The interconnection between astrophysics and cosmology with particle physics has become one of the most thriving areas of basic research. Measurements in Japan, the US and Canada have established the existence of neutrino flavour oscillations, a quantum interference effect, over distances around hundred kilometers or larger. These imply that neutrinos have masses, providing the only current evidence for new particle physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model, as recognized by the physics Nobel prize in 2002. Dedicated experiments are now planned involving intense accelerator-produced neutrinos to study their properties over long-baselines in combination with underground detectors, for example at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. Upcoming terrestrial neutrino experiments from reactors are also eagerly waited. Progress in cosmology, such as the measurement of the anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) that led to the Nobel prize in 2006, the potential of the Pierre Auger Observatory in unveiling the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays, as well as the prospects for physics with a kilometer cube neutrino telescope have turned astroparticle physics into a most lively domain of basic physics.
The members of this research line aim at fostering scientific collaboration on astroparticle physics, focussing on different research topics which will play a key role in the coming years.
Research topics include neutrino properties and oscillation data analysis, neutrino-less double beta decay, future projects in neutrino physics, astrophysical and cosmological implications of neutrinos, dark matter and dark energy candidates, as well as ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrino astronomy. Although driven by phenomenology which is thriving on the neutrino front as well as cosmology, there will be space for theoretical ideas on aspects such as inflation, dark matter, dark energy, as well as the ultimate origin of neutrino mass and explanation of neutrino mixing angles. This truly interdisciplinary research encompasses all aspects, from theory to experimentation in all its fronts.
At present the main research lines and topics are the followings:
- Basic neutrino properties and future experiments.
- Neutrinos as messengers in astrophysics and cosmology.
- Baryogenesis and leptogenesis.
- Dark matter, dark energy and participation in the PAU survey.
- Participation in the Pierre Auger cosmic ray Observatory.
