The research line Astroparticle and Neutrino Physics covers a wide range of research topics that are at the interface of particle physics and astrophysics and cosmology. This field is an emerging interdisciplinary domain that may have an impact on both areas of knowledge, and has a potential to cross-fertilize them.
This research line has developed around a common topic —the neutrino— giving place to two clearly identified sub-lines: “Experimental Astroparticle Physics” that concerns itself with neutrino astronomy with ANTARES and the future KM3NeT infrastructure, the study of atmospheric neutrinos, supernova neutrinos, cosmic accelerators, exotic particles and the search of dark matter, and “Neutrino Physics” whose main objective is the study of the intrinsic properties of the neutrino, neutrino oscillations (T2K) and whether the neutrino is a Majorana particle or not (NEXT). Both sub-lines, although with different technological and instrumental methods, pursuit common goals and share research topics. To start with, neutrino oscillations require large water detectors — the Neutrino sub-line is involved in the T2K experiment, based on the voluminous, 50 kton Super-Kamiokande apparatus—, which itself can observe supernova neutrinos. Conversely, the study of atmospheric and cosmic neutrinos at ANTARES and KM3NeT can yield further light in the study of neutrino oscillations and open a new window to the Universe. Last, but not least, the NEXT Xenon TPC that will be built at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory to study neutrinoless double beta decay (whose observation would signal that neutrinos are Majorana particles) can also be used to search for WIMPS, something that can also be done with very large volume underwater detectors as ANTARES and KM3NeT.
At present the main research lines and topics are the followings:
- Neutrino oscillation, experiments SciBooNE and T2K
- Neutrinoless double-beta decay. Experiment NEXT. Canfranc Underground Laboratory
- Neutrino telescopes ANTARES and KM3NeT
- High energy cosmic neutrinos. Neutrino astronomy
- Dark Matter searches
