Unifying View on Cosmic Interacting Matter

Bad Honnef Physics School

18 Jan - 23 Jan 2026

Where:

Physikzentrum Bad Honnef

Scientific organizers:

Prof. Dr. Anna Franckowiak, Prof. Dr. Julia Tjus, RU Bochum  • Prof. Dr. Johannes Albrecht, TU Dortmund

The field of astrophysics has made a transition in recent years towards multi-messenger physics, widening the detectable spectrum from electromagnetic radiation at all wavelengths to other messengers like cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gravitational waves. These different messengers have provided highly valuable pieces of information on the nonthermal and violent Universe. This type of multi-messenger physics is now in transition to a precision science: on the one hand, the detection of elementary particles in astro(particle) physics is identified to significantly improve our knowledge of the nonthermal Universe and its signatures. On the other hand, the interpretation of these data is in need of precision input concerning the basic properties of matter, for once concerning the behavior of the ensemble (plasma physics), but also the interaction and decay properties of baryonic and dark matter (particle, astroparticle, and astrophysics). In this school, we will systematically investigate the interplay of matter and energy with special consideration of plasma and particle physics; particular concern will be given to the energy transfer between magnetic fields, cosmic rays, baryonic matter, and dark matter. In doing so, we aim to present our students an unifying view of the cosmic interacting matter.

Presently, most universities do not offer the complete education program necessary to understand and describe the field, as a unifying view on Cosmic Interacting Matter requires techniques from Astrophysics, Astro-particle physics, ground-based particle physics, as well as plasma physics. We propose this school to overcome this drawback by inviting renowned scientists from all mentioned fields.

The School aims at providing solid foundations to those who want to start working in the field while rounding the overview for those already engaged in aspects of its research, both experimentally and in theory. The envisioned main audience consists of Master and PhD level students, as well as young postdocs. The school profits from the excellent research infrastructure and networks from several initiatives: CRC1491, for which the school is the ideal training event, the LAMARR institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence and the "Big Bang to Big Data" B3D cluster (NRW) combining radio astronomical research with data science expertise.