Project description
The Canary Islands Observatories aim to illuminate the dark side of the universe
Astrophysical and cosmological observations suggest that only 5 % of the energy in the Universe comprises regular matter. The remaining 95 % is attributed to dark matter and dark energy, which are the focal points of global efforts in astroparticle physics. The EU-funded UNDARK project seeks to elevate the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) into a top-tier institution in astroparticle physics. Leveraging IAC’s expertise in astronomy and astrophysics alongside knowledge from CERN and three other EU institutions in astroparticle physics, the project will foster networking, scientific events, staff exchanges, and collaborations. These efforts aim to enhance the recognition of IAC and bolster its management capacity and involvement in funding programmes.
Objective
Astrophysical and cosmological observations imply that only 5% of the energy of the Universe is made of conventional matter. The
rest is composed by a new type of matter, the so-called dark matter, which has no (or extremely weak) interactions with the known
particles, and a yet more puzzling repulsive form of energy accelerating the universe's expansion (dark energy). Advancing our
knowledge on the nature of this dark universe is the focus of a global multidisciplinary effort in astroparticle physics. Indeed, solving these puzzles have been identified as a priority for the future of particle physics and cosmology by several scientific agencies worldwide.
In this context, UNDARK’s main objective is to transform the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) into a world-class institution in astroparticle physics. This will be accomplished by leveraging IAC's expertise in astronomy and astrophysics with the excellence and theoretical expertise provided by the world’s leading particle physics laboratory (CERN), and three renowned EU institutions in astroparticle physics. UNDARK's work plan includes an ambitious program of networking, scientific events, staff exchanges and scientific collaborations that will significantly enhance the IAC's research capacity and creativity, and will increase its reputation within the EU and global R&I systems. This will be complemented by an extensive outreach program developed in parallel which aims to boost the recognition of the IAC within the general public and public funding bodies. Finally, UNDARK also incorporates training activities focused on research management to increase the management capacity of the IAC and its involvement in HE funding programs.
In summary, UNDARK has been designed with the goal of achieving excellence at the Widening coordinator in a priority area of fundamental physics research, thereby addressing one of the most significant challenges in contemporary physics.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsdark matter
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyphysical cosmology
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support ActionsCoordinator
38205 San Cristobal De La Laguna
Spain