Carlos Mariñas, researcher at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics, located in the scientific-academic area of the University of Valencia Science Park (PCUV), has been appointed head of the global upgrade operations of the Japanese Belle II detector, an experiment in which more than 1,000 researchers from 27 countries collaborate and which is aimed at improving the efficiency of high luminosity operations, crucial for the detailed study of both rare processes and future discoveries in particle physics
The Belle II detector is a particle physics experiment designed to study the properties of the so-called B meson, a heavy particle made up of b-type quarks or beauties. It is part of the Japanese KEK accelerator complex in Tsukuba, Japan, and operates in association with the SuperKEKB particle accelerator, which currently holds the world record for instantaneous luminosity.
This appointment follows Mariñas' performance as technical coordinator during "Long Shutdown 1", a period of detector upgrades that concluded earlier this year with high data acquisition efficiency. With this new position, which represents an advance in his career in the field of instrumentation, the scientist will lead the design, construction and implementation of improvements in the various subdetectors of the experiment and in the data acquisition system, in preparation for the high-luminosity operation planned for the early 2030s.
Mariñas will continue with the preparation of the detector to improve its performance and efficiency in high luminosity operations, crucial for the detailed study of rare processes and for future discoveries in particle physics. "It's about designing the detector of the future," said Carlos Mariñas, CSIC researcher at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics, a joint center of the University of Valencia and the Spanish National Research Council.
Belle II is a collaboration involving 1,174 researchers from 124 international institutes. IFIC has been a member of the experiment for more than a decade and has participated in the development, construction and commissioning of the pixel detector.
Scientific trajectory
With a degree from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a PhD in Physics from the University of Valencia, Mariñas worked for almost a decade at the Silicon Laboratory of the University of Bonn (Germany). During this period he led the Belle II pixel instrumentation group, was deputy coordinator of the data acquisition of the experiment and made long stays in Japan.
In 2019 he returned to IFIC with a GenT distinguished researcher contract and is currently a CSIC senior scientist at this research center located at the University of Valencia Science Park.
Learn more about Carlos Mariñas, in his speech at the Innotransfer event 'Microelectronics: The challenges of the new engine of the Valencian economy'.