Plans Shape Up for a Revolutionary New Observatory to Explore Black Holes and the Big Bang
Scientists present their design for Einstein Telescope – Europe’s next-generation detector that will ‘see’ the Universe in gravitational waves.
A new era in astronomy will come a step closer when scientists from across Europe present their design study today for an advanced observatory capable of making precision measurements of gravitational waves – minute ripples in the fabric of spacetime – predicted to emanate from cosmic catastrophes such as merging black holes and collapsing stars and supernovae. It also offers the potential to probe the earliest moments of the Universe just after the Big Bang, which are currently inaccessible.
The Einstein Observatory (ET) is a so-called third-generation gravitational-wave (GW) detector, which will be 100 times more sensitive than current instruments. Like the first two generations of GW detectors, it is based on the measurement of tiny changes (far less than the size of an atomic nucleus) in the lengths of two connected arms several kilometres long, caused by a passing gravity wave. Laser beams passing down the arms record their periodic stretching and shrinking as interference patterns in a central photo-detector.
The first generation of these interferometric detectors built a few years ago (GEO600, LIGO, Virgo and TAMA) successfully demonstrated the proof-of-principle and constrained the gravitational wave emission from several sources. The next generation (Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo), which are being constructed now, should make the first direct detection of gravitational waves – for example, from a pair of orbiting black holes or neutron stars spiralling into each other. Such a discovery would herald the new field of GW astronomy. However, these detectors will not be sensitive enough for precise astronomical studies of the GW sources.
“The community of scientists interested in exploring GW phenomena therefore decided to investigate building a new generation of even more sensitive observatories. After a three-year study, involving more than 200 scientists in Europe and across the world, we are pleased to present the design study for the Einstein Telescope, which paves the way for unveiling a hidden side of the Universe,” says Harald Lück, deputy scientific coordinator of the ET Design Study.
The design study, which will be presented at the European Gravitational Observatory site in Pisa, Italy, outlines ET’s scientific targets, the detector layout and technology, as well as the timescale and estimated costs. A superb sensitivity will be achieved by building ET underground, at a depth of about 100 to 200 metres, to reduce the effect of the residual seismic motion. This will enable higher sensitivities to be achieved at low frequencies, between 1 and 100 hertz (Hz). With ET, the entire range of GW frequencies that can be measured on Earth – between about 1 Hz and 10 kHz – should be detected. “An observatory achieving that level of sensitivity will turn GW detection into a routine astronomical tool. ET will lead a scientific revolution”, says Michele Punturo, the scientific coordinator of the design study. An important aim is to provide GW information that complements observational data from telescopes detecting electromagnetic radiation (from radio waves through to gamma-rays) and other instruments detecting high-energy particles from space (astroparticle physics).
A multi-detector
The strategy behind the ET project is to build an observatory that overcomes the limitations of current detector sites by hosting more than one GW detector. It will consist of three nested detectors, each composed of two interferometers with arms 10 kilometres long. One interferometer will detect low-frequency gravitational wave signals (2 to 40 Hz), while the other will detect the high-frequency components. The configuration is designed to allow the observatory to evolve by accommodating successive upgrades or replacement components that can take advantage of future developments in interferometry and also respond to a variety of science objectives.
The European dimension
The European Commission supported the design study within the Seventh Framework Program (FP7-Capacities) by allocating three million Euro.
“With this grant, the European Commission recognized the importance of gravitational wave science as developed in Europe, its value for fundamental and technological research, provided a common framework for the European scientists involved in the gravitational wave search and allowed for a significant step towards the exploration of the Universe with a completely new enquiry instrument”, says Federico Ferrini, director of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) and project coordinator of the design study for the Einstein Telescope.
ET is one of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ European projects recommended by the ASPERA network for the future development of astroparticle physics in Europe. It would be a crucial European research infrastructure and a fundamental cornerstone in the realisation of the European Research Area.
ASPERA, the AStroParticle European Research Area is a network of European national funding agencies responsible for astroparticle physics. ASPERA is funded by the European Commission, bringing together 17 countries and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research): http://www.aspera-eu.org Einstein Telescope Project (ET) is a joint project of eight European research institutes, under the direction of the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO). The participants are EGO, an Italian French consortium located near Pisa (Italy), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy, the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the German Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) in Hannover, the Universities of Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow in the UK, and the Dutch Nikhef in Amsterdam. Scientists belonging to other institutions in Europe, as well as the US and Japan, actively collaborated in the realisation of this design study.
The goal of this workshop was to invite the scientific communities and the funding agencies to discuss how these synergies can be promoted and encouraged for the development of science and to the benefit of society, at the image of the relation between nuclear and particle physics and medicine since the middle of the twentieth century.
DEEP OCEAN CABLED OBSERVATORIES
Cabled observatories provide marine scientists with a large number of opportunities previously completely unavailable. In the workshop that took place in NIKHEF, Amsterdam (Netherlands) on 24 and 25 May 2012, marine scientists (geoscientists, biologists, oceanographers, etc.) and astroparticle physicists jointly discussed current and future research options using deep ocean cabled observatories, the future of ocean research.
Some of the current cabled observatories were constructed specifically for ocean research. Others, such as the three pilot neutrino detectors – ANTARES, NEMO and NESTOR – in the Mediterranean deep sea, have been built by astroparticle physicists in order to search for cosmic neutrinos. In both cases, these observatories have led to major scientific breakthroughs in their respective fields.
Just before the start of construction of the first phase of KM3NeT, the cubic-kilometre sized neutrino detector in the Mediterranean Sea (an ESFRI infrastructure), ASPERA considered it vital to open the floor for extensive discussions among scientists from different disciplines, all working around deep sea cabled observatories. The first day of the workshop was dedicated to current research that uses the cabled detectors in the Mediterranean, but also to the global perspective, to research carried out in cabled observatories in Canada and the United States. The second day was dedicated to the future. What scientific questions could be answered thanks to collaborations around cabled observatories in the Mediterranean and beyond?
UNDERGROUND SYNERGIES WITH ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS
An ASPERA-funded two-day workshop reviewing current and future studies and opportunities in multidisciplinary deep underground science took place in Durham in December 2012.
For decades astroparticle and particle physics experiments needing an ultra-low background environment have been operated deep underground where the rock overhead provides a shield against interference from cosmic rays. The growth of astroparticle physics has resulted in small but growing number of deep underground science facilities in Europe and around the world. In recent years in has become clear the special environments provided by these facilities is of interest to other areas of science, beyond astro-particle physics to areas such as Earth and environmental sciences, geology, geophysics, climatology, biology and astrobiology.
The workshop showcased the synergies between underground astroparticle physics infrastructures and the opportunities they provide to address a wide range of multidisciplinary science challenges. The event will bring together scientists, decision makers and industry to highlight and identify underground science synergies; and address the scientific, administrative and funding challenges faced by multi-disciplinary scientists when trying to collaborate together and with industry. The workshop was held in the historic city of Durham in the North East of the UK. Durham University, the UK’s Boulby Deep Underground Science Facility and the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council are proud to be the local hosts of the workshop.
INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE ON THE GROUND
On 18 and 19 April 2011, the IS@AO (Interdisciplinary Science at the Auger Observatory) workshop took place in Cambridge (UK), to allow the community to focus on the multidisciplinary aspects of research taking place at the Pierre Auger Observatory. In this workshop (not organised by APPEC), research on thunderstorms, clouds, lightning and earthquakes were presented.
Whales sing at the same wavelength as the neutrinos emitted by stars. This happy coincidence gave physicists the idea to share their undersea telescopes with marine biologists. By helping the development of a bioacoustics network to monitor the deep sea environment, they have already enabled the discovery of the unexpected presence of sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea. It is even possible to listen to the song of whales live from home with a personal computer connected to the web, thanks to the LIDO platform (Listen to the Deep Ocean).
