Kai Lukas Unger, M.Sc.

Kai Lukas Unger, M.Sc.

  • Engesserstr. 5

    76131 Karlsruhe

Research interests

Low Latency Trigger

Modern particle accelerator experiments nowadays produce immense amounts of data that cannot be stored. Therefore, the data is analyzed by trigger systems in real-time and only the really relevant data is stored. This analysis is performed by multi-stage triggers. At ITIV, in close collaboration with experimental physicists, new hardware architectures based on FPGA are developed for the level 1 trigger stage. For this purpose, classical algorithms, as well as machine learning based systems, are implemented and analyzed.

High throughput Data Acquisition

In large-scale physics experiments, immense amounts of data have to be transferred. Therefore, a powerful DAQ system is extremely important for a successful experiment. ITIV is developing such systems together with Campus North. We are investigating future FPGA and ASIC architectures for efficient processing and forwarding of experiment data.

Fast AI in High Energy Physics

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important in high-energy physics. Machine learning algorithms are currently mostly used in physics data centers. GPU or TPU based servers are mainly used for this purpose. We are trying to implement these algorithms in FPGA hardware to run them faster.

Supervised student works (selection)

  • SA:“ Vergleich der Implementierungen des Track-Findings in den L1-Trigger-Systemen des ATLAS- und des CMS-Projekts“
  • BA: “Hardware/Software Co-Simulation of the Track Segment Finder for the Belle II Experiment “
  • BA: “Slow Control Monitoring for the Neural Network Trigger in the Belle II Experiment “

