Personal information
Surname, Name: Lenisa, Paolo
Researcher unique identifier: orcid.org/0000-0003-3509-1240
Nationality: Italian – Date of birth: June 17, 1965
Education
1997: PhD in Physics (with honors) - Thesis title: “Development of a new laser system for laser cooling of ions in a storage ring” - University of Ferrara (Italy)
1992: Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering (110/110 with honors) - Thesis: “Development of photocathodes with negative electron affinity” - Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Current Position
2017 - present: Full Professor of Nuclear and Subnuclear Physics - University of Ferrara (Italy)
Previous Positions
2014 - 2017: Associate Professor of Experimental Physics - University of Ferrara, Italy
1998 - 2014: Researcher - University of Ferrara, Italy
1997 - 1998: Guest Scientist - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany
Supervision of Postdoctoral Researchers, PhD Students, and Graduate Students
2000 – present: Supervised over 20 Postdocs, more than 20 PhD students, and over 25 Diploma and Master students. Former PhD students and postdocs current position (selected): S. Bertelli (Researcher at INFN-LNF), A. Pesce (Technologist at INFN-LNF), G. Guidoboni (Staff at EBG MedAustron GmbH, Vienna, Austria), C. Weidemann (Staff at FZJ, Germany), M. Stancari (Group Leader for the DUNE experiment at FNAL, Chicago, USA), D. Reggiani (Staff at PSI, Zurich, Switzerland).
Teaching Activities
2023 - present: Course “Physics, Energy and Society” - PhD course in Physics - University of Ferrara
2023 - present: Course “Energy and Society” - Master Course in Physics - University of Ferrara
2017 - present: Course “Subatomic Physics” - Bachelor’s Degree in Physics - University of Ferrara
1999 - present: Course “General Physics” - Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Ferrara
2014: Course “Epistemology and History of Physics” - University of Ferrara
Conference and Workshop Organization (selected)
2018: Chair of “SPIN2018” - 23rd International Spin Physics Symposium, 250 participants, Ferrara (Italy)
2015: Co-chair: “Search for the Electron EDM in an Electrostatic Storage Ring” - International Workshop, 50 participants, Mainz (Germany)
2013: Chair: “Nuclear Fusion with Polarized Nucleons” – Workshop, 20 participants, ECT* TN (Italy)
2009: Chair: “PST2009” - 13th International Workshop on Polarized Sources and Targets, 100 participants, Ferrara (Italy)
2008: Chair: “Transversity 2008” - 2nd International Workshop on Transversal Polarization Phenomena, 90 participants, Ferrara (Italy)
2008: Co-chair: “Polarised Antiprotons” - International Workshop, 30 participants, Bad Honnef (Germany)
Institutional and Scientific Responsibilities
2025 - Coordinator of the University Public Engagement Project: “Ferrara of Sciences: the Light” funded by the University of Ferrara
2024 - Principal Investigator of the PRIN2022 project “LHCspin” funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)
2024 - Coordinator of the University Public Engagement Project: “Perceiving, Understanding, Communicating the Historical Sites of Ferrara Meteorology through Multisensoriality” funded by the University of Ferrara
2022 - present: Chair of the International Spin Physics Committee (ISPC)
2019 - 2023: Principal Investigator (INFN): project Strong2020 - WP30-JRA12 “SPINforFAIR”
2019 - 2023: Local Responsible (INFN-FE): Strong2020 - WP20-JRA2 “Fixed Target at LHC”
2019 - Director of the Interdisciplinary Training Course for Secondary School Teachers “Science for Environment and Sustainable Development,” University of Ferrara (Italy)
2016 - 2022: Scientific Responsible for the University of Ferrara of the ERC-AdG project “srEDM” (694340)
2017 - 2022: Sole Coordinator of the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Courses in Physics - University of Ferrara
2017 - 2024: Coordinator of the training program for Secondary School Teachers - University of Ferrara
2017 - present: Co-spokesperson of the International JEDI Collaboration
2015 - present: National Responsible for the JEDI project (INFN-CSN3)
2015: University of Ferrara - Co-chair of the Physics PhD School N. Cabeo: “Infinities”
2014: University of Ferrara - Co-chair of the Physics PhD School N. Cabeo: “Vacuum and Broken Symmetries: from the Quantum to the Cosmos”
