Educational
Frascati, March 27 – 31 , 2023
From Quarks to Black Holes: let’s get INSPYRED!
Unravelling the Secrets of the Strong Force: The SIDDHARTA-2 Experiment at the DAFNE Collider – F. Sgaramella (INFN-LNF)
The strong interaction is one of the four fundamental forces of nature that governs the behavior of subatomic particles. It is responsible for binding quarks together to form protons and neutrons, which in turn make up the atomic nuclei. However, despite its importance, the strong interaction remains one of the least understood forces in physics. To better understand this fundamental force, scientists have conducted experiments using particle colliders like the DAFNE collider in Italy.
One such experiment is the SIDDHARTA-2 experiment, which is focused on studying the properties of kaons – subatomic particles made up of the strange quark and the anti-quark up – and their interactions with other particles. By analyzing the behavior of kaons, we can gain insights into the nature of the strong interaction and the fundamental forces that govern it.
In this talk, we will explore the SIDDHARTA-2 experiment and its goals, including how it works, what it has discovered so far, and how its findings could impact our understanding of the strong interaction and the broader field of particle physics and astrophysics (equation of state of neutron stars). We will also discuss the challenges faced by scientists in studying the strong interaction and what the future of this exciting field of research may hold.
Francesco Sgaramella
Francesco Sgaramella was born in Rome, Italy, in 1994. He received the master’s degree in physics cum laude from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, and he is currently a Ph.D. student in experimental physics at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN-LNF). As a member of the SIDDHARTA-2 and VIP-2 collaboration, Francesco is deeply involved in the study of the strong interaction through kaonic atom X-ray spectroscopy and quantum mechanics, with his work resulting in multiple publications in international journals.