The Mexicans in the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN, Centre Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire)

There are 66 Mexicans registered in the CERN, coming from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Autonomous University of Puebla, the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS), the Ibero-American University and the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí. Also, 33 Mexican researchers employed by foreign institutions.

Most of the compatriots work on the experiments of ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) and the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid), which analyze the activity and the results thrown by the hadrons collider.

The façade of ALICE’s facilities resembles a great hangar. Inside, we are received by the PhD in Physics Ildefonso León Monzón, researcher both in the UAS’ Faculty of Physics-Mathematical Sciences and the CERN.

Ildefonso León: “The Universe: a perfect liquid”

The UAS’ researcher explains the labor in this experiment: “The intention is to recreate the first Bing Bang instants, is part of ALICE’s main motive”. León Monzón clarifies that ALICE was not involved in the discovering of the Higgs boson, but this area is crucial to know what the Universe is made of.

“Since 2008 we began registering data, and we reached to the conclusion that the system (Universe) does not behave as a gas, but as a liquid, a perfect liquid”, complements León, who also emphasizes the hadrons therapy as an important contribution of the CERN, as instead of throwing X rays to a cancerous cell, “we send hadrons (protons or neutrons); then, with this technique it is guaranteed that when a particle is sent to hit in a determinate position, precision is much more higher”.

The researcher adds that the discovery of the Higgs boson was useful to verify something already known. But the teams also work in order to discover new particles. “Science is unexpected. When something we expected happens, it may be boring and senseless. We hope a revolution in science and physics”.

Source: Francisco Muciño, “The Mexicans who search the next God particle”, in Forbes Mexico. Translated by Belem ruiz (Edition and Communication, PIT-UAS).