Do you want to get in touch with actual research in particle physics?

Do you want to develop innovative concepts?

Do you want to be part of the MAGIX collaboration?

Developing the next generation of particle physics experiments means a lot of innovation, foresight, and work. We are always offering different projects to complete your bachelor or master thesis as part of our group. It is also possible to start with a student job.
Depending on your interests you can choose a project with focus on software or hardware development. On this page, you can find an overview on the latest topics which could make up your thesis. Feel free to contact us to talk about your possible future as part of the MAGIX collaboration!

Running a simulation is a crucial step in developing and constructing an experiment with the extent of MAGIX. With our custom programmed simulation package MXSim based on C++ we are able to provide guidelines for the detector design and the overall experimental setup. So far, MXSim only covers the elastic scattering of beam electrons on the target nuclei. The implementation of further processes, especially quasi-elastic scattering on target nuclei (e.g. Ar, ³He, or Pb), could be the topic of your thesis.

The DarkMESA detector will contain several calorimeter modules made of 5 x 5 PbF₂ crystals read out by photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A prototype of one of these modules is currently under development. Beside this prototype we are furnished with a calorimeter from our collaboration partners from Münster and a calorimeter used for the A4 experiment (Fig. 1).
In your thesis you could start a comparison between the calorimeters. By using a radioactive source or the electron beam of MAMI, you could determine some key figures like signal height, shower development, or response function, which will be crucial for the further development of the DarkMESA setup.

For our innovative gas jet target we need to ensure a very good gas quality - we have to keep several types of gases pure for the duration of a beam time. To prevent contaminations of oil and water from the target gas we plan to use a zeolite trap. This trap utilises a granulate from microporous crystalline aluminosilicate structures to remove this kind of impurities. To validate and monitor the process, it is necessary to set up a continous measurement with a mass spectrometer (Fig. 2). This includes setting up a test stand, taking data with a calibration gas, tuning the mass spectrometer, cracking patterns, integrating the system into our slow control framework EPICS, and writing a scientific thesis.

The veto layers of the MAGIX trigger veto system each consist of three rather long and flat scintillator segments, which are to be read out along their short sides using custom-made readout cards equipped with Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). Due to the geometry of the scintillators, the amount of light reaching the readout cards will not be huge. Therefore, it must be investigated how to get a large enough light yield to obtain sufficiently large signals for further processing. Using cosmics and/or different beta emitters, this could be done in the scope of your thesis.

The MAGIX trigger scintillators are crucial for the overall experiment - they provide the fast and reliable signals essential for DAQ, coincidence time measurements, and PID, as well as the basic hit and position information for the triggered readout of the MAGIX time projection chamber. To ensure that each individual scintillator yields signals that meet these aspirations, a routine should be set up that measures the most important parameters like light yield and time resolution. A thesis covering this would include learning about scintillation detectors and their key parameters, setting up a test stand, as well as writing a software routine for data taking and analysis.