CSN2 astroparticle physics experiments

Experiments in astroparticle physics study radiation and cosmic particles. Laboratories on the ground, underground, under the sea, at high altitudes and in space provide the natural settings for these experiments. At the Gran Sasso national laboratory, the biggest underground laboratory in the world, cutting-edge detectors are currently being used to study the dark matter, neutrinos and rare phenomena that can only be detected in conditions of “cosmic silence”, guaranteed by the protection of the rock. The environment protected against penetration by cosmic rays is also ideal for astrophysics research, such as the study of solar neutrinos and supernova neutrinos. Astroparticle physics has also found new openings in different environments: in space, where satellite detectors have direct access to primary cosmic rays that would be mitigated by the atmosphere on the earth’s surface; high-altitude laboratories, for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy; laboratories under the sea for astronomy with high-energy neutrinos, which travel unhindered through the entire globe before being detected by detectors on the seafloor. Italian physicists also carry out pioneering work in the measurement of gravitational waves, both using resonant bar antennae and in developing large interferometric detectors.

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