. Z. Phys. 186: 1

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Gattringer, C. and C.B. Lang 2010. Quantumchromodynamics on the Lattice, Springer

  25. Gell-Mann, M. and Y. Ne’eman 1964. The Eightfold Way. Frontiers in Physics. Publisher Benjamin, New York

  26. Gell-Mann, M. 1964. A Schematic Model of Baryons and Mesons. Phys. Lett. 8: 214

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Glander, K.-H. et al. 2004. Measurement of γp → K+Λ and γp → K+Σ0 at photon energies up to 2.6 GeV. Eur. Phys. J. A 19: 251

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Grosse-Knetter, J. 2008. Concept, realization and characterization of serially powered pixel modules. Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 568: 252

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hicks, K.H. 2012. On the conundrum of the pentaquark. Eur. Phys. J. H 37: 1

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  30. Higgs, P. 1964. Broken Symmetries and the masses of the Gauge Bosons. Phys. Rev. Lett. 13: 508

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Hillert, W. 2006. The Bonn Electron Stretcher Accelerator ELSA: Past and Future. Eur. Phys. J. A 28: 139

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Husmann, D. and W.J. Schwille 1988. ELSA - die neue Bonner Elektron-Stretcher-Anlage. Physikalische Blaetter 44, Nr.2: 40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Kolanoski, H. 1984. Two-Photon Physics at e+e− Storage Rings. Springer Tracts of Modern Physics 105

  34. Leutwyler, H. 1994. On the foundations of chiral perturbation theory. Annals of Physics 235: 165

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Lohrmann, E. and P. Soeding 2009. Von schnellen Teilchen und hellem Licht, 50 Jahre Deutsches Elektronensynchrotron. Wiley-VCH Verlag, Weinheim

  36. Loring, U. et al. 2001. The light baryon spectrum in a relativistic quark model with instanton induced quark forces: The non-strange baryon spectrum and ground states, Eur. Phys. J. A 10: 395

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. Maharana, K. et al. 1979. Baryonium masses in a quark model. Phys. Rev. D 20: 2920

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Meyer, W. 1985. Present status of polarised targets for high intensity photon and electron beams. Nucl. Phys. B 446: 1

    Google Scholar 

  39. Meyer, W. 1988. Polarised target physics at the Bonn electron accelerators. Physikalisches Institut Bonn. BN-IR-88-60

  40. Nakamura, K. et al. 2010. Review of Particle Properties. J. Phys. G 37: 075021

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. Paul, E. 1976. Interference experiments with neutral kaons. Springer Tracts of Modern Physics 79: 53

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. Paul, S. 2009. The puzzle of neutron lifetime. Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 611: 157

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. Paul, W. et al. 1989. Measurement of the neutron lifetime in a magnetic storage ring. Z. Phys. C 45: 25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Perl, M.L. et al. 1975. Evidence for Anomalous Lepton Production in e+e− annihilation. Phys. Rev. Lett. 35: 635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Plass, G. 2011. The CERN proton synchrotron: 50 years of reliable operation and continued development. Eur. Phys. J. H 36: 439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Schildknecht, D. 2006. Vector Meson Dominance. Acta Phys. Pol. B 37: 595

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  47. Schwela, D. et al. 1967. Evolution of Multipoles for Photo- and Electroproduction of Pions. Z. Phys. 202: 452

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  48. Söding, P. 2010. On the discovery of the gluon. Eur. Phys. J. H 35: 1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Stahl, A. 1999. Physics with Tau Leptons. Springer Tracts of Modern Physics 160

  50. Stepanyan, S. et al. 2003. Observation of an Exotic S = 1 Baryon in Exclusive Photoproduction from the Deuteron. Phys. Rev. Lett. 91: 252001

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. Trnka, D. et al. 2005. Observation of In-Medium Modifications of the ω Mesons. Phys. Rev. Lett. 94: 192303

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. Tsemelis, E. 2011. Jack Steinberger: Memories of the PS and of LEP. Eur. Phys. J. H 36: 455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Zweig, G. 1964. An SU(3) Model for Strong Interactions and its Breaking. CERN Report Nr. TH 401, unpublished; Zweig, G. 1964. An SU(3) Model for Strong Interactions and its Breaking: II. CERN Report Nr. TH 412, unpublished

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physikalisches Institut der Universität Bonn, D53012, Bonn, Germany

    Ewald Paul

Authors
  1. Ewald Paul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ewald Paul.

Additional information

Dedicated to Wolfgang Paul, on the occasion of his hundredth birthday

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Paul, E. 50 Years of experimental particle physics in Bonn. A personal recollection. EPJ H 38, 471–506 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/e2013-30028-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/e2013-30028-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation