Prompt lepton production in hadronic interactions (F03)

• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields ; Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445052434

The goal of this project is to understand the influence of heavy quark decays on the energy spectra of secondary particles from cosmic-ray interactions. Experimental data from LHCb will be analyzed, and observational data from atmospheric neutrinos and muons in IceCube (in-ice and IceTop) will be used to separate the lepton fluxes of light and heavy quarks and thus produce precision measurements of the associated interaction cross sections. These are then implemented into interaction generators and applied in Research Area A in order to study how prompt leptons modify the energy spectra of messenger particles from dense, astrophysical environments such as the cores of active galaxies.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1491: Cosmic Interacting Matters - From Source to Signal
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Johannes Albrecht, since 1/2022; Professor Dr. Wolfgang Rhode; Professor Dr. Bernhard Spaan (†)