Publications


2024
Journal Articles
Characterization of the radiation tolerant ToASt ASIC for the readout of the PANDA MVD strip detector
Lenta, F.; Calvo, D.; Cossio, F.; Mazza, G.; Wheadon, R.; Becker, J.; Brinkmann, K.-T.; Caselle, M.; Kopmann, A.; Manzhura, O.; Mattiazzo, S.; Peter, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Staněk, P.; Stockmanns, T.; Tomášek, L.; Tröll, N.; Unger, K. L.; Zaunick, H.-G.
2024. Journal of Instrumentation, 19 (04), Art.-Nr.: C04047. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/19/04/C04047
The data acquisition system for the PANDA Micro-Vertex Detector
Manzhura, O.; Caselle, M.; Ardila-Perez, L. E.; Calvo, D.; Chilingaryan, S.; Cossio, F.; Dritschler, T.; Kopmann, A.; Lenta, F.; Mazza, G.; Peter, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Staněk, P.; Stockmanns, T.; Tomášek, L.; Tröll, N.; Unger, K. L.; Zaunick, H.-G.; Becker, J.; Brinkmann, K.-T.
2024. Journal of Instrumentation, 19 (03), Art.-Nr.: C03036. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/19/03/C03036
Real-Time Graph Building on FPGAs for Machine Learning Trigger Applications in Particle Physics
Neu, M.; Becker, J.; Dorwarth, P.; Ferber, T.; Reuter, L.; Stefkova, S.; Unger, K.
2024. Computing and Software for Big Science, 8 (1), Artkl.Nr.: 8. doi:10.1007/s41781-024-00117-0
2023
Book Chapters
A Convolution Neural Network Based Displaced Vertex Trigger for the Belle II Experiment
Unger, K.; Becker, J.; Kiesling, C.; Ma, Y.; Meggendorfer, F.; Neu, M.; Schmidt, E.; Zweigart, U.
2023. Applied Reconfigurable Computing. Architectures, Tools, and Applications – 19th International Symposium, ARC 2023, Cottbus, Germany, September 27–29, 2023, Proceedings. Ed.: F. Palumbo, 173–184, Springer Nature Switzerland. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-42921-7_12
Journal Articles
Operation of the Neural z-Vertex Track Trigger for Belle II in 2021 - a Hardware Perspective
Unger, K. L.; Bähr, S.; Becker, J.; Knoll, A. C.; Kiesling, C.; Meggendorfer, F.; Skambraks, S.
2023. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2438, Article no: 012056. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2438/1/012056
Data-driven design of the Belle II track segment finder
Unger, K. L.; Neu, M.; Becker, J.; Schmidt, E.; Kiesling, C.; Meggendorfer, F.; Skambraks, S.
2023. Journal of Instrumentation, 18 (2), Art.-Nr.: C02001. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/18/02/C02001
Conference Papers
Design and Implementation of Staggered-SAR Azimuth-Processing
Marten, J. C.; Younis, M.; Krieger, G.; Pfau, J.; Unger, K.; Becker, J.
2023. 24th International Radar Symposium (IRS), Berlin, Germany, 24-26 May 2023, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.23919/IRS57608.2023.10172405
2022
Journal Articles
The Event Timing Finder for the Central Drift Chamber Level-1 Trigger at the Belle II experiment
Sue, Y.; Hanwook, B.; Iijima, T.; Iwasaki, Y.; Koga, T.; Lai, Y.-T.; Nakazawa, H.; Unger, K. L.
2022. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2374, Art.-Nr.: 012103. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2374/1/012103
Applications and Techniques for Fast Machine Learning in Science
Deiana, A. M.; Tran, N.; Agar, J.; Blott, M.; Di Guglielmo, G.; Duarte, J.; Harris, P.; Hauck, S.; Liu, M.; Neubauer, M. S.; Ngadiuba, J.; Ogrenci-Memik, S.; Pierini, M.; Aarrestad, T.; Bähr, S.; Becker, J.; Berthold, A.-S.; Bonventre, R. J.; Müller Bravo, T. E.; Unger, K. L.; et al.
2022. Frontiers in Big Data, 5, Art.Nr. 787421. doi:10.3389/fdata.2022.787421
2021
Journal Articles
Feasibility studies of conserved charge fluctuations in Au-Au collisions with CBM
CBM Collaboration; Samanta, S.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2021. Nuclear physics <Amsterdam> / A, 1005, Art.-Nr.: 121896. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2020.121896
CBM Collaboration
CBM Collaboration; Ablyazimov, T.; Adak, R. P.; Adler, A.; Agarwal, A.; Agarwal, K.; Ahammed, Z.; Ahmad, A.; Ahmad, F.; Ahmad, N.; Akindinov, A.; Akishin, P.; Akishina, V.; Al-Turany, M.; Alekseev, I.; Alexandrov, E.; Alexandrov, I.; Andronic, A.; Appelshäuser, H.; Unger, K. L.; et al.
2021. Nuclear physics <Amsterdam> / A, 1005, Article no: 122089. doi:10.1016/S0375-9474(20)30414-0
2020
Journal Articles
Transverse and longitudinal segmented forward hadron calorimeters with SiPMs light readout for future fixed target heavy ion experiments
BM@N Collaboration; CBM Collaboration; NA61/SHINE Collaboration; Guber, F.; Finogeev, D.; Golubeva, M.; Ivashkin, A.; Izvestnyy, A.; Karpushkin, N.; Morozov, S.; Kugler, A.; Mikhaylov, V.; Senger, A.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Unger, K. L.; et al.
2020. Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research / A, 958, Art.-Nr. 162728. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2019.162728
Status of the Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR
CBM Collaboration; Senger, P.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2020. International journal of modern physics / E, 29 (02), 2030001–1. doi:10.1142/S0218301320300015
Probing dense QCD matter in the laboratory—The CBM experiment at FAIR
CBM Collaboration; Senger, P.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2020. Physica scripta, 95 (7), Art.-Nr.: 074003. doi:10.1088/1402-4896/ab8c14
Physics Performance Studies for Anisotropic Flow Measurements with the CBM Experiment at FAIR
CBM Collaboration; Golosov, O.; Klochkov, V.; Kashirin, E.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2020. Physics of particles and nuclei, 51 (3), 297–300. doi:10.1134/S1063779620030119
Using multiplicity of produced particles for centrality determination in heavy-ion collisions with the CBM experiment
CBM Collaboration; Segal, I.; Lubynets, O.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Klochkov, V.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2020. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1690, Art.-Nr.: 012107. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1690/1/012107
Performance for proton anisotropic flow measurement of the CBM experiment at FAIR
CBM Collaboration; Golosov, O.; Klochkov, V.; Kashirin, E.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2020. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1690, Art.-Nr. 012104. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1690/1/012104
