QUASAR Senior Members hold Away Day at CERN
On 2nd December 2025, senior members of the QUASAR Group held an Away Day at CERN, bringing together key researchers to strengthen collaboration and review progress on cutting-edge research.
Carsten P. Welsch, Narender Kumar, Naomi Smith, Joe Wolfenden, and Alexandra Welsch travelled to Geneva for the event. The visit began the evening before with an informal gathering alongside other QUASAR members based at CERN, where the group enjoyed a traditional cheese fondue.
The formal programme focused on breakthrough technologies currently under development within the group and on deepening engagement with CERN-based collaborators.
In the morning the group toured several key CERN facilities, including LEIR (Low Energy Ion Ring), LINAC (Linear Accelerator), ELENA (Extra Low ENergy Antiproton), and AEGIS, an experiment at the Antiproton Decelerator facility at CERN. The team would like to thank their guides, QUASARs Monty King and Benjamin Rienacker, both based at CERN, for the engaging and informative tours.
Antimatter research is a key part of the QUASAR Group’s research. It includes developing positronium laser cooling techniques, contributing to enhanced antiproton beam quality through ELENA, and innovating non-invasive 3D field mapping sensors. QUASAR Group research associate Benjamin Rienacker is linking the ongoing experimental activities of AEGIS to the ambitions of the Group, enriching it with frontier research on positronium, antihydrogen and on other exciting exotic antimatter systems.
Following the first part of the laboratory tours, the group met with Edda Gschwendtner, project leader of the Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) to talk through research plans and the challenges ahead.
Before lunch the QUASARs were treated to a visit of the famous Synchrocyclotron CERN’s first accelerator which came into operation in 1957 and provided beams for CERN’s first experiments in particle and nuclear physics. It closed down after 33 years of service and is now a visitor exhibition.
In the afternoon the group visited the Electron Beam Test Stand (EBTS) guided by Adriana Rossi. QUASAR members with colleagues at CERN are currently studying the idea of removing the beam halo of the proton beam for the HL-LHC upgrade. Currently, the concept of generating such an electron beam is being tested in the EBTS.
The day concluded with a meeting with project partners from HL-LHC, FCC, and other high-energy projects, including Gerhard Schneider, Belén Salvachua, Anton Lechner and Giuseppe Lerner, who have collaborated with the QUASAR Group for many years.
Alexandra commented: “It was wonderful to meet so many people in person whom you normally only correspond with via email. Visiting the experiments was fascinating, and it was inspiring to see the outstanding work and research our group is involved in.”
Overall, the group found the visit highly insightful and had a fantastic experience at CERN, with hopes of returning soon.