European astroparticle physicists are developing together KM3NeT, a large undersea neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean, dedicated to tracking neutrinos from astronomical sources. The deployment of deep sea neutrino detection lines for current experiments such as ANTARES in France, Nemo in Italy and Nestor in Greece has opened up the possibility of also installing monitoring devices for the permanent study of the deep sea environment: studies of ocean currents, of bioluminescence, of fauna and of seismic activity.
Astroparticle physics is a new field mixing both particle physics and astrophysics and offering many new opportunities for environmental disciplines such as oceanography, climate science and studies of the atmosphere, geology…
The ASPERA* European network for astroparticle physics and CNRS/IN2P3 invite the media to participate in the workshop « From the Geosphere to the Cosmos » on 1st and 2nd December at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, where the new synergies and challenges of environmental sciences and astroparticle physics will be presented.
Journalists are very welcome to attend the whole event. A press briefing will be held on the 1st December 16:15 at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, where the following projects will be presented:
LIDO – for listening to the deep sea environment from home over the internet,
The CLOUD experiment at CERN, which studies the impact of cosmic rays on clouds and climate,
3D-radiography projects for volcanoes, using particle detectors
Exploring new territories
Astroparticle physics is an excellent example of interdisciplinarity, combining the research and technologies of both particle physics and astrophysics. Over the last few years, new methods for observing the Universe have been devised. With astroparticle physics, it is no longer a question of simply studying the light that comes from the stars. Rather, the very particles emitted by cosmic bodies can be detected and analysed. Cosmic rays and neutrinos have a whole new story to tell about the violent processes underway in black holes and supernovae. Be it tracking dark matter particles in underground laboratories, or fishing for neutrinos in the ocean’s depths, today’s physicists can appear almost like characters from Jules Verne, modern-day explorers of the wonders of our Universe.
By deploying large infrastructures in unusual places, astroparticle physics offers new opportunities for other scientific disciplines for studying the atmosphere, the ocean, biology in extreme conditions…
Developing new technologies
Astroparticle physics also offers a perspective of extremely promising technologies to come. Just as it is possible to image the human body with X-rays, particle physics detectors should soon be able to make three dimensional images of volcanoes and thus help in better understanding their mechanisms and indeed risk prevention. As they interact very weakly with ordinary matter, some particles such as neutrinos and muons cross huge thicknesses of rock, revealing the densities of the different layers they go through. In addition, geoneutrinos could allow for studies of the Earth’s core.
Better understanding of the atmosphere and climate
Cosmic rays are charged particles that bombard the Earth’s atmosphere from outer space. The deployment of large cosmic ray experiments such as the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, or indeed satellite-based experiments, helps to continuously and precisely monitor the atmosphere on a large scale. Such experiments offer the possibility to study the role that cosmic rays could play in triggering lightning in thunderstorms. Moreover, studies suggest that cosmic rays might even have an influence on the amount of cloud cover through the formation of aerosols. CLOUD is an experiment at CERN in Geneva that uses a cloud chamber to study the possible link between cosmic rays and cloud formation. The results could greatly modify our understanding of clouds and climate.
* ASPERA, the AStroParticle European Research Area is a network of European national funding agencies responsible for astroparticle physics. ASPERA is funded by the European Commission, bringing together 17 countries and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research).
EUROPEAN ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICISTS TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF COSMIC RAY EXPERIMENTS
Four hundred years ago, Galileo was the first one to look at the sky with a telescope. About 100 years ago a new era for astrophysics began with the first astroparticle physics experiments that led to the discovery of cosmic rays. European physicists take the opportunity of the International Year of Astronomy to celebrate this anniversary.