2012 - 2014: Local Responsible (INFN-FE): Hadron Physics 3 “Polarized Antiprotons (PolAntiP)”
2013: University of Ferrara - Co-president of the Trainee Committee Physics PhD School N. Cabeo: “Physics beyond the Standard Model: the Precision Frontier”
2013 - 2024: Orientation Contact Person for the Physics Degree Program, University of Ferrara
2012 - 2019: Member of the National Commission 3 of INFN (CSN3)
2012 - present: Member of the International Spin Physics Committee (ISPC)
2010 - 2016: Scientific Responsible for the University of Ferrara of the ERC-AdG project “POLPBAR” (246980)
2005 - 2017: National Responsible for the PAX project (INFN-CSN3)
2005 - present: Co-spokesperson of the International PAX Collaboration
2005 - present: Member of the Physics PhD Board, University of Ferrara
2000 - 2005: Coordinator of the polarized target at HERMES (DESY – Hamburg, Germany)
Trust Commissions and Review Activities
2023: Chair of the final PhD examination committee in Physics – University of Ferrara (Italy)
2023 - present: Referee for the review of the Electron Ion Collider polarimeter status at BNL (USA)
2017 - 2022: Chair of the Degree Committees for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Physics, University of Ferrara (Italy)
2017 - 2022: Member of the Executive Board of the Department of Physics and Earth Sciences - University of Ferrara
2017 - 2022: Chair of the Steering Committee of the Physics Degree Program – University of Ferrara (Italy)
2017 - 2012: Chair of the Review Group of the Physics Degree Program – University of Ferrara (Italy)
2017: Reviewer for the Ministry of Research and Education for the FARE Project
2016: Reviewer for the Ministry of Research and Education (MIUR) VQR-2011-14 (Italy)
2015 - present: Member of the Editorial Board of “ScienzaPerTutti,” the INFN website for Physics outreach (http://scienzapertutti.lnf.infn.it)
2012 - 2021: INFN Reviewer for the EXOCHIM, NEWCHIM, and ASFIN experiments at LNS
2005 - present: Referee for journals including Nuclear Instruments and Methods, European Physical Journal, Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, European Physics Letters
Membership of Scientific Societies
2015 - present: Member of the Italian Society of Historians of Physics and Astronomy (SISFA), Italy
2007 - present: Member of the Italian Physical Society (SIF), Italy
1998 - present: Member of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italy
Publications, Proposals, Presentations
Co-author of over 300 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 53, citations: over 10,000) (Ref. Inspire) (2 papers with over 500 citations, 6 with over 250 citations, 20 with over 100 citations, 40 with over 50 citations). Speaker at over 50 invited international conferences and workshops (27 invited talks).
Participation and Leadership in International Collaborations
HERMES (HERA-DESY) Coordinator of the polarized target management group 2000-2005 (76 joint publications)
PAX (COSY-Jülich) Co-spokesperson of the Collaboration since 2005 (09 joint publications)
OLYMPUS (DORIS-DESY) Executive Committee member 2011-2015 (3 joint publications)
JEDI (COSY-Jülich) Co-spokesperson of the Collaboration since 2017 (15 joint publications)
CLAS (JLAB-Newport News) Collaboration member since 2014 (79 joint publications)
Research Activity Summary
From the beginning of my career, my scientific interest has been focused on polarization phenomena and related technology: starting with deeply inelastic polarized scattering experiments at HERMES at the HERA accelerator in Hamburg, progressing to the development of an intense polarized antiproton beam (PAX) for the FAIR facility in Darmstadt, and currently being involved with polarized beams as a tool to study the electric dipole moment of charged particles (JEDI experiment at the COSY storage ring in Jülich). I have made significant contributions to the proposals, development, and management phases of these experiments, holding leadership roles in all mentioned collaborations.
At HERMES (HERA, DESY, Hamburg), I led the team managing the polarized internal hydrogen and deuterium target. Among the main collaboration results are the first evidence of transverse effects in deeply inelastic scattering related to the “transversity” distribution function and the first evidence of the “Sivers effect,” related to the quark angular momentum.
