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Joachim Kopp

@joachimkopp.bsky.social
697 followers 307 following 104 posts

Theoretical Physicist at JGU Mainz, neutrino enthusiast, dark matter hunter, quantum technology aficionado, dad. Opinions my own.

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Reposted by Joachim Kopp
John Beacom @johnbeacom.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The 2026 Physics Nobel Prize to Francis Halzen is well deserved! I wrote the attached explainer for the public from the perspective of someone who has worked in this field and known Francis for decades. I welcome helping sharing it. Congratulations to Francis and all! medium.com/@beacom.7/ho...
medium.com
How Neutrinos, Which Barely Exist, Just Ran Off with a Nobel Prize — Again!
John Beacom (Ohio State University), with no assistance from AI
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Funding agencies of today, heed his words. Sometimes it pays off to take risks and invest in *people*, even if the projects sound like science fiction. Heartfelt congratulations to Francis Halzen and the IceCube collaboration!
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I think "close" here meant really close. The idea was that the detector would fall away from the explosion shock wave in a shaft and produce data for a few seconds before evaporating. And it would have been enough to register just enough neutrinos to claim detection.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
here's the original concept drawing (see for instance cerncourier.com/a/neutrinos-...)
a sketch of the original idea for detecting neutrinos using a nuclear explosion as a source
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
There's another version of that talk with neutrino-themed movie posters. Though I wasn't allowed to post it on Indico because the conference organizers were worried about predatory lawyers :-) Note that this was in spring 2022, so 100% AI-free.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
You know the idea that came before "I'm going to instrument this room next to the nuclear reactor" and was fortunately never realized, right?
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 06/10/2026
Please enjoy this extremely entertaining slideshow about neutrino physics by Joachim Kopp, which presents problems in neutrino physics as a series of thriller novels! agenda.infn.it/event/28874/... 💙📚🧪⚛️🔭
agenda.infn.it
Making sure you're not a bot!
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Nobel Prize @nobelprize.org · 06/10/2026
The 2026 physics laureate Francis Halzen was born in 1944 in Tienen, Belgium. He received his PhD in 1969 from KU Leuven, Belgium. He is currently a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. wipac.wisc.edu/people/faculty/franc… Photo credit: Zig Hampel-Arias, WIPAC.
Portrait of Francis Halzen.
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Nobel Prize @nobelprize.org · 06/10/2026
BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize in Physics to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.”
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IceCube Neutrino Observatory @icecubeneutrino.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
IceCube Principal Investigator and @UWMadison.bsky.social Prof. Francis Halzen has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.” 🎉🏅 #NobelPrizeInPhysics2026
Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 Francis Halzen graphic with a headshot of Francis crossing his arms.
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Nobel Prize @nobelprize.org · 06/10/2026
Say hello to our 2026 physics laureate Francis Halzen! Halzen sent us a snapshot from his hotel room in Italy - join us in congratulating our new Nobel Prize laureate.
Selfie of Francis Halzen.
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LIGO Scientific Collaboration @ligo.org · 14/09/2026
Happy birthday #GW150914! 11 years ago today, we caught our first gravitational wave, and founded a new type of astronomy A decade later, we now have hundreds of observations! 🔭🧪🎂
Classic plot showing GW150914. Filtered data from LIGO Livingston and LIGO Hanford are shown, both show the characteristic signal of a binary black hole. Crucially, data from the two observatories agree, indicating a real signal.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Last week, I got a chance to see LHCb for the first time (thanks, Dylan, Felicia, and Vava!). What a magnificent detector and what an innovative and groundbreaking experiment, both in terms of hardware and in terms of software / physics analysis.
Side view of the LHCb detectorclose-up of one slice of the LHCb velo sub-detector
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Also interesting in this context are the new watermarks that Anthropic models include in their output: www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
anthropic.com
How Claude's text watermarking works
Future Claude models will generate text that contains a watermark to comply with the EU AI Act. We answer questions about how it works and whether it affects outputs.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I wonder if part of the effect is due to people generally being exposed to AI-generated texts and therefore adopting the corresponding vocabulary into their own writing.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Most definitely YES!
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Reposted by Joachim Kopp
Robin Berjon @robin.berjon.com · 07/09/2026
Hey internet people, is inline LaTeX something you'd be interested in? #experimunt
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Wow, congratulations!!
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 04/05/2026
FWIW: ‘parsec’ is a measure of distance, not time, but that doesn’t make the Millennium Falcon’s Kessel Run any less impressive.
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Asterix Archiv 🐗 @comedix.de · 04/05/2026
Schon gewusst? Im Asterix-Film Mission Kleopatra ist General Chorus mit seinem schwarzen Helm und dem schwarzen Umhang so von hinten zu sehen, dass er an die Figur des Darth Vader aus dem Film #StarWars erinnert. #MayTheFourthBeWithYou #Asterix [1/2]
Mit einem schwarzem Helm und schwarzen Umhang sieht der Zenturio von hinten aus wie Darth Vader.
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Asterix Archiv 🐗 @comedix.de · 04/05/2026
Hat zwar nichts mit Asterix zu tun, aber ich weiß aus sicherer Quelle, dass es eine nicht geringe Fan-Schnittmenge gibt. Und ich finde sowohl das Zitat als auch das Bild einfach nur klasse: "Das Leben genießen du sollst!" #starwars #MayTheFourthBeWithYou
Ein flaches Cocktailglas mit zwei schwarzen Oliven, zwei halben Zitronen und einem Bastumhang. Die Kombiation sieht aus wie Yoda.
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Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz @unimainz.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Gravitationswellen als mögliche Kandidaten für Ursprung der Dunklen Materie: Neuartige Berechnungen erforschen das frühe Universum / Forscher vom #ExzellenzclusterPRISMA ++ beteiligt 👉 prisma.uni-mainz.de/2026/04/01/gr… #Teilchenphysik #DunkleMaterie #Universum #Physik #Gravitationswellen
Veranschaulichung der Entwicklungsstadien unseres Universums und der Phasen, in denen stochastische Gravitationswellen entstehen (Abb./©: Azadeh Maleknejad / Swansea University)
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Jennifer Ouellette @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Two neutron stars may have formed the first known ‘superkilonova’ www.popsci.com/science/firs...
popsci.com
Two neutron stars may have formed the first known 'superkilonova'
The historic explosion was 1.3 billion light-years away from Earth.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Exciting new results from the LZ experiment: new constraints on DM–nucleus scattering, a 4.5σ detection of the solar neutrino flux, and a measurement of the weak mixing angle. lz.lbl.gov
Three plots from the LZ paper showing the new results.
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Chris Quigg @chrisquigg.com · 25/11/2025
RIP Bill Bardeen, superb theorist and exemplary colleague.
A brief tribute to Bill Bardeen.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
This one looks exciting!
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Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
A halloween cartoon for @newscientist.com
Image: three figures in protective suits watch from behind a screen as a child approaches a door-like mechanical structure in which stands a man. Between them is an amorphous glowing shape.

