Astroparticle physics (ApP) is a new multidisciplinary field of research that deals with the study of particles coming from the Universe.The scales of distances examined range from the realm of elementary particles to the outer reaches of the observable Universe, placing the field at the intersection of cosmology, astrophysics, particle physics and nuclear physics.
Astroparticle physics started as a specialised endeavour, pursued by a few charismatic pioneers who reached out beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and used unconventional, innovative experimental techniques. Today, the field stands on the threshold of an era of discovery, with a new generation of proposed instruments - such as KM3NeT - that are likely to deliver scientific breakthroughs based on enhanced sensitivity and resolution.
By taking the tools of particle physics from the laboratory into the natural environment, ApP has developed interfaces with a remarkable number of other sciences: atmospheric physics and chemistry, climatology, geology, seismology, planetary sciences, volcanology, marine biology, oceanography, glaciology, space weather and biology in extreme conditions. The high quality of the research, the number of disciplines involved, and the impact of the research for questions of social concern, motivated a proactive attitude by ASPERA to foster and accompany these research activities in view of building active synergies between ApP researchers and other scientists.
In this respect, a workshop entitled “From the Geosphere to the Cosmos” was organised on the 1st and 2nd of December 2010 at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, France, where the speakers presented existing synergies between Environmental Sciences and Astroparticle Physics. The success of the workshop is testified by the almost hundred registered participants coming from all across Europe and by the articles published in leading journals and newspapers.
The importance of multidisciplinary in content and interdisciplinary in execution research was also stressed in the update of the “European Roadmap for Astroparticle Physics” (2011): in all future research infrastructures, as in all existing ones, our environment is turned into an ally, a tool, a proxy, a detector medium or a target.
NEW! A report has been produced by ASPERA on Synergies with Astroparticle Physics underwater, underground and terrestrial, called "From the Geosphere to the cosmos". Please find the most final version of the report that includes current synergies here: Open publication(you will receive a copy of the report at the workshop)
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