In 2005, I initiated as co-spokesperson the PAX project to produce an intense polarized antiproton beam as a possible upgrade option for antiproton experiments at the FAIR/HESR facility (Darmstadt). The main scientific results include the development of the physics case and related experimental setup to exploit double-polarized proton-antiproton interactions in hadronic physics. To develop the appropriate methodology to produce polarized antiprotons, the ERC-AdG “POLPBAR” grant was awarded to the project in 2010. I was directly involved in this grant throughout its duration (2010-2016) as scientific responsible for the University of Ferrara in a consortium including FZ-Jülich (DE) and JINR - Dubna (RU). I led as co-spokesperson the spin-flip and spin-filtering experiments with protons at COSY. As a main result, it was demonstrated that spin filtering is a viable method to produce an intense polarized antiproton beam.
Subsequently, I became interested in applying beam and target polarization technology to fundamental physics and was among the proposers of the JEDI project at COSY, of which I have been Co-spokesperson since 2017. The aim of the experiment is to search for the Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) of charged particles using polarized beams in storage rings. The project was awarded an ERC-AdG “srEDM” grant in 2016. I was directly involved in the “srEDM” ERC-AdG project throughout its duration (2016-2022) as scientific responsible for the University of Ferrara in a consortium including FZ-Jülich (DE) and RWTH Aachen University. One of the most important results of the “srEDM” project is the measurement of the oscillating electric dipole moment (limit) for a polarized deuteron beam in a magnetic storage ring like COSY. This measurement represents a milestone in the field and successfully demonstrates the viability of the proposed methodology as a method to search for dark matter particles (axions and axion-like particles (ALPs)). Furthermore, the first upper limit measurement for the electric dipole moment of the deuteron in a magnetic storage ring (COSY) was obtained; this is not (yet) considered the most important research outcome as it has not been finalized in a publication due to the complex investigations needed to quantify systematic uncertainties.
I am among the proposers and scientific responsible for the University of Ferrara for the SMOG2 proposal to perform fixed-target measurements at the LHC. Proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions at fixed targets at the TeV scale provide unique laboratories to study the internal nucleon dynamics and investigate the complex phenomena of the non-perturbative QCD regime. An openable gas cell has been successfully installed at the LHC, upstream of the LHCb detector. The cell design and realization were carried out in the Ferrara workshop under my supervision. The current setup allows the LHCb detector, unique worldwide, to operate with two interaction points (collider and fixed target) simultaneously. I am currently engaged in the next development phase, which aims to install a polarized target at the LHC (LHCspin proposal). This proposal was awarded PRIN-2022 funding with me as Principal Investigator.
The recognition by the international scientific community is evidenced by invited talks at conferences, workshops, and schools. Since 2022, I have served as President of the International Spin Physics Committee.
Alongside research, I have been involved in training and scientific dissemination activities. In addition to teaching undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, I have coordinated the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Physics at the University of Ferrara, chaired three international schools for doctoral students, and an interdisciplinary school for secondary school teachers. I have been responsible for the physics orientation program for over a decade. I am currently coordinating a Public Engagement project funded by the University. During this period, I have mentored over 40 PhD and postdoctoral students and tutored numerous undergraduate and graduate students.