Search for Axionlike Particles Produced in e⁺ e⁻ Collisions at Belle II
Belle 2 Collaboration; Abudinén, F.; Adachi, I.; Aihara, H.; Akopov, N.; Aloisio, A.; Ameli, F.; Anh Ky, N.; Asner, D. M.; Aushev, T.; Aushev, V.; Babu, V.; Baehr, S.; Bahinipati, S.; Bambade, P.; Banerjee, S.; Bansal, S.; Baudot, J.; Becker, J.; Unger, K.; et al.
2020. Physical review letters, 125 (16), Article: 161806. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.161806
Development of the Level-1 track trigger with Central Drift Chamber detector in Belle II experiment and its performance in SuperKEKB 2019 Phase 3 operation
Belle 2 Collaboration; Lai, Y.-T.; Aoyama, M.; Bae, H.; Bähr, S.; Chang, M.-C.; Hayashii, H.; Iwasaki, Y.; Kim, J.-B.; Kim, K.-T.; Kiesling, C.; Koga, T.; Lu, P.-C.; Liu, S.-M.; Meggendorfer, F.; Moon, H.-K.; Moon, T.-J.; Nakazawa, H.; Rados, P.; Unger, K.; et al.
2020. Journal of Instrumentation, 15 (6), Art. Nr.: C06063. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/15/06/C06063
Search for an Invisibly Decaying Z’ Boson at Belle II in e⁺e⁻ → μ⁺μ⁻(eμ) Plus Missing Energy Final States
Belle 2 Collaboration; Adachi, I.; Ahlburg, P.; Aihara, H.; Akopov, N.; Aloisio, A.; Anh Ky, N.; Asner, D. M.; Atmacan, H.; Aushev, T.; Aushev, V.; Aziz, T.; Babu, V.; Baehr, S.; Bambade, P.; Banerjee, S.; Bansal, V.; Barrett, M.; Baudot, J.; Unger, K.; et al.
2020. Physical review letters, 124 (14), Article: 141801. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.141801
Measurement of the integrated luminosity of the Phase 2 data of the Belle II experiment
Belle 2 Collaboration; Abudinén, F.; Adachi, I.; Ahlburg, P.; Aihara, H.; Akopov, N.; Aloisio, A.; Ameli, F.; Andricek, L.; Anh Ky, N.; Asner, D. M.; Atmacan, H.; Aushev, T.; Aushev, V.; Aziz, T.; Azmi, K.; Babu, V.; Baehr, S.; Bahinipati, S.; Unger, K.; et al.
2020. Chinese physics / C, 44 (2), Article: 021001. doi:10.1088/1674-1137/44/2/021001
Conference Papers
Online Estimation of Particle Track Parameters based on Neural Networks for the Belle II Trigger System
Baehr, S.; Unger, K. L.; Becker, J.; Meggendorfer, F.; Skambraks, S.; Kiesling, C.
2020. Proceedings of Artificial Intelligence for Science, Industry and Society — PoS(AISIS2019), 010, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA). doi:10.22323/1.372.0010
Realization of a state machine based detection for Track Segments in the Trigger System of the Belle II Experiment
Unger, K. L.; Bähr, S.; Becker, J.; Iwasaki, Y.; Kim, K.; Lai, Y.-T.
2020. Proceedings of Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics, TWEPP 2019, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 2 - 6 September 2019, Code 160323. doi:10.22323/1.370.0145
2019
Journal Articles
The very forward hadron calorimeter PSD for the future CBM@FAIR experiment
CBM Collaboration; Mikhaylov, V.; Kugler, A.; Kushpil, V.; Svoboda, O.; Tlustý, P.; Golubeva, M.; Guber, F.; Ivashkin, A.; Morozov, S.; Klochkov, V.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Senger, A.; Bondarenko, S.; Burov, V.; Malakhov, A.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Unger, K. L.; et al.
2019. The European physical journal / Web of Conferences, 204, Art.-Nr.: 11004. doi:10.1051/epjconf/201920411004
The Projectile Spectator Detector for measuring the geometry of heavy ion collisions at the CBM experiment on FAIR
CBM Collaboration; Karpushkin, N.; Finogeev, D.; Golubeva, M.; Guber, F.; Ivashkin, A.; Izvestnyy, A.; Ladygin, V.; Morozov, S.; Kugler, A.; Mikhaylov, V.; Senger, A.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; et al.
2019. Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research / A, 936, 156–157. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.054
Exploring Cosmic Matter in the Laboratory—The Compressed Baryonic Matter Experiment at FAIR
CBM Collaboration; Senger, P.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2019. Particles, 2 (4), 499–510. doi:10.3390/particles2040031
Conference Papers
Low Latency Neural Networks using Heterogenous Resources on FPGA for the Belle II Trigger
Baehr, S.; Poehler, J.; Unger, K.; Hochstuhl, A.; Becker, J.; Skambraks, S.; McCarney, S.; Meggendorfer, F.; Kiesling, C.
2019. Connecting the Dots and Workshop on Intelligent Trackers (CTD/WIT 2019), València, E, April 2-5, 2019
Reports/Preprints
Measurement of the integrated luminosity of the Phase 2 data of the Belle II experiment
Belle 2 Collaboration; Bähr, S.; Becker, J.; Unger, K.
2019
2018
Journal Articles
Event Topology Reconstruction in the CBM Experiment
CBM Collaboration; Kisel, I.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2018. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1070, 012015. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1070/1/012015
Conference Papers
Level-1 track trigger with Central Drift Chamber detector in Belle II experiment
Lai, Y.-T.; Baehr, S.; Chang, M. C.; Iwasaki, Y.; Kim, J. B.; Kim, K. T.; Kiesling, C.; Koga, T.; Lu, P. C.; Liu, S. M.; Meggendorfer, F.; Moon, H. K.; Moon, T. J.; Nakazawa, H.; Shiu, J. G.; Skambraks, S.; Sheng, T. Z.; Unger, K.; Wang, C. H.; Won, E.
2018. 2018 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference / 25th International Symposium on Room-Temperature Semiconductor X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detectors (IEEE NSS/MIC 2018), Sydney, AUS, November 10-17, 2018, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi:10.1109/NSSMIC.2018.8824506
2017
Journal Articles
A precision device needs precise simulation: Software description of the CBM Silicon Tracking System
CBM Collaboration; Malygina, H.; Friese, V.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2017. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 898, Art.-Nr.: 042022. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/898/4/042022
The high-rate data challenge: computing for the CBM experiment
CBM Collaboration; Friese, V.; Bähr, S.; Balzer, M.; Becker, J.; Blank, T.; Caselle, M.; Sidorenko, V.; Trifonova, E.; Unger, K. L.; Weber, M.
2017. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 898, Art.-Nr. 112003. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/898/11/112003