Our research focuses on a broad range of topics in astroparticle physics, notably all aspects of neutrino physics, dark matter, and gravitational waves. Moreover, we are interested in applications of quantum technology (quantum sensing and quantum computing) to problems in astroparticle physics.

With our work, we aim to address some of the most fundamental questions in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology:

• What is the nature of Dark Matter?
• Why is there more matter than antimatter in the Universe?
• How is the electroweak gauge symmetry broken?
• Why are there three generations of elementary particles?
• How can we probe matter under extreme conditions, for instance in supernovae or neutron stars?
• …

While many theoretical ideas exist to solve at least some of these problems, ultimate answers can only be provided by experiments. Our work therefore strongly emphasizes phenomenology, i.e. the observable consequences of the theories we study.

A full list of the group’s publications can be found on Inspire HEP

For opportunities to perform a B.Sc., M.Sc., or doctoral thesis in theoretical astroparticle physics, please contact Joachim Kopp, jkopp@uni-mainz.de. As most of our projects involve a fair amount of computing (computer algebra, numerical analysis, machine learning/AI, quantum computing, …), an interest in at least some of these methods is recommended.