April 1, 2026
The University of Tokyo Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI)
The University of Tokyo Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI) Professor Shigeki Matsumoto has been appointed as the institute’s newest Deputy Director, beginning today. He takes over from previous Deputy Director and Kavli IPMU Professor Masahiro Takada, who stepped down on March 31.
Matsumoto specializes in particle physics theories closely related to particle physics experiments and has long been in engaged in theoretical work uncovering the identity of dark matter. In 2024, he was awarded the Particle Physics Medal with his collaborators for demonstrating the Sommerfeld enhancement, a phenomenon in which the WIMP dark matter annihilation cross sections increase by more than four orders of magnitude due to a long-range interaction between particles during annihilation. This study has had a significant impact on current dark matter search experiments.
More recently, Matsumoto has been researching the formation mechanisms of various dark matter candidates such as axions and primordial black holes from the perspectives of particle physics theory and cosmology. He has also been working on proposing dark matter verification strategies that integrate accelerator, underground, cosmic ray, gamma-ray, and gravitational wave experiments, as well as promoting searches using quantum sensors.
Matsumoto will use his experience to move Kavli IPMU’s strategy forward.
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