Aanvraag UVA Onderzoekszwaartepunt, ronde 2011

GRavity and AstroParticle Physics AmsterdamGRAPPA

www.uvaapp.nl

Ralph Wijers API (Sterrenkundig Instituut Anton Pannekoek)Jan de Boer ITFA (Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica Amsterdam)Stan Bentvelsen IHEF (Instituut voor Hoge Energie Fysica)

van der Schaar (ITFA), and Watts (API), each institute has already started to focus its research programme more towards a common effort in gravity and astroparti-cle physics.

With GRAPPA we intend to (i) create a new research group consisting of affiliate members of the institutes plus several to-be-hired faculty members working on the interfaces of the research at the various institutes, (ii) set up a joint and coherent research programme that will bring sig-nificant focus to and synergy between the existing research programmes, and (iii) firmly establish the Science Park as one of the leading gravity and astroparticle phys-ics centres in the world.

Scientific Case

Scientific excellenceThe present activities in astroparticle physics at the UvA are concentrated at the three aforementioned institutes –API, IHEF and ITFA. All institutes have received excellent grades in the most recent na-tional research assessments. The individu-al researchers who will initially be actively involved in GRAPPA, 15 in total, are listed in the appendix, and all have very strong research and funding records. Awards col-lected by them in the past years include e.g. one Spinoza Prize (M. van der Klis), one senior ERC grant (R. Wijers), three VICI

Summary

Astroparticle physics is a rapidly grow-ing field of research at the intersection of astrophysics, theoretical physics, particle or high-energy physics, and cosmology. Progress in these disciplines has, in the past decade, highlighted some profound questions that lie at their interfaces. These questions have, in different ways, become central to their research programmes. It is precisely such questions that astroparticle physics addresses, for example:

What is the nature of dark matter and dark energy? How can the forces of Nature be unified? Does this union leave measurable signatures in the present Universe? What do black holes and neutron stars teach us about the fundamental laws of physics? In what ways are high-energy neutrinos, cosmic rays, gamma rays and gravity waves produced and how do these new messen-gers enhance our knowledge of the ex-tremes of the Universe?

These questions are profound, challeng-ing and appealing, and answering them will require advanced and innovative methods from the various disciplines.

The importance of these questions, as well as the prospects of obtaining break-through results in the near future, have been widely recognized at the local, national and international level. With Nikhef-FOM complementing the various institutes of the FNWI, the Amsterdam Science Park already harbours excellent and broad expertise in astroparticle phys-ics and gravitation, and has the unique potential to assume a leading role in the field. The three institutes involved in the GRAPPA spearhead programme (Astrono-my (API), High-Energy Physics (IHEF) and Theoretical Physics (ITFA)) presently per-form their research largely independently. However, with the recent appointment to the professorship in astroparticle physics of P. Kooijman (IHEF) and hiring of new faculty members such as Taylor (ITFA),

normal matter

dark energy75%

dark matter21%

4%

Only 4% of the total amount of matter and energy in our Universe consists of atoms; i.e. matter as we know it. The identity of the remaining parts, ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’, is completely unknown even though we can measure accurately how much of each there must be.

grants (S. Bentvelsen, P. de Jong, K. Skend-eris), one KNAW professorship (M. van der Klis), and numerous junior distinctions.

The GRAPPA initiative is currently under development and will be established as an active research centre in 2011. Within GRAPPA, new faculty members will be hired, as indicated in the appendix. We have recently started to advertise these posts. The new appointees will undoubt-edly add significantly to the existing excellence.

Six publications with a large impact since 2008, and co-authored by affiliate mem-bers, are:

1. E.P. Verlinde, “On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton”, arXiv:1001.0785 [hep-th]2. P.D. Meerburg, J.P. van der Schaar and P.S. Co-rasaniti, “Signatures of Initial State Modifications on Bispectrum Statistics”, JCAP 0905, 018 (2009)3. S. Bentvelsen, P. de Jong, et al. “Expected per-formance of the ATLAS experiment: detector, trig-ger and physics”, ISBN: 978-92-9083-321-5(2009)4. P. Kooijman (ed.), E. de Wolf, et al. “KM3NeT Conceptual and Technical Design Rapport”, ISBN: 978-90-6488-031-5(2008), ISBN: 978-90-6488-033-9(2008)5. A.L. Watts, et al. “Detecting gravitational wave emission from the known accreting neutron stars”, MNRAS 389, 839 (2008)6. N.R. Tanvir, …, R.A.M.J. Wijers, et al. “A gamma-ray burst at a redshift of z~8.2”, Nature 461, 1254 (2009)

Use and added value of extra investmentsThe opportunities that present them-selves within the field of astroparticle physics were recognized at the national level and led to the formulation of a Stra-tegic Plan for Astroparticle Physics in the Netherlands by the ‘Commissie voor de Astrodeeltjesfysica in Nederland’ (CAN). At the European level, a roadmap has been laid out by ASPERA (AStroparticle Physics European Research Area) and ASTRONET. These roadmaps, and the ESFRI (European Roadmap for Research Infrastructures), give high priority to several large future experimental facilities for astroparticle physics (KM3NeT, CTA, SKA).

