BURSA, Türkiye

A team of academics from Türkiye's Bursa Uludag University is making progress in research on supersymmetric particles for the Future Circular Collider, CERN’s planned next-generation particle accelerator that is expected to follow the Large Hadron Collider.

The FCC is designed to be the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider, operating at far higher energies than the LHC to probe fundamental questions about matter and the universe. The facility is expected to begin operations in the mid-2040s.

Led by physicists Cem Salih Un and Zerrin Kirca, and supported by seven graduate students, the Bursa Uludag University team uses advanced computer simulations to recreate the extreme collision conditions expected at the FCC. The simulations allow researchers to predict potential new particles, test theoretical models and provide guidance to the global scientific community before the collider is built.

In 2020, the university signed a collaboration agreement with Michael Benedikt, head of the FCC Study Group at CERN, after successfully joining the project.

The team’s work focuses on analyzing possible new particles that could emerge in the high-energy environment of the FCC. Researchers have completed studies on three specific particles, examining how effectively they could be detected and measured by the future experiment.

The simulations explore how supersymmetric partner particles might appear or behave during collisions and assess how easily they could be observed, as well as what such observations could confirm or rule out in existing theories.

Un said particle accelerators such as those at CERN collide particles at extremely high energies underground to reveal new phenomena, but even higher energies may be required to uncover some hidden particles.

The team has already published findings on how precisely certain new particles could be measured at the FCC and is continuing to analyze additional candidates. Un said theoretical models suggest the number of undiscovered particles could be vast.

Each graduate student on the project focuses on a different particle or process, working to achieve the highest possible level of accuracy. The team plans to publish results on at least four or five more particles within the next two to three years.

Kirca said the FCC will ultimately test whether the team’s predictions are correct, address open questions in particle physics and potentially shed light on mysteries surrounding supersymmetry and dark matter.

Through its work, the Bursa Uludag University team contributes to CERN’s FCC simulations and theoretical studies for the proposed 100 teraelectronvolt collider, strengthening Türkiye’s role in global particle physics research.

Türkiye has been an associate member state of CERN since 2015 and takes part in major experiments such as ATLAS and CMS, while also contributing to preparations for the Future Circular Collider. Officials say the partnership continues to deepen through research projects, student programs and growing scientific and industrial cooperation.