Selected 10 Personal Publications
- First search for axionlike particles in a storage ring using a polarized deuteron beam – JEDI Collaboration, Phys. Rev. X 13, 031004 (2023)
- Precision Storage Rings for EDM Searches: A Tool En Route to Physics Beyond-the Standard-Model - H. Stroher, S.M. Schmidt, P. Lenisa, J. Pretz - Particles 2023, 6, 385
- Storage rings to search for the electric dipole moments of charged particles: feasibility study CPEDM - Collaboration (2021) CERN-YR DOI:10.23731/CYRM-2021-003
- Low-energy spin physics experiments with polarized beams and targets at the COSY storage ring P. Lenisa et al. (PAX Collaboration), EPJ Tech. and Instrum. 6 (2019)
- Phase Locking the Spin precession in a Storage Ring JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 (2017) 014801
- Spin tune mapping as a novel tool to probe the beam dynamics in a storage ring JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Acc. and Beams 20 (2017) 72801
- How to reach a thousand-second in-plane polarization lifetime with 0.97 GeV/c deuterons in a storage ring - JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 (2016) 054801
- New method for a continuous determination of spin-tune in a storage ring and implications for precision experiments - JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Lett. 115 (2015) 094801
- Measuring the precession of a rapidly precessing deuteron beam JEDI Collaboration - Phys.Rev. ST-AB 17 (2014) 052803
- Polarisation of a stored beam by spin-filtering PAX Collaboration - Phys. Lett. B 718 (2012) 64
Selected 10 Invited Conference Contributions
- Search for Electric Dipole Moments and Axion/ALPS of charged particles using storage rings - PSTP2024 - Newport News (USA), Sept. 2024
- The LHCspin project – PSTP2024 – Newport News (USA), Sept. 2024
- Search for electric dipole moments of charged particles in storage rings MENU2019, Pittsburgh (USA), Sept. 2019
- LHC-spin: a polarized internal target for the LHC - PSTP2019, Knoxville TN (USA), Sept. 2019
- Search for EDMs with polarized beams in Storage Rings PSTP2019, Knoxville TN (USA), Sept. 2019
- Search for EDMs of Charged Particles in Storage Rings MESON 2016, Krakow, Poland, June 2016
- Silicon detectors in Particle Physics 7th Caucasian German School and Workshop in Basic Science, Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 2016
- Performance of a HERMES-like Internal Gas Target in the LHC (and FCC) - Workshop on Polarization Issues in High-Energy Linear Colliders, Rome, Italy, Apr. 2016
- Perspectives for Polarised Antiprotons - MENU2013, Rome, Italy, Sept. 2013
- Perspectives for Polarized Antiprotons - LEAP 2011, Vancouver, Canada, Apr. 2011
Editor of Conference Proceedings
2019 Co-editor, Proceedings of “SPIN2018”, Ferrara, Italy
2011 Co-editor, Proceedings of “STORI2011”, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Italy
2010 Co-editor, Proceedings of ”PST2009”, Ferrara, Italy
Surname, Name: Lenisa, Paolo
Researcher unique identifier: orcid.org/0000-0003-3509-1240
Nationality: Italian – Date of birth: June 17, 1965
Education
1997: PhD in Physics (with honors) - Thesis title: “Development of a new laser system for laser cooling of ions in a storage ring” - University of Ferrara (Italy)
1992: Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering (110/110 with honors) - Thesis: “Development of photocathodes with negative electron affinity” - Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Current Position
2017 - present: Full Professor of Nuclear and Subnuclear Physics - University of Ferrara (Italy)
Previous Positions
2014 - 2017: Associate Professor of Experimental Physics - University of Ferrara, Italy
1998 - 2014: Researcher - University of Ferrara, Italy
1997 - 1998: Guest Scientist - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany
Supervision of Postdoctoral Researchers, PhD Students, and Graduate Students
2000 – present: Supervised over 20 Postdocs, more than 20 PhD students, and over 25 Diploma and Master students. Former PhD students and postdocs current position (selected): S. Bertelli (Researcher at INFN-LNF), A. Pesce (Technologist at INFN-LNF), G. Guidoboni (Staff at EBG MedAustron GmbH, Vienna, Austria), C. Weidemann (Staff at FZJ, Germany), M. Stancari (Group Leader for the DUNE experiment at FNAL, Chicago, USA), D. Reggiani (Staff at PSI, Zurich, Switzerland).