Caption: Scientists at the institute of halloween studies have succeeded in creating "The treak": a quantum state that is simultaneously trick and treat. It is stable for a millionth of a second before decaying into a half-hearted prank and a mediocre candy bar.
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Marietta-Blau-Institut für Teilchenphysik @mbi-oeaw.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Next Friday we are celebrating the inauguration of the Marietta Blau Institute for Particly Physics! 🤩 🥳 🖍️ Haven’t signed up yet? Now’s the time! ➡️ www.oeaw.ac.at/mbi/veransta...
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Tristan du Pree @tristandupree.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
CepC proposal will not be included in China’s next 5-year plan cerncourier.com/cepc-matures...
cerncourier.com
CEPC matures, but approval is on hold – CERN Courier
The Circular Electron–Positron Collider (CEPC), a 100-km electron–positron “Higgs factory” proposed in China, has reached the technical-design stage but will not be included for approval or constructi...
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Tits McGee @scientits.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
The German company that makes the mechanical ladder used in the Louvre heist has used the image to advertise, with the text 'When you need to move fast' 10/10 response, no notes
Image of the mechanical ladder outside the Louvre

Text below says WENN'S MAL WIEDER SCHNELL GEHEN MUSS (When you need to move fast)

Underneath is more German text which translates as "The Böcker Agilo transports your treasures weighing up to 400kg at 42m/min - quiet as a whisper."
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Kelsey Johnson @profkelsey.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Procrastination takes may forms. Tonight as a service to the astronomical community I offer help with your JWST proposal titles. #JWST 🧪🔭✨
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Fantastic colloquium at @cern.bsky.social today by @fourform.bsky.social on "The end of measurement and the last lab", part of the ongoing workshop on Quantum Simulation & Computation in HEP (indico.cern.ch/event/1488240). Bonus: autocorrect mishap leading to the invention of the "axion horoscope".
Dan Carney explaining a slide on squeezed quantum states at CERN
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Amrei Bahr @amreibahr.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Wissenschaft als Beruf besteht zu 20% aus Wissenschaft & zu 80% daraus, die immer gleichen Informationen (wie viele Drittmittel/Publikationen/Preise/Arbeitsverträge/...) in stets zusätzliche Arbeit provozierenden leichten Variationen in sehr viele unterschiedliche Formulare einzutragen. #IchBinHanna
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Jon Butterworth @jonbutterworth.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
JUNO neutrino detector switches on www.theregister.com/2025/08/29/c...
theregister.com
China turns on giant neutrino detector
: 700 meters under a mountain, a 20,000-tonne detector and a giant sphere await elusive particles
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LIGO Scientific Collaboration @ligo.org · 26/08/2025
Results from the first part of our fourth LIGO @egovirgo.bsky.social KAGRA observing run are out today! We're pleased to share the largest catalog of gravitational-wave observations with more discoveries of black holes and neutron stars 📰 arxiv.org/abs/2508.18082 🔭🧪⚛️☄️ #GWTC4
New masses in the stellar graveyard plot, showing astronomical observations of black holes and neutron stars. The number of gravitational-wave observations of black holes is overwhelming. The plot is arranged to look nice, the horizontal axis has no meaning, but the vertical one shows masses. We have a significant range of masses from about 1 solar mass to over 200 solar masses for our largest merger remnant. New out today is a neutron star black hole binary GW230518_125908, as well as a lot of binary black holes.
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Florian Aigner @florianaigner.at · 21/08/2025
Verrückter Fakt des Tages: #vfdt Bis zu 400.000 Menschen arbeiteten in den USA am Apollo-Programm, um Astronauten zum Mond zu bringen. Der politische und wirtschaftliche Aufwand war aus heutiger Sicht kaum vorstellbar. Technische Großprojekte heute (wie CERN oder ITER) sind vergleichsweise winzig.
