12th Astroparticle Physics Symposium

Friday 4 December 2009, Turingzaal (Z011) at CWI/Nikhef, Science Park Amsterdam

Astronomy observes large structures: our universe. Particle physics studies the smallest building blocks of all matter. Astroparticle physics combines these two extremes.

Our Earth is continuously being bombarded by particles from outer space. A small fraction of these particles was unexpectedly found to carry a lot of energy. To discover where such particles, and the source of their energy, come from, new particle detectors are needed that are suitable for observing neutrinos and protons with a very high energy. That is difficult because the particles concerned are very rare and, moreover, they normally fly unnoticed through detectors.

Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time. Using the equations from Einstein's general theory of relativity, we can calculate the gravitational radiation of, for example, two black holes that swallow each other. Ultra-sensitive interferometers are searching for gravitational signals from the Universe.

 

Organising Committee (VU/Nikhef):
  • Jo van den Brand
  • Chris Van Den Broeck
  • Piet Mulders
  • Rob van der Meer
  • Wijnanda de Haan

More information is available at The APP12 web page
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