Teaching Activities
2023 - present: Course “Physics, Energy and Society” - PhD course in Physics - University of Ferrara
2023 - present: Course “Energy and Society” - Master Course in Physics - University of Ferrara
2017 - present: Course “Subatomic Physics” - Bachelor’s Degree in Physics - University of Ferrara
1999 - present: Course “General Physics” - Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Ferrara
2014: Course “Epistemology and History of Physics” - University of Ferrara
Conference and Workshop Organization (selected)
2018: Chair of “SPIN2018” - 23rd International Spin Physics Symposium, 250 participants, Ferrara (Italy)
2015: Co-chair: “Search for the Electron EDM in an Electrostatic Storage Ring” - International Workshop, 50 participants, Mainz (Germany)
2013: Chair: “Nuclear Fusion with Polarized Nucleons” – Workshop, 20 participants, ECT* TN (Italy)
2009: Chair: “PST2009” - 13th International Workshop on Polarized Sources and Targets, 100 participants, Ferrara (Italy)
2008: Chair: “Transversity 2008” - 2nd International Workshop on Transversal Polarization Phenomena, 90 participants, Ferrara (Italy)
2008: Co-chair: “Polarised Antiprotons” - International Workshop, 30 participants, Bad Honnef (Germany)
Institutional and Scientific Responsibilities
2025 - Coordinator of the University Public Engagement Project: “Ferrara of Sciences: the Light” funded by the University of Ferrara
2024 - Principal Investigator of the PRIN2022 project “LHCspin” funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)
2024 - Coordinator of the University Public Engagement Project: “Perceiving, Understanding, Communicating the Historical Sites of Ferrara Meteorology through Multisensoriality” funded by the University of Ferrara
2022 - present: Chair of the International Spin Physics Committee (ISPC)
2019 - 2023: Principal Investigator (INFN): project Strong2020 - WP30-JRA12 “SPINforFAIR”
2019 - 2023: Local Responsible (INFN-FE): Strong2020 - WP20-JRA2 “Fixed Target at LHC”
2019 - Director of the Interdisciplinary Training Course for Secondary School Teachers “Science for Environment and Sustainable Development,” University of Ferrara (Italy)
2016 - 2022: Scientific Responsible for the University of Ferrara of the ERC-AdG project “srEDM” (694340)
2017 - 2022: Sole Coordinator of the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Courses in Physics - University of Ferrara
2017 - 2024: Coordinator of the training program for Secondary School Teachers - University of Ferrara
2017 - present: Co-spokesperson of the International JEDI Collaboration
2015 - present: National Responsible for the JEDI project (INFN-CSN3)
2015: University of Ferrara - Co-chair of the Physics PhD School N. Cabeo: “Infinities”
2014: University of Ferrara - Co-chair of the Physics PhD School N. Cabeo: “Vacuum and Broken Symmetries: from the Quantum to the Cosmos”
2012 - 2014: Local Responsible (INFN-FE): Hadron Physics 3 “Polarized Antiprotons (PolAntiP)”
2013: University of Ferrara - Co-president of the Trainee Committee Physics PhD School N. Cabeo: “Physics beyond the Standard Model: the Precision Frontier”
2013 - 2024: Orientation Contact Person for the Physics Degree Program, University of Ferrara
2012 - 2019: Member of the National Commission 3 of INFN (CSN3)
2012 - present: Member of the International Spin Physics Committee (ISPC)
2010 - 2016: Scientific Responsible for the University of Ferrara of the ERC-AdG project “POLPBAR” (246980)
2005 - 2017: National Responsible for the PAX project (INFN-CSN3)
2005 - present: Co-spokesperson of the International PAX Collaboration
2005 - present: Member of the Physics PhD Board, University of Ferrara
2000 - 2005: Coordinator of the polarized target at HERMES (DESY – Hamburg, Germany)
Trust Commissions and Review Activities
2023: Chair of the final PhD examination committee in Physics – University of Ferrara (Italy)
2023 - present: Referee for the review of the Electron Ion Collider polarimeter status at BNL (USA)
2017 - 2022: Chair of the Degree Committees for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Physics, University of Ferrara (Italy)
2017 - 2022: Member of the Executive Board of the Department of Physics and Earth Sciences - University of Ferrara
2017 - 2022: Chair of the Steering Committee of the Physics Degree Program – University of Ferrara (Italy)
2017 - 2012: Chair of the Review Group of the Physics Degree Program – University of Ferrara (Italy)
2017: Reviewer for the Ministry of Research and Education for the FARE Project
2016: Reviewer for the Ministry of Research and Education (MIUR) VQR-2011-14 (Italy)
2015 - present: Member of the Editorial Board of “ScienzaPerTutti,” the INFN website for Physics outreach (http://scienzapertutti.lnf.infn.it)
2012 - 2021: INFN Reviewer for the EXOCHIM, NEWCHIM, and ASFIN experiments at LNS
2005 - present: Referee for journals including Nuclear Instruments and Methods, European Physical Journal, Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, European Physics Letters
Membership of Scientific Societies
2015 - present: Member of the Italian Society of Historians of Physics and Astronomy (SISFA), Italy
2007 - present: Member of the Italian Physical Society (SIF), Italy
1998 - present: Member of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italy
Publications, Proposals, Presentations
Co-author of over 300 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 53, citations: over 10,000) (Ref. Inspire) (2 papers with over 500 citations, 6 with over 250 citations, 20 with over 100 citations, 40 with over 50 citations). Speaker at over 50 invited international conferences and workshops (27 invited talks).
