Experiments

Why does matter prevail over antimatter in our world? How do the fundamental particles actually interact? Is the Standard Model the final theory?

Unravelling the mystery of high-energy cosmic rays, the most energetic particles observed in nature. What are cosmic rays? Where do they come from? How do they get their energy?

Albert Einstein theoretically predicted gravitational waves in 1915. Just over a century later, the LIGO experiment succeeded in observing them for the first time. What are these wrinkles in space-time?

On the main island of Japan, Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K) is currently being built, which will be the largest underground experiment in the world to better understand the nature of neutrinos, the asymmetry between matter and antimatter, and dark matter, among other major scientific challenges.

Experiments and studies with relativistic ions to investigate the fundamental properties of the force containing the protons and neutrons inside the nuclei. This project is the ideal test bed for understanding the reactions responsible for the generation of energy and heavy elements in the universe.

The ACTAR TPC project aims to build a new generation ‘active target’ to study very rare nuclear processes, and nuclei produced in very small quantities.

The development of new radioisotope production technologies for medical imaging based on laser-plasma acceleration allows the construction of particle accelerators for fundamental and applied research in areas such as healthcare.

A detector under hundreds of metres of rock in the Pyrenees mountains is investigating whether neutrinos, the most elusive particles we know of, are actually their own antiparticle.