Seminar

Accessibility in academic and scientific settings remains a major challenge. This seminar will explore the obstacles faced by people with disabilities and present practical solutions to improve accessibility—both in terms of infrastructure and workplace culture—to foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment.

Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay is a rare, pivotal process to test Majorana neutrinos and lepton number conservation. The seminar highlights bolometric detection methods and CUPID’s cutting-edge tech—a next-gen experiment with strong discovery potential.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is mapping 11 billion years of cosmic expansion with unprecedented precision. Early results from its first three years suggest dark energy may evolve over time—not stay constant—challenging current theories about the universe’s acceleration.

The Egyptians dated events by reigns, not in absolute years. The Meryt project, presented in this seminar, combines radiocarbon (C14) dating and Bayesian statistics to precisely date their history, such as the end of Khufu’s reign.

Probing the polarisation of W and Z bosons helps explain how electroweak symmetry is broken and tests the Standard Model (SM) and new physics. A new method calculates polarised cross-sections with high precision, including QCD and electroweak corrections. Recent results cover SM predictions for ZZ and WZ production, and beyond-SM studies in the SMEFT framework. These advances improve LHC data analysis and the search for new physics.

The R2D2 collaboration is developing a radial time projection chamber with a fiducial mass of half a tonne of 136Xe at high pressure. This experiment aims to detect neutrinoless double beta decay, which would confirm neutrinos as Majorana particles. The goal is to achieve a tonne-scale, zero-background experiment. Simulations suggest it could set a half-life limit exceeding 10^27 years and constrain neutrino mass, potentially excluding the inverted mass hierarchy region.

The European Strategy for Particle Physics is focusing on developing an electron-positron collider, with plans to be detailed in the 2026 update. Proposed projects include CLIC, ILC, and FCC-ee. France is leading the FCC-SEED project to design an advanced vertex detector using thin Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors. This seminar will discuss the FCC-ee project’s goals, detector requirements, the FCC-SEED design, and progress on MIMOSIS chips.

The unprecedented precision of spatial data challenges our understanding of cosmic rays, stimulating debates on dark matter, the acceleration and transport of cosmic rays, and galactic sources. Interpretations are limited by uncertainties in nuclear cross-sections. A roadmap is proposed to address these issues through ongoing and future measurements.

Nicolas Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model in 1543, placing the Sun at the center of the universe, in contrast to Ptolemy’s geocentric model. This revolution is often oversimplified, obscuring the nuances of his proposal. A seminar by Richard Taillet explores this model in detail, including its challenges and the reactions it provoked.

This bilingual seminar aims to demystify Feynman diagrams for all LAPP/LAPTh staff. Firstwe will explore these essential tools of particle physics in an accessible way, using everyday analogies. The second part will be aimed at physicists focusing on the art of effectively communicating these concepts to a non-specialist audience.