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

The story of the collaboration between Raoul Gatto and Bruno Touschek,before during and after the construction of AdA, the first electron-positron collider builtat the Frascati National Laboratories in 1960, is only partially known. A brief outlineis presented here to show how electron-positron physics was influenced by Gatto andTouschek’s common early interest in the CPT theorem. Their legacy is also illustratedwith 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 physicsscenarios behind the beginning of a deep relationship between Touschek and Gattoin Rome in 1953, the years of AdA between Rome, Frascati and Orsay, up to theconstruction of ADONE, the more beautiful and powerful collider, where multihadronproduction was first discovered in 1968/69 and the existence of the charm quark wasconfirmed in 1974.