Participation and Leadership in International Collaborations
HERMES (HERA-DESY) Coordinator of the polarized target management group 2000-2005 (76 joint publications)
PAX (COSY-Jülich) Co-spokesperson of the Collaboration since 2005 (09 joint publications)
OLYMPUS (DORIS-DESY) Executive Committee member 2011-2015 (3 joint publications)
JEDI (COSY-Jülich) Co-spokesperson of the Collaboration since 2017 (15 joint publications)
CLAS (JLAB-Newport News) Collaboration member since 2014 (79 joint publications)
Research Activity Summary
From the beginning of my career, my scientific interest has been focused on polarization phenomena and related technology: starting with deeply inelastic polarized scattering experiments at HERMES at the HERA accelerator in Hamburg, progressing to the development of an intense polarized antiproton beam (PAX) for the FAIR facility in Darmstadt, and currently being involved with polarized beams as a tool to study the electric dipole moment of charged particles (JEDI experiment at the COSY storage ring in Jülich). I have made significant contributions to the proposals, development, and management phases of these experiments, holding leadership roles in all mentioned collaborations.
At HERMES (HERA, DESY, Hamburg), I led the team managing the polarized internal hydrogen and deuterium target. Among the main collaboration results are the first evidence of transverse effects in deeply inelastic scattering related to the “transversity” distribution function and the first evidence of the “Sivers effect,” related to the quark angular momentum.
In 2005, I initiated as co-spokesperson the PAX project to produce an intense polarized antiproton beam as a possible upgrade option for antiproton experiments at the FAIR/HESR facility (Darmstadt). The main scientific results include the development of the physics case and related experimental setup to exploit double-polarized proton-antiproton interactions in hadronic physics. To develop the appropriate methodology to produce polarized antiprotons, the ERC-AdG “POLPBAR” grant was awarded to the project in 2010. I was directly involved in this grant throughout its duration (2010-2016) as scientific responsible for the University of Ferrara in a consortium including FZ-Jülich (DE) and JINR - Dubna (RU). I led as co-spokesperson the spin-flip and spin-filtering experiments with protons at COSY. As a main result, it was demonstrated that spin filtering is a viable method to produce an intense polarized antiproton beam.
Subsequently, I became interested in applying beam and target polarization technology to fundamental physics and was among the proposers of the JEDI project at COSY, of which I have been Co-spokesperson since 2017. The aim of the experiment is to search for the Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) of charged particles using polarized beams in storage rings. The project was awarded an ERC-AdG “srEDM” grant in 2016. I was directly involved in the “srEDM” ERC-AdG project throughout its duration (2016-2022) as scientific responsible for the University of Ferrara in a consortium including FZ-Jülich (DE) and RWTH Aachen University. One of the most important results of the “srEDM” project is the measurement of the oscillating electric dipole moment (limit) for a polarized deuteron beam in a magnetic storage ring like COSY. This measurement represents a milestone in the field and successfully demonstrates the viability of the proposed methodology as a method to search for dark matter particles (axions and axion-like particles (ALPs)). Furthermore, the first upper limit measurement for the electric dipole moment of the deuteron in a magnetic storage ring (COSY) was obtained; this is not (yet) considered the most important research outcome as it has not been finalized in a publication due to the complex investigations needed to quantify systematic uncertainties.
