Tracking down the theory of everything.

An all-encompassing theory that simultaneously describes the primordial building blocks of matter and explains the beginning and development of the universe is the decades-old dream of the physics community. But the path to this unified theory is difficult. This is because the current pillars of physics - quantum mechanics and Einstein's theory of general relativity - would have to be brought under one roof and united into a so-called quantum gravity. While quanta only describe the activity in the microcosm, Einstein's theory of general relativity is exclusively responsible for the macrocosm, such as the movement of entire galaxies.

At the German Electron Synchrotron DESY and at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), we are on the path to solve this mystery. Among other things, we are working on string theory, according to which the world consists of incredibly tiny threads or strings at its core. In this way, string theory attempts to explain all matter and forces by a mathematical formula, thus making it a promising candidate for the long-awaited theory of everything.

(Header: CERN 2007/Claudia Marcelloni)