From 10 to 17 October 2009, in France, Italy, Spain and many other countries, astroparticle physicists will meet the public to reveal some of the most exciting mysteries of the Universe. Within the first European Week of Astroparticle Physics, they will organise about 50 events all over Europe: open days, talks for the general public, exhibitions…
The first precursor experiments discovered cosmic ray radiation about a century ago. From 1909 to 1911, physicist Theodor Wulf tried to measure differences of radiation at different altitudes from the Netherlands to Switzerland, and even on top of the Eiffel Tower. In 1912, Victor Franz Hess measured a significant increase of radiation using a balloon for his experiments, flying up to 5000 meters. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for “his discovery of cosmic radiation” in 1936.
Paris will honour astroparticle physics pioneers at the Montparnasse Tower – the highest building in Paris – which will become a real cosmic rays detector during the entire week. It will welcome the public for animations and meetings with scientists. At night a laser beam will link the ancient Paris Observatory and the Montparnasse Tower, flashing in syncronisation with the detection of cosmic rays.
In Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania… laboratories will open their doors or organise special events where physicists will meet the public.
Rome will celebrate astroparticle physics with opening on 27 October 2009 in Palazzo delle Esposizioni a large exhibition dedicated to astroparticle physics: “Astri e particelle. Le parole dell’ Universo”. It is the very first exhibition of this kind in Europe, highlighting challenges and techniques of astroparticle physics, a truly new astronomy.
New astronomy
While the roots of astroparticle physics date back one century ago, it has been developing strongly on the last 30 years, opening new windows to the Universe. Astroparticle physics aims to answer fundamental questions such as “What is dark matter?”, “What is the origin of cosmic rays?” or “What is the nature of gravity?”. In underground laboratories or with specially designed telescopes, antennas and satellite experiments, astroparticle physicists employ new detection methods to hunt a wide range of cosmic particles, such as neutrinos, gamma rays, and cosmic rays.
Cosmic rays are tiny particles coming from Space. Created in the core of stars and other cosmic bodies, they reach the Earth, providing a lot of information about their sources and the Universe. Physicists and astronomers think that the cosmic rays of the highest energies come from the most violent phenomena in the Universe such as supernova explosions and black holes.
As part of the International Year of Astronomy IYA2009, the European Week of Astroparticle Physics is an initiative of ASPERA and ApPEC*, the bodies coordinating astroparticle physics in Europe.
Historical highlights:
1909-1910: Theodor Wulf studies radiation in several places: in the Netherlands, on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on the Swiss mountains, trying to detect a change of radiation with the altitude.
1912: Victor Hess flyes to 5200 metres in a balloon and demonstrates the existence of radiation coming from the sky (picture). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1936 for his discovery of cosmic rays.
1930: Pierre Auger discovers particle showers, which come from the collisions between cosmic rays and particles of the atmosphere.
1956: Frederick Reines & Clyde Cowan discover the neutrinos. Reines was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995 for this work.
1987: Neutrino emissions by Supernova SN 1987A confirm theories about star explosion.
1989: The first source of high-energy gamma rays is discovered.
1998: Cosmic neutrinos reveal the oscillatory nature of these particles.
2002: Raymond Davis and Masatoshi Koshiba are awarded the Nobel Prize for detecting cosmic neutrinos from the Sun and from SN 1987A.
2009: First European Week of Astroparticle Physics.
Notes for editors:
ASPERA, the AStroParticle European Research Area is a network of European national funding agencies responsible for astroparticle physics. ASPERA is funded by the European Commission within FP7, the 7th Framework Programme.
ApPEC is the Astroparticle Physics European Coordination. It was founded in 2001 when six European scientific agencies took the initiative to coordinate and encourage astroparticle physics in Europe.
The aim of the International Year of Astronomy IYA2009 is to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, in astronomy and science under the central theme‚”The Universe, Yours to Discover”. The International Year of Astronomy was proclaimed by the United Nations on 20 December 2007.
ASPERA-2: towards a sustainable structure for European astroparticle physics
7 July 2009 – Hamburg – Funding agencies for astroparticle physics celebrated today the official launch of ASPERA-2, a three-years programme funded by the European Commission, which the main challenge is to create a sustainable structure for the coordination of astroparticle physics in Europe.
