Preparatory activities have been ongoing for a few years now, however, the International Axion Observatory (IAXO) has recently reached an important milestone with the formal constitution of the collaboration in a meeting that took place on 3-4 July 2017 at DESY, Hamburg. An initial set of 17 institutions from around the world have approved a collaboration agreement, setting the rules and basic management bodies of the collaboration.
IAXO is a next generation axion helioscope whose baseline goal is to search for axions from the Sun, with sensitivity largely beyond current limits on this elusive particle. In particular, IAXO will enjoy signal-to-noise ratio 10000 times larger than its predecessor the CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST). IAXO will uniquely probe a region of the axion parameter space that is strongly motivated by theory, astrophysics and cosmology.
The near-term goal of the collaboration is to build a scaled-down prototype version of the experiment, called babyIAXO, to probably be located at DESY. It will pave the way to the full experiment and will deliver intermediate relevant physics outcomes.
The Astrophysical Multimessenger Observatory Network (AMON) is a program currently under development at The Pennsylvania State University, in collaboration with a growing list of U.S. and international observatories. AMON seeks to perform a real-time correlation analysis of the high-energy signals across all known astronomical messengers – photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays, and gravitational waves – in an effort to:
Enhance the combined sensitivity of collaborating observatories to astrophysical transients by searching for coincidences in their sub-threshold data;
Enable rapid follow-up imaging or archival analysis of the putative astrophysical sources.
Antonio Masiero, deputy head of INFN in Italy and professor of theoretical physics at the University of Padua has been appointed by the APPEC General Assembly as the new Chair of the APPEC organisation commencing in January 2017.
Professor Masiero was elected Chair of APPEC (Astroparticle Physics European Consortium) by representatives of the 13 member countries of the group which coordinates research in Astroparticle Physics in Europe.
At the same General Assembly Job de Kleuver, from the Dutch FOM Institute for International Affairs and Large Scale Facilities, was elected Secretary General. Both will take office on 1 January 2017, respectively succeeding Professor Frank Linde (Nikhef, Netherlands) and Thomas Berghöfer (DESY, Germany), at the end of their mandates.
Speaking of his appointment Professor Masiero said “”It is really an honour and a responsibility to be asked to lead APPEC through the next few years when we will be putting in place the key recommendations made by the forthcoming APPEC road map due to be published early in 2017. Astroparticle physics now represents an extraordinarily exciting opportunity for science to explore the uncharted land beyond the Standard Models of particle physics and cosmology”.
Current APPEC Chair Professor Linde welcomed the appointments and said “Congratulations to Antonio on being appointed APPEC Chair. You will have a busy time ahead of you with the roadmap soon to be published. I am sure you will do an excellent job as our new APPEC Chair.”
Job de Kleuver said “Astro particle physics is an exciting field of science and in recent months we have seen research breakthroughs with hopefully more on their way. The implementation of the new APPEC roadmap is an ambitious effort and I am fully motivated to take on responsibility for those plans, together with Antonio, and to strengthen the ties between the APPEC partners, leading to both the realisation of new research infrastructures and enabling European Astroparticle Physics to continue to flourish.”
Appec is the consortium that brings together European agencies that support research in Astroparticle Physics at the national level, with the primary objective to promote and facilitate cooperation within the growing community of astroparticle physicists in Europe. Astroparticle physics, that the encounter between particle physics, cosmology and Astrophysics, is a relatively recent and rapidly growing field of research. With physics experiments in the underground Labs and submarines, extensive networks of ground-based telescopes to detectors in space, Europe is gathering more and more fascinating challenges, aiming to study the elusive particles and uncover the darkest mysteries about the structure of the universe.
Biographies
Antonio Masiero was born in Vicenza in 1955 and since 2001 he has been Professor of physics at the University of Padua and was Director of the local chapter of INFN. A graduate of the University of Padua in 1978 (with a thesis on the unification of the fundamental interactions), he spent eight years of research abroad (postdoc at the University of Geneva, CERN and at the Max Planck Institut Munich, assistant professor at New York University) in the period 1979-1987. His research career began at INFN in 1982 at the INFN Padova and later a senior researcher in the same section in 1987. He has been a college professor since 1994, first as extraordinary Professor at the University of Perugia, then to SISSA (international school for advanced studies) in Trieste and then at the University of Padua. His research has shown particular attention to signs of new physics beyond the Standard model. Antonio is author of about 200 scientific publications and he has been an invited speaker at more than 100 conferences and international schools.
