Raoul Gatto and Bruno Touschek: the Rise of e+ e- Physics

Luisa Bonolis; Franco Buccella; Giulia Pancheri

doi:10.53941/hihep.2025.100015

Abstract

The story of the collaboration between Raoul Gatto and Bruno Touschek, before during and after the construction of AdA, the first electron-positron collider built at the Frascati National Laboratories in 1960, is only partially known. A brief outline is presented here to show how electron-positron physics was influenced by Gatto and Touschek's common early interest in the CPT theorem. Their legacy is also illustrated with examples of their lasting impact as mentors to their students and collaborators. Starting with the early days after Fermi's departure, we describe the various physics scenarios behind the beginning of a deep relationship between Touschek and Gatto in Rome in 1953, the years of AdA between Rome, Frascati and Orsay, up to the construction of ADONE, the more beautiful and powerful collider, where multihadron production was first discovered in 1968/69 and the existence of the charm quark was confirmed in 1974.

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