The UvA is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the upcoming investments in astroparticle physics and to play an important role in the groundbreaking scientific discoveries that lie ahead. On the experimental side, the UvA already has a strong involvement in some of the major facilities in this area: the neutrino-detector Antares with its planned suc-cessor, Km3NeT, and the radio telescope LOFAR with its planned successor, SKA. Relevant major related facilities such as the LHC particle accelerator at CERN also have strong UvA participation. Smaller but fruitful involvements in other messen-gers, such as gravity waves, gamma rays, and cosmic rays complement the major experimental efforts. Also, at the UvA, significant activity in theory has emerged, both directly related to phenomena cov-ered by these experimental facilities and in the more general area of particle phys-ics, cosmology and (quantum) gravitation. Finally, with the proximity of the National Institute for Subatomic Physics, Nikhef, the e-science research priority area and the BiG Grid infrastructure, the Science Park provides a superb environment for astroparticle physics research.

In order to have a strong, coordinated and concerted astroparticle physics effort at the UvA, a single new research group is to be forged, consisting of members of the three involved institutes, as well as several new faculty members. The latter are cru-cial in order to bridge the gaps between the existing research lines. The primary

Extreme cosmic objects such as black holes and gam-ma-ray bursts manage to hurl atomic nuclei towards us with energies greater than professionally served tennis balls, as so-called cosmic rays. The mechanism by which this is accomplished is among the mysteries we shall address.

use of the requested UvA investment will be towards hiring these new scientists.

The potential gains in strengthening, focusing and developing the astroparticle research activities at the UvA have already been recognized both by the faculty, as well as by the ‘Sectorplan natuur- en scheikunde’. The FNWI has made GRAPPA one of its research spearheads and is providing additional structural funding of at least 200k€ per year. Through the sec-torplan Physics and Chemistry, a further structural funding of 310k€ per year will become available starting January 2011.

These investments have been allocated for hiring one full professor in astropar-ticle physics, plus several junior faculty. However, what makes GRAPPA stand out compared to other astroparticle physics groups around the world, is an emphasis on both theory and experiment and the connection between those two. There-fore, we intend to use the requested UvA funding of 370 k€/year to establish an extra chair in astroparticle physics. This will allow us to have separate chairs in experimental and theoretical astroparti-cle physics, ensuring proper weight and balance between the two. In the appendix we specify the ambitions of the centre in somewhat more detail.

The two chairs of the centre will play a major role in the definition of PhD pro-grams and specific research of the Centre.

The mandate of the centre will be com-parable to that of independent research groups within a single institute.

Added value to scientific position of UvAWith the requested level of new fund-ing plus the existing effort, GRAPPA will establish itself as a major international centre for astroparticle physics research, with a unique theory-experiment balance. It will be embedded in both national and international strategic research plans, and play a leading role in future global astroparticle physics research. As a conse-quence, the UvA will become even more attractive for students, PhD students, and senior researchers. To further increase the visibility among students and attract them to the field, new bachelor courses and a specialized masters programme in astroparticle physics will be developed.

Talent Case

To get new talent to come to –and stay at– the UvA, an attractive and inspiring research environment is indispensable. It is encouraging that even at this initial stage we have already received requests for information from several highly quali-fied scientists about the present status of GRAPPA.

As it stands, the faculty provides several appealing features for future employees. All activities take place at one central loca-tion at the science park, which also har-bours Nikhef, and the e-science and BiG Grid infrastructures. A large international airport is nearby, and Amsterdam ranks very highly in ‘best cities in the world to live in’ surveys.

Of course, the most important reason for someone to take up a position at the UvA, is scientific quality, of which we have am-ple to offer as detailed above. For the new faculty to be hired in GRAPPA, the follow-ing specific measures will be implemented:• thenewresearchcentrewillbelocated

at the Science Faculty

Current effortAPI 5 fte

IHEF 5 fte

ITFA 5 fte

Total 15 fte

New budgetFaculty 220 k€/year

Sectorplan 310 k€/year

Current proposal 370 k€/year

Total 900 k€/year

Current effort and new budget in Astroparticle Physics at the UvA.