Job de Kleuver graduated in experimental physics in 1989. After two years of research in physics, in 1991 he moved to Research Policy Department of FOM, the Research Council in the Netherlands. He is currently responsible in charge of International Affairs and large infrastructures. For 25 years, he has been involved in scientific policy in various fields of physics, with a specific focus on large research infrastructures, such as the Dutch laboratory experiments at LHC HFML and since 2000 astroparticle physics. He is Secretary of the board of the collaboration Nikhef and a member of various committees including HFML domestic, international and European projects.
In the lovely surroundings of the Carl-Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung at Schloss Nymphenburg in Munich the SENSE Kick-off workshop took place on 27 September.
Scientists, international experts and company representatives gathered to signal the start to the SENSE project, which is funded as FET-Open in Horizon 2020.
Dr Thomas Berghöfer, the general secretary of APPEC, explained to the audience the long way to SENSE, which was developed after the experience of two APPEC/ ASPERA Technology Fora on photosensors, and discussions on the LIGHT and other conferences to coordinate and support R&D activities towards the ideal low light-level photosensor.
The project consortium – which consists of the partners DESY, University of Geneva, Max-Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – and the work packages were introduced in the following talks. Further talks gave an introduction to current status and challenges in in the area of low light level sensors. Lively discussions after the talks and in the breaks showed strong interest on the project from the audience.
Dr Razmik Mirzoyan, leader of work package “Roadmapping & Monitoring” mentioned in his talk that he is “dreaming of a sensor with a photon detection efficiency of 70%” – so let´s start working together on sowing the seeds for substantial sensor developments!
All the presentations from the conference can be found on the kick-off website.
From 29 August – 3 September, 60 scientists from across the world gathered in the village of Listvyanka at the shore of Lake Baikal during The Three Messenger Conference writes Dr Vladimir Bozhilov
Somewhat contrary to your first expectations, Siberia – a tremendously vast region that accounts for 77% of the land of the Russian Federation – can be a magnificent and sunny place. At least at the shores of Lake Baikal at the end of August or in the early days of September. The 60 scientists who just a few weeks ago took part in the Three Messenger Conference at the village of Listvyanka at Lake Baikal enjoyed nice weather, and an intense amount of lectures and networking, focused on the three astroparticle messengers.
The conference from 29 August – 3 September was organized by APPEC (Astroparticle Physics European Consortium), its transnational partner JINR (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research) in Dubna, the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with the Lomonosov State University in Moscow, and the Irkutsk State University. The meeting provided a unique opportunity for exchanging cutting-edge science ideas and for fostering collaborations between scientists from all over Europe, America, and Russia.
The name “Three Messenger” is inspired by the three basic cosmic messengers that scientists use to study the high energy Universe. Remember the discovery of gravitational waves announced in February 2016? Combined with ultra-high energy neutrinos and cosmic and gamma rays, these are the tools astroparticle physics uses to study some of the most exciting phenomena in nature. The merging of two black holes, the active hearts of distant galaxies, and the mysterious events that produce gamma ray bursts are just a few examples.
During the conference, colleagues from around the world also learned more about the history of astroparticle physics in the Baikal region. It dates back to the 1960s, as explained by Prof. Nikolay Budnev, director of the Applied Physics Institute at the Irkutsk State University. Prof. Budnev was also head of the Local Organizing Committee, which did a great job. In between all the lectures and proceedings, the participants could still have a boat ride on Lake Baikal and follow the Great Baikal Trail. After the conference, participants had the chance to make an excursion to the TAIGA experiment, a combined cosmic and gamma ray experiment currently built in the Tunka Valley. In one of the upcoming newsletters, we will describe the TAIGA experiment in greater detail. The TAIGA site visit was accompanied by a film team from Russian television.
So next time you hear Siberia, think science, think adventure, think astroparticle physics. And astroparticle physics is always hot and always rocks!
Dr. Vladimir Bozhilov is a Chief Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Astronomy at the Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia, Bulgaria. He is also the editor-in-chief for BBC knowledge Bulgaria magazine.
The SENSE project will be funded by the European Commission as a Coordination and Support Action in the domain of Future Emerging Technologies (FET-Open) with the aim of coordinating the research and development efforts in academia and industry in low light level sensoring.