Astroparticle physics is a new field of research emerging from the convergence of physics at the smallest and the largest scales of the universe. As the field develops, it is opening up new observing windows both in astronomy and in particle physics.
ASPERA-2 is the continuation of the very successful ASPERA programme, which one of the main achievements has been to develop the European strategy for astroparticle physics. This took the shape of a Roadmap published in September 2008, supporting the realisation of the “Magnificent Seven”, the seven large infrastructures expected for the future to answer to some of the most exciting questions about the universe such as: What is dark matter? Where do cosmic rays come from? What is the nature of gravity?
While ASPERA just launched the very first European common call for R&D in astroparticle physics, the ASPERA-2 programme will go deeper towards the coordination of astroparticle physics in Europe, with in particular a series of new calls and joint activities, and the establishment of sustainable common procedures.
ASPERA-2 aims also to extend the ASPERA network to all European countries with interest in astroparticle physics, comprising already 19 funding agencies and one associate partner from 17 countries, and the CERN European organisation. It includes developing transfer knowledge and technology activities and increasing synergy between astroparticle physics and environmental sciences.
Representatives of the “Magnificent Seven” experiments recognised the important role of ASPERA in stimulating the astroparticle physics community, bringing people together. ASPERA-2 will continue strengthening the young field of astroparticle physics and consolidate the leading role of Europe in understanding the secrets of the universe.
The “Magnificent Seven” of European astroparticle physics unveiled to the world
Brussels, 29th September 2008. Today Europeans presented to the world their strategy for the future of astroparticle physics. What is dark matter? What is the origin of cosmic rays? What is the role of violent cosmic processes? Can we detect gravitational waves? With seven types of major large-scale projects physicists want to find the answers to some of the most exciting questions about the Universe:
CTA, a large array of Cherenkov Telescopes for detection of cosmic high-energy gamma rays
KM3NeT, a cubic kilometre-scale neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea
Ton-scale detectors for dark matter searches
A ton-scale detector for the determination of the fundamental nature and mass of neutrinos
A Megaton-scale detector for proton decay’s search, neutrino astrophysics & investigation of neutrino properties
A large array for the detection of charged cosmic rays
A third-generation underground gravitational antenna
“New exciting discoveries lie ahead; it is up to us to take the lead on them in the next decade.” says Christian Spiering from DESY – Germany, Chairman of the Roadmap Committee. After two years of roadmap process, the publication of The European Strategy for Astroparticle Physics is an important step for the field outlining a leading role for Europe in this increasingly globalised endeavour.From undersea and underground laboratories to the most isolated deserts and outer space, astroparticle physics experiments accept very exciting challenges. It is a promising and rapidly growing field of research at the intersection of particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics, aiming to detect the most elusive particles, and to penetrate the most intimate secrets of the Universe.
To insure the coordination of astroparticle physics at the European level, research agencies from 13 countries joined their efforts within the ASPERA* European network, an ERA-Net funded by the European Commission. Thanks to the work achieved through ASPERA, European countries for the first time have a common tool to programme jointly and share their efforts in astroparticle physics.
This ambitious programme will gather European countries to open new exciting windows to the Universe, and the most advanced projects such as CTA (high-energy gamma rays) and KM3NeT (high-energy neutrinos) could start construction by 2012. The complete funding of this billion-scale programme would need a smooth yearly increase of current investments for astroparticle physics, amounting to an integrated increase of about 50% in a ten-year period.
“The timely realization of the Magnificent Seven is a big challenge” says the coordinator of ASPERA Prof. Stavros Katsanevas (IN2P3/CNRS) – France, “But we are confident that none will be killed contrary to what happens in the film, as the European agencies and ApPEC* support these priorities and the same also emerge in other continents. It is important that we coordinate and share costs not only inside Europe but on a global scale.”
This is why beyond Europe, ASPERA welcomes on 29 and 30 September 2008 200 scientists and officials of funding agencies from all over the world, in view of international collaboration.
