Scientists from CIAFF-UAM are among the thousands of researchers worldwide honoured with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, awarded to the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) alongside its sister experiments ALICE, CMS and LHCb. The prize was awarded for “detailed measurements of Higgs boson properties confirming the symmetry-breaking mechanism of mass generation, the discovery of new strongly interacting particles, the study of rare processes and matter-antimatter asymmetry, and the exploration of nature at the shortest distances and most extreme conditions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider”.
ATLAS is one of the largest and most complex scientific instruments ever built. As a general-purpose particle detector measuring over 40 metres in length and around 25 metres in height, it was designed to investigate the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces governing our universe. Its cutting-edge systems track particles produced in particle collisions at unprecedented energies, enabling discoveries like the Higgs boson and searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model.
The Breakthrough Prize specifically highlights the ATLAS Collaboration’s significant contributions to particle physics, including detailed measurements of Higgs boson properties, studies of rare processes and matter-antimatter asymmetry, and the exploration of nature under the most extreme conditions.
“The Breakthrough Prize is a testament to the dedication and ingenuity of the ATLAS Collaboration and our colleagues across the LHC experiments,” said ATLAS Spokesperson Stephane Willocq. "This prize recognises the collective vision and monumental effort of thousands of ATLAS collaborators worldwide".
“I am extremely proud to see the extraordinary accomplishments of the LHC collaborations honoured with this prestigious Prize,” said Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN. “It is a beautiful recognition of the collective efforts, dedication, competence and hard work of thousands of people from all over the world who contribute daily to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.”
The UAM has been at the forefront of ATLAS research since 1994, contributing to:
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Construction and operation of The EndCap Electromagnetic Liquid Argon (LAr) Calorimeter, critical for mainly the energy measurement of electrons and photons.
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Construction and operation of a Data Processing Centre at UAM and its integration into the World LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) as Tier-2.
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Development of precision techniques for the calibration of jets reconstructed in the ATLAS Calorimeter based on photon+jet processes and used by all the analyses developed within the Collaboration.
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Leadership in seminal measurements of isolated-photon production, enabling the first tests of NNLO QCD predictions in the Standard Model, published in numerous journals of high impact within the particle physics field.
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Leadership in measurements of cross sections for top-quark production accompanied by jets based on novel observables and, for the first time, tests of NNLO QCD predictions in the Standard Model.
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Leadership in Higgs to gamma gamma measurements, included in a publication of the prestigious journal “Nature”, shaping the experiment's scientific direction.
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Leadership in the study of multijet final states including the first calculation and the most precise measurement of the strong coupling constant at NNLO, providing the most accurate test to date of asymptotic freedom at unprecedented scales as highlighted in the CERN Courier issue of March-April 2023 page 14
"Our team's work on detector development, computing and data analysis exemplifies the innovation driving ATLAS forward," said Jose del Peso, professor at UAM and member of the CIAFF. "This recognition affirms the impact of our contributions and inspires us to continue exploring the most fundamental questions of the Universe." "The successes of Run 2 showcase the ingenuity of the ATLAS Collaboration — not only in collecting data with a detector of outstanding precision, but also in our relentless drive to improve our understanding of it," said Andreas Hoecker, former ATLAS Spokesperson.
While the ATLAS Collaboration celebrates the recognition of the Breakthrough Prize, its focus remains firmly on the future. The third operation period of the LHC is currently underway and preparations for the High-Luminosity LHC upgrade are advancing rapidly. The UAM team of 10 physicists and engineers is deeply involved in preparing ATLAS for its next chapter. They are participating in the development of Liquid Argon Calorimeter Off-detector electronics, in particular contributing to the firmware of the LAr Signal Processor (FPGA-based), for the High-Luminosity LHC, which will increase collision rates tenfold when it begins operation in 2030.
“We are now preparing the ATLAS detectors of the future — designed to harness these unprecedented data and further push our understanding of the universe’s fundamental building blocks,” concludes Willocq.
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