This initiative has emerged from the series of Technology Forums organized within the frame of ASPERA and APPEC. SENSE is a three-year project. Starting in September 2016, R&D experts will be invited to prepare an R&D roadmap towards the ultimate low light level sensors. SENSE will then coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the R&D efforts of research groups and industry in advancing low light level sensors and liaise with strategically important European initiatives and research groups and companies worldwide.
While ESA’s Planck mission was a resounding success, and its data are still being analysed, we now face a gap before the next space-based CMB mission. It is currently believed that the next space mission will happen at the earliest in the late twenties-early thirties and it should be planned with the same ambition that determined the design of Planck, that is: give definitive measurements. Till then the European CMB community needs to develop both intermediate measurements on ground or using balloons and the technology that would permit ultimate sensitivities.
In April, we had reported that the SENSE project will be funded by the European Commission as a Coordination and Support Action in the domain of Future Emerging Technologies. After successful negotiations the three-year project, which can be seen as a satellite activity of APPEC, will be starting this month.
The aim of SENSE is to coordinate research and development efforts in academia and industry in low light level sensoring. This initiative has emerged from the series of Technology Fora organized within the frame of ASPERA and APPEC.
We cordially invite all interested colleagues from academia and industry for the SENSE kick-off workshop. This one-day workshop will be held on 27 September, 2016 in Munich at the Carl-Friedrich-Siemens Foundation in Nymphenburg Castle. Participation in the workshop is free, but registration is required.
The SENSE work programme is defined by the following activities:
set up an experts group and conduct the development of a European R&D roadmap towards the ultimate low light-level (LLL) sensors,
monitor and evaluate the progress of the developments with respect to the roadmap,
coordinate the R&D efforts of research groups and industry in advancing LLL sensors,
prepare a database of light sensor specifications and lab equipment, test stands and expertise available in the different institutions,
liaise with strategically important European initiatives and research groups and companies worldwide,
create the Technology Exchange Platform to enable an efficient exchange between researchers and developers being involved in SENSE,
prepare training events and material to attract and teach especially young researchers,
work out a technology training session that can implemented in any existing summer school.
Further information and registration for the SENSE kick-off workshop can be found on the SENSE website.
APPEC mourns the loss of Roberto Petronzio, who passed away on 28 July 2016. Roberto was one of our founders, a member of the General Assembly from 2000 to 2011 and chair of APPEC from 2004-2005.
He studied physics under Nicola Cabibbo at the University of Rome La Sapienza and went on to work at CERN as a fellow, and from 1979-1986 as a CERN staff member. He was a visiting professor at École Normale Superieure in Paris, Max Planck Institute, Munich, and Boston University. In 1987, he became professor of theoretical physics at University of Rome Tor Vergata. He was appointed president of INFN in 2004, holding the role for seven years.
Roberto, mainly in collaboration with some of the most prominent representatives of the “Rome Theory Group”, Cabibbo, Luciano Maiani, Guido Altarelli, and Guido Martinelli, gave very relevant contributions to the study of various aspects of particle phenomenology, in particular in the field of strong interactions.
Roberto was a champion of the SuperB accelerator project – a B-factory intended to cover a 1.3km loop in the Rome/Lazio area. Ultimately the project could not be hosted in Italy, but the technology he worked on was implemented in Japan. He also worked on the development of INFN’s supercomputer capability – the INFN Array Processor Experiment – to design and construct high performing computers for quantum chromodynamics calculations. Roberto’s work resulted in 190 published papers and books, with more than 11,000 citations.
Luciano Maiani, chair of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, said: “A fine mathematical mind, Roberto never lost sight of the relationship that goes between theory and experiment and was able to suggest meaningful experiments himself, to test delicate aspects of the theory. For this, he was widely appreciated a respected.”
Antonio Masiero, chair of the APPEC Scientific Advisory Committee, said: “Roberto often emphasized the need for European astroparticle physics to find a natural centre of gravity, as particle physics did so naturally at CERN as its major laboratory. He was determined for APPEC to fill that coordinating role for astroparticle physics, and his commitment to the growth and development of the discipline was central to his presidency of INFN.”
Roberto suffered a stroke in 2014, and was forced to retire through poor health in 2015. He passed away in hospital in Rome. His influence on APPEC will last long into the future.