European astroparticle physicists also affirmed their support to Earth- and space-based missions to explore the phenomenon of “dark energy”, to the concept of a cooperative network of deep underground laboratories, and to a common call for innovative technologies in the field of astroparticle physics. In addition, they declared their wish to see the formation of a European Centre for Astroparticle Physics Theory.
Notes for editors:
ApPEC is the Astroparticle Physics European Coordination. It was founded in 2001 when six European scientific agencies took the initiative to coordinate and encourage astroparticle physics in Europe.
ASPERA, the AStroParticle European Research Area is a network of European national funding agencies responsible for astroparticle physics. ASPERA is funded by the European Commission as an ERA-NET. It comprises the following agencies: FNRS(Belgium), FWO(Belgium), MEYS(Czech Republic), CEA(France), CNRS(France), BMBF(Germany), PTDESY(Germany), DEMOKRITOS(Greece), INFN(Italy), FOM(Netherlands), FCT(Portugal), IFIN-HH(Romania), FECYT(Spain), MICINN(Spain), SNF(Switzerland), VR(Sweden), STFC(United Kingdom) and the European organization CERN.
From opportunities to reality: European astroparticle physicists define their strategy in Amsterdam
On the road to the discovery of dark-matter particles, gravitational waves and the origin of cosmic rays, astroparticle physicists defined today their plans in Amsterdam during an important meeting of 200 physicists. After publishing their European Roadmap in June, they were for the first time able to compare detailed plans for European future large infrastructures with the available funds in the European agencies. Furthermore, foreign agencies from the United States and China were represented at the highest levels in view on a world convergence.
At the intersection of particle physics and astrophysics – at the frontier of the infinitely small and infinitely large – astroparticle physics is a rising field. It has been strongly emerging for the past ten years and has a very high discovery potential, aiming to answer the most exciting questions about the Universe such as “What is the Universe made of?”, “What is the origin of cosmic rays?” or “What is the nature of gravity or dark matter?”.
From undersea and underground laboratories to space, or in the most isolated deserts, astroparticle physics experiments accept very exciting challenges in which Europe is one of the major players. Astroparticle physics is really a science of the future and for next years will develop very large scientific instruments in order to detect the most elusive particles, and to penetrate the most intimate secrets of the Universe.
Joined together within the ASPERA* European network, the European agencies for research from 12 countries decided for the first time to share their efforts to define together the policy to be followed in this field. What are the great questions to solve? How is it possible to coordinate astroparticle physics at a European level? What will be the large European infrastructures for tomorrow? To answer these questions, ASPERA engaged in an important prospective work towards a common roadmap. This roadmap process was coordinated by a group of European and non-European experts chaired by Dr. Christian Spiering from DESY – Germany.
“An important milestone will be the elaboration of a final European roadmap associated with a detailed census of the existing budget and human resources available in the participating agencies. The enthusiasm with which the scientific community and the funding agencies embraced the process makes me confident of the outcome” said Professor Stavros Katsanevas from CNRS – France, the coordinator of ASPERA.
The European Commission already supports the design studies of important projects such as KM3NeT, a large future undersea neutrino telescope, which will be built in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. It also recently announced its support for the design studies of two new large facilities, LAGUNA, a very large detector for proton decay and neutrino astronomy and the Einstein Telescope (ET), a next generation gravitational wave antenna.
Considering the European convergence criteria and their strong scientific interest, it was also recommended to engage the design studies for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), a new generation of European observatory for high-energy gamma rays and EURECA, a ton-scale bolometric detector for cryogenic research of dark matter.
The success of the ASPERA process unceasingly attracts new partners and the important meeting held in Amsterdam was for ASPERA the occasion to announce the request of Romania to enter the ASPERA network.
Defining the European strategy for Astroparticle physics with the whole community is the innovative challenge engaged by the ASPERA European network. It is a strong symbol that the construction of European research is on the move.