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Sean Eric Fagan @kithrup.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Squintern: The *slowest* meteorite travels at 25,000 miles per hour! Me: No, *all* meteorites travel at 0 miles per hour.
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Adrian Thompson @gooble-gabble.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
We've *gotta* revive this as a pet name for future colliders en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perhaps...
en.wikipedia.org
Perhapsatron - Wikipedia
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Patrick Koppenburg 🐧 @koppenburg.ch · 20/08/2025
RIP Herwig Schopper, CERN director general from 1973 to 1976. He made LEP possible, and thus also the LHC. Not so long ago I worked with him on a book about the scientific discoveries at CERN. Read the interview in the CERN courier about the lessons from LEP cerncourier.com/a/lessons-fr...
cerncourier.com
Lessons from LEP – CERN Courier
The Large Electron Positron collider changed particle physics forever. As the field eyes up the next major collider, former CERN Director-General Herwig Schopper describes what it took to make LEP…
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
How sad to hear that Tom Lehrer has left us. I vividly remember my first big scientific conference – Neutrino 2006 in Santa Fe. At an evening event, members of the Santa Fe Opera sang The Elements Song for us. A brilliant performance. I've been hooked ever since.
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Paul Byrne @theplanetaryguy.com · 21/07/2025
This is absurd. The red supergiant Betelgeuse is the bright feature in this image. But that darker blue splotch is a *companion star* that's just been discovered—and it orbits so close to Betelgeuse that it's inside the larger star's outer atmosphere.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Let me guess: 2007 – $0 2012 – $100 (to the intern who designed it) 2013 – $1,000 2015 – $10,000 2017 – $100,000 2024 – $1,000,000 2026 – $25 (for a ChatGPT subscription)
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CERN @cern.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Theorists' take on Quantum 👩🏻‍🏫👨‍🏫 We recently invited our community #AtCERN to describe quantum. Now, it's the turn of the physicists to share their insights. Hear from Miguel, Wilke, and Irene as they share their perspective on what #quantum is.
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Nikolai Slavov @slavov-n.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
"𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦." -- Steven Chu, Nobel Lecture 1997
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European Research Council (ERC) @erc.europa.eu · 02/06/2025
Planning to apply for #research #funding from the ERC? From the next application rounds, expect changes to the: • proposal structure • evaluation process • extra funding you can request • eligibility for Starting & Consolidator #Grants (from 2027) More 👇 europa.eu/!RPHWvv
europa.eu
Changes to the 2026 and 2027 Work Programmes
With the launch of the competitions for grants under ERC Work Programme 2026 in July of this year, several changes to the submission of applications and the evaluation of proposals will apply. The mai...
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
and publicly funded geologists predicted the disaster, preventing massive loss of life.
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Patrick Koppenburg 🐧 @koppenburg.ch · 29/05/2025
The loss of their village is a tragedy for the inhabitants of #Blatten. But they are alive because geologists saw it coming. It was their worst case scenario. The village was evacuated. Unlike Goldau in 1806. 457 died. Thanks Geology.
Goldau seen from the mountain that collapsed.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Don’t worry guys, BlueSky can be perfect so long as we all get along. First things first, we just need to agree whether vim or emacs is the better editor.
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Joachim Kopp @joachimkopp.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Der #Exzellenzcluster PRISMA an der JGU Mainz geht in die dritte Runde!
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