• thenewresearchcentrewillhavecon-siderable independence in setting up its own research agenda

• thecentrewillreceivesecretarialandfinancial support

• thenewmembersofthecentrewillbegiven clear and ambitious career devel-opment plans. Tenure track will be de-veloped in accordance with the policies of the Science Faculty and the UvA.

Innovation Case

First and foremost, astroparticle physics deals with fundamental questions and is a curiosity-driven field of research. Nev-ertheless, technological innovation has been a prerequisite for the enormous pro-gress made in the past decades. Several of these technological innovations have had important applications, such as medi-cal treatment and diagnostic tools, grid computing, etc. Though GRAPPA will not directly be developing new technologies, the involvement in large experiments does imply a certain involvement in devel-oping new technologies as well, and we intend to join Nikhef in organizing yearly meetings with potentially interested com-mercial partners.

A successful GRAPPA will automatically be a candidate to take up the leading role in some of large future experimental facili-ties described in the ESFRI roadmap. Both Km3NeT and SKA are among the ESFRI facilities in which the Netherlands should specifically invest according to a proposal by the Van Velzen committee appointed by OC&W. The acquisition of a leading

role in a large scale research infrastructure would bring a significant economic and intellectual stimulus to the Amsterdam Science Park.

A strong astroparticle physics group and the associated media exposure will help attract new students, both at the bachelor as well as at the masters level. Regarding the latter, we intend to develop a special master track precisely geared towards GRAPPA and use this to draw in substan-tially more international students as well.

Expected output

During the next four years, we intend to establish new chairs in theoretical and experimental astroparticle physics, with at least three additional junior faculty. A suc-cessful, active and internationally visible research centre with postdocs, PhD stu-dents, colloquium series and educational and outreach activities will be created.An overview of past and present activities which are part of the development phase of GRAPPA can be found on the GRAPPA website http://uvaapp.nl.

As described above, we expect GRAPPA to participate to various degrees in large future experimental facilities, and take a leading role in some.

The affiliate members of GRAPPA typically supervise two PhD students at any given time, leading to about 25 PhD degrees in the next four years. PhD students of the new faculty members will start to gradu-ate from 2015 onwards.

On the funding side, we strive to obtain two significant individual grants by 2014, such as VIDIs and junior ERC grants, plus various smaller individual grants.

Given the expected rate of hiring, we envi-sion 50+ publications per year around the theme of GRAPPA.

ITF

GRAPPAIHEF

API

The three UvA institutes forming the GRAPPA initiative.

Appendix

The affiliated members of GRAPPA are:

GRAPPA ambitionsWith financial support from the faculty spearpoint programme, the sectorplan SNS, and the University spearpoint pro-gramme as proposed, we intend to fill the following positions:

It is our clear ambition to let the research agenda of the new faculty largely depend on their own talents: the best Centre will result from hiring the most talented peo-ple. However, in view of our explicit in-tention to forge a unity from the existing efforts, and to optimally position GRAPPA in the light of the aforementioned stra-tegic plans, we will concentrate the hires in areas that are strategic priorities and in which UvA already has strengths. Gener-ally, as stated above, this is in areas where experimental efforts can combine force-fully with theoretical work. Specific areas where this is the case are, e.g., the study of the extreme sources of cosmic rays, such as black holes, neutron stars, and the jets and explosions of matter that come from them, while at the same time developing novel detection techniques of messengers from such sources, such as gravity waves, neutrinos, and gamma

rays, and all-sky surveys for these rare sources. Another strength lies in studies of the fundamental theory of gravity and elementary particles beyond the stand-ard model, both theoretically (e.g., string theory, and the recent work of Verlinde on gravity) and experimentally (especially via the efforts at CERN by IHEF/Nikhef ).

ITF/KdV IHEF API

Prof. Jan de Boer Prof. Stan Bentvelsen Prof. Ralph Wijers

Prof. Erik Verlinde Dr. Els de Wolf Prof. Michiel van der Klis

Dr. Kostas Skenderis Prof. Erik Laenen Dr. Sera Markoff

Dr. Jan-Pieter van der Schaar Prof. Paul Kooijman Dr. Anna Watts

Dr. Marika Taylor Prof. Paul de Jong Dr. Rudy Wijnands

Full professor astroparticle physics 180 k€ Theoretical APP, e.g., dark matter and/or dark energy

Full professor astroparticle physics 180 k€ Experimental APP, e.g., involved in large neutrino or gamma-ray experiments

2 UDs and 2 UHDs 490 k€ E.g., Theory and observation of cosmic particle accelerators, theory and tests of physics beyond the Standard Model and fundamental theory of gravity, origin of dark matter and dark energy

AIO’s and postdocs 0 k€

Running costs Centre 50 k€

Total 900 k€