Astroparticle physicists from across Europe have gathered today in Brussels, alongside their international colleagues and important guests from the European Commission, for the official announcement of the new strategy by the Astroparticle Physics European Consortium (APPEC), which will guide the community’s recommended research priorities over the next ten years.
Gravitational waves, neutrino, dark matter and gamma ray research are high on the list of research priorities being recommended.
“This is such an exciting time for astroparticle physics!” said Antonio Masiero, chair of APPEC and a physicist at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and the University of Padua, Italy.
APPEC is calling for continued experimental efforts and funding support in these areas, in particular through big projects endorsed by the consortium and community such as the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT), the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), future gravitational interferometers (the Einstein Telescope) and a substantial upgrade of underground research infrastructures (the Gran Sasso laboratory, in particular). The report also includes recommendations addressing, in addition to the scientific issues, crucial organisational aspects as well as important societal issues such as gender balance, education, public outreach and relations with industry.
Read more about the strategy, its recommendations and its background, here.