Mario Martínez

Mario Martínez

Institut de Física d'Altes Energies

Experimental Sciences & Mathematics

Born in Madrid, he studied Theoretical Physics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He spent many years at DESY in Hamburg (Germany) studying deeply inelastic scattering in the ZEUS experiment, where he obtained his PhD and then worked as DESY researcher. In 2001, he moved to USA to work in Fermilab. He participated in the CDF experiment at the Tevatron  collider, with emphasis on searches for new physics. In 2007 he moved back to Europe and started working also in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN,  initiating operations in 2009. Since then he was acting as project leader of the IFAE-Barcelona group in ATLAS. In 2015 he was appointed Head of IFAE Experimental Division (until 2020), Scientific Manager of the Spanish High Energy Physics, and Scientific Delegate in CERN's Council (until June 2018). Starting in 2018, he initiated an activity  on Gravitational Waves Physics with the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA interferometers.

Research interests

I originally focused on searches for new physics at particle physics experiments in Europe and USA. Since 2009, I focused on the LHC physics program at CERN.  In 2012 the LHC experiments discovered the Higgs boson.  In  the period 2009-2015, I led a group of scientists from IFAE-Barcelona that analyzes the data from the ATLAS experiment. In  2015 I took  responsibilities as Head of IFAE Experimental Division (untill September 2020),  Scientific Manager of the Spanish High Energy Physics Program (until June 2018), and Scientific Delegate to CERN Council (until June 2018). In November 2018, I initiated at IFAE a brand new involvement in Gravitational Wave Physics in the Virgo interferometer with emphasis on those aspects related to fundamental physics and cosmology.  I am also involved in the preparation of the Einstein Telescope (ET) 3rd-generation  inteferometer project. I supervised 17 PhD theses to date.  

Selected publications

- ATLAS Collaboration 2022, 'A detailed map of Higgs boson interactions by the ATLAS experiment ten years after the discovery', Nature, 607(7917):52-59.

- R. Abbott et al. 2022, 'Search for Subsolar-Mass Binaries in the First Half of Advanced LIGO’s and Advanced Virgo’s Third Observing Run", Phys Rev Lett, 129, 6, 061104.

- Romero-Rodríguez A, Martínez M, Pujolàs O, Sakellariadou M & Vaskonen V 2022, 'Search for a Scalar Induced Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background in the Third LIGO-Virgo Observing Run', Phys Rev Lett, 128(5):051301.

- O Ballester et al. 2022, 'Measurement of the stray light in the Advanced Virgo input mode cleaner cavity using an instrumented baffle', Classical and Quantum Gravity, 39, 115011.

- Caldwell R et al. 2022, "Detection of early-universe gravitational-wave signatures and fundamental physics", General Relativity and Gravitation, 54(12), 156.

- Romero-Rodriguez A, Martinez M, Mir LM & Yamamoto H 2022, 'Determination of the Stray Light-Induced Noise from the Baffle in the Cryogenic Trapping Area of Advanced Virgo in O5', Galaxies, 10, 4, 86.

Selected research activities

    •    Member of CMS Phase 2 Upgrade Group at CERN.
    •    PI of Gravitational Waves group at IFAE.
    •    PI of the  EU Horizon INFRA-DEV Preparatory Phase Project for the Einstein Telescope.
    •    Member of the Virgo Steering Committee.
    •    Member of the Virgo Organization Committee for the preparation of new bylaws.
    •    Member of the ET Project Directorate.
    •    Member of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Committee for Climate Change.
    •    Three PhD Thesis and two Master Theses concluded in 2022.
    •    Several Talks in Conferences and Workshops.