idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a Synergy Grant with a total budget of €14 million to four scientists: Daniel Bemmerer from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR; coordinating), Alba Formicola from Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Gianluca Imbriani from Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, both in Italy, and Aldo Serenelli from Instituto de Ciencias del Espacio (ICE-CSIC) in Spain. The ambitious aim of their project LUNANOVA is to put the solar model from its head back on its feet.
Deep inside our Sun, nuclear reactions burn hydrogen, the lightest chemical element, to helium, the second lightest. These fusion processes and their stellar implications are described in the so-called standard solar model. This model is the blueprint for understanding thousands of solar-like stars. For the Sun, the model can be validated by observations of solar neutrinos, of seismic waves at the solar surface, and of the elemental abundances in the solar atmosphere. However, there is a surprising problem: The computer model of our Sun is less precise than these very difficult observations. To put it figuratively, the solar model is standing on its head (the observations), not on its feet (the input physics). This is due to uncertain nuclear physics.
Starting in 2026, LUNANOVA aims to solve this problem. The four lead scientists and their teams will perform accelerator experiments deep underground in the Gran Sasso laboratory, Italy, at the Felsenkeller lab in Dresden, and at other labs in Germany and Italy. They will study the solar fusion reactions. The group will interpret their data first in the nuclear and, subsequently, in the solar and astrophysical contexts, informing a completely new solar model. Over a time span of six years, LUNANOVA will thus remove the now-dominant nuclear physics uncertainty from the solar model.
“This ERC award is a wonderful recognition for our center,” says HZDR Scientific Director Prof. Sebastian M. Schmidt. “It gives us the opportunity to contribute to an exciting international effort to deepen our understanding of the Sun and other sun-like stars through advances in nuclear physics and stellar modeling. The project reflects our commitment to fundamental research and to strengthening Saxony’s position as a center of scientific excellence.”
HZDR scientist Daniel Bemmerer, who leads the LUNANOVA group, states: “I am humbled by this success and by the trust that the ERC has placed in me and my colleagues. LUNANOVA would not have been possible without the strong, long-term support by HZDR and by TU Dresden for the Felsenkeller underground lab. Felsenkeller will be a core part of the LUNANOVA project. LUNANOVA is very much a team effort, based on the work and expertise not only of us four Principal Investigators, but of many scientists contributing as Bachelor, Master, PhD students or postdocs.”
ERC Synergy Grants: Promote collaboration to tackle complex scientific challenges
The ERC Synergy Grants foster collaboration between outstanding researchers, enabling them to combine their expertise, knowledge and resources to push the boundaries of scientific discovery. This funding is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program.
The President of the European Research Council, Prof. Maria Leptin, said: “Collaboration is at the heart of the ERC Synergy Grants. In our latest round, teams of researchers will join forces to address the most complex scientific problems together – this time, they are more international than ever. The competition was fierce, with many outstanding proposals left unfunded. With more funds, the ERC could fully capitalize on this wealth of first-class science. Such scientific endeavors are what Europe needs to be at the real forefront”.
In total, 712 proposals were submitted to this call. Only 66 proposals were selected for funding, with the successful projects receiving on average €10.4 million each. The selected projects will be carried out at universities and research centers in 26 countries across Europe and beyond.
Further information:
Prof. Daniel Bemmerer
Institute of Radiation Physics at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3901 | Email: d.bemmerer@hzdr.de
Media contact:
Simon Schmitt | Head
Communications and Media Relations at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3400 | Mob.: +49 175 874 2865 | Email: s.schmitt@hzdr.de
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) performs – as an independent German research center – research in the fields of energy, health, and matter. We focus on answering the following questions:
• How can energy and resources be utilized in an efficient, safe, and sustainable way?
• How can malignant tumors be more precisely visualized, characterized, and more effectively treated?
• How do matter and materials behave under the influence of strong fields and in smallest dimensions?
To help answer these research questions, HZDR operates large-scale facilities, which are also used by visiting researchers: the Ion Beam Center, the Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources.
HZDR is a member of the Helmholtz Association and has six sites (Dresden, Freiberg, Görlitz, Grenoble, Leipzig, Schenefeld near Hamburg) with almost 1,500 members of staff, of whom about 700 are scientists, including 200 Ph.D. candidates.
Prof. Daniel Bemmerer
Institute of Radiation Physics at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 3901 | Email: d.bemmerer@hzdr.de
https://www.hzdr.de/presse/lunanova
Daniel Bemmerer re-aligns the apertures for beam adjustment.
Source: B. Schröder
Copyright: B. Schröder/HZDR
Daniel Bemmerer re-aligns the apertures for beam adjustment.
Source: B. Schröder
Copyright: B. Schröder/HZDR
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Chemistry, Geosciences, Physics / astronomy
transregional, national
Cooperation agreements, Research projects
English
Daniel Bemmerer re-aligns the apertures for beam adjustment.
Source: B. Schröder
Copyright: B. Schröder/HZDR
Daniel Bemmerer re-aligns the apertures for beam adjustment.
Source: B. Schröder
Copyright: B. Schröder/HZDR
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