Code for Thought [EN] ATLAS: a titan amongst particle physics experiments - with Christian Gutschow
Sep 8, 2025
Christian Gutschow, a particle physicist and research software engineer at UCL, dives into the fascinating world of the ATLAS experiment at CERN. He reveals how this massive collaboration of scientists is unlocking the secrets of matter. The conversation highlights the significant role of software, especially Monte Carlo simulations, in tracking high-energy proton collisions. Christian shares insights on the Higgs boson discovery, challenges in data management, and the future of the ATLAS project, paving the way for exciting advancements in particle physics.
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Global Scale Shapes Collaboration
- ATLAS is a truly global collaboration of about 6,000 members from roughly 170 institutions and 40 countries.
- Such scale shapes project coordination, authorship, and shared software practices across the experiment.
Collisions Recreate Early-Universe Conditions
- ATLAS studies proton-proton collisions produced by the LHC to probe fundamental building blocks of matter.
- The detector captures interactions recreated under Big Bang–like conditions to test particle physics theories.
Detector Layers Perform Complementary Roles
- ATLAS is layered like an onion: inner detector for charged tracks, calorimeters for energy, and muon spectrometer at the outside.
- Each layer targets different particle types and measurements to reconstruct collision events.