I am among the proposers and scientific responsible for the University of Ferrara for the SMOG2 proposal to perform fixed-target measurements at the LHC. Proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions at fixed targets at the TeV scale provide unique laboratories to study the internal nucleon dynamics and investigate the complex phenomena of the non-perturbative QCD regime. An openable gas cell has been successfully installed at the LHC, upstream of the LHCb detector. The cell design and realization were carried out in the Ferrara workshop under my supervision. The current setup allows the LHCb detector, unique worldwide, to operate with two interaction points (collider and fixed target) simultaneously. I am currently engaged in the next development phase, which aims to install a polarized target at the LHC (LHCspin proposal). This proposal was awarded PRIN-2022 funding with me as Principal Investigator.
The recognition by the international scientific community is evidenced by invited talks at conferences, workshops, and schools. Since 2022, I have served as President of the International Spin Physics Committee.
Alongside research, I have been involved in training and scientific dissemination activities. In addition to teaching undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, I have coordinated the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Physics at the University of Ferrara, chaired three international schools for doctoral students, and an interdisciplinary school for secondary school teachers. I have been responsible for the physics orientation program for over a decade. I am currently coordinating a Public Engagement project funded by the University. During this period, I have mentored over 40 PhD and postdoctoral students and tutored numerous undergraduate and graduate students.
Selected 10 Personal Publications
- First search for axionlike particles in a storage ring using a polarized deuteron beam – JEDI Collaboration, Phys. Rev. X 13, 031004 (2023)
- Precision Storage Rings for EDM Searches: A Tool En Route to Physics Beyond-the Standard-Model - H. Stroher, S.M. Schmidt, P. Lenisa, J. Pretz - Particles 2023, 6, 385
- Storage rings to search for the electric dipole moments of charged particles: feasibility study CPEDM - Collaboration (2021) CERN-YR DOI:10.23731/CYRM-2021-003
- Low-energy spin physics experiments with polarized beams and targets at the COSY storage ring P. Lenisa et al. (PAX Collaboration), EPJ Tech. and Instrum. 6 (2019)
- Phase Locking the Spin precession in a Storage Ring JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 (2017) 014801
- Spin tune mapping as a novel tool to probe the beam dynamics in a storage ring JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Acc. and Beams 20 (2017) 72801
- How to reach a thousand-second in-plane polarization lifetime with 0.97 GeV/c deuterons in a storage ring - JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 (2016) 054801
- New method for a continuous determination of spin-tune in a storage ring and implications for precision experiments - JEDI Collaboration - Phys. Rev. Lett. 115 (2015) 094801
- Measuring the precession of a rapidly precessing deuteron beam JEDI Collaboration - Phys.Rev. ST-AB 17 (2014) 052803
- Polarisation of a stored beam by spin-filtering PAX Collaboration - Phys. Lett. B 718 (2012) 64
Selected 10 Invited Conference Contributions
- Search for Electric Dipole Moments and Axion/ALPS of charged particles using storage rings - PSTP2024 - Newport News (USA), Sept. 2024
- The LHCspin project – PSTP2024 – Newport News (USA), Sept. 2024
- Search for electric dipole moments of charged particles in storage rings MENU2019, Pittsburgh (USA), Sept. 2019
- LHC-spin: a polarized internal target for the LHC - PSTP2019, Knoxville TN (USA), Sept. 2019
- Search for EDMs with polarized beams in Storage Rings PSTP2019, Knoxville TN (USA), Sept. 2019
- Search for EDMs of Charged Particles in Storage Rings MESON 2016, Krakow, Poland, June 2016
- Silicon detectors in Particle Physics 7th Caucasian German School and Workshop in Basic Science, Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 2016
- Performance of a HERMES-like Internal Gas Target in the LHC (and FCC) - Workshop on Polarization Issues in High-Energy Linear Colliders, Rome, Italy, Apr. 2016
- Perspectives for Polarised Antiprotons - MENU2013, Rome, Italy, Sept. 2013
- Perspectives for Polarized Antiprotons - LEAP 2011, Vancouver, Canada, Apr. 2011
Editor of Conference Proceedings
2019 Co-editor, Proceedings of “SPIN2018”, Ferrara, Italy
2011 Co-editor, Proceedings of “STORI2011”, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Italy
2010 Co-editor, Proceedings of ”PST2009”, Ferrara, Italy
