182
Advanced LIGO is a "second generation" gravitational wave laser interferometer; it is expected to routinely observe and study gravitational waves (GW) from a large variety of sources.
Already in Operation
214
The Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) collects the gamma rays emitted when the nuclei decay, or when they are excited into a higher energy state by a laser or a collision with another particle.
Already in Operation
183
ALICE (A large ion collider experiment) is one of the largest experiments in the world devoted to research in the physics of matter at an infinitely small scale.
Already in Operation
235
ALMA will be the largest and most complex radio interferometer ever constructed and will allow astronomers to observe and image with unprecedented clarity the enigmatic cold regions of the universe.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
184
The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope is a 12-metre telescope, operated by ESO, located at 5100m altitude on the arid plateau of Chajnantor in the Chilean Andes.
Already in Operation
384
Asteroids are a unique source of information about the history of the solar system. The study of asteroids would greatly enhance our knowledge of the initial conditions of the planetary nebula, the formation process of terrestrial planets, the link between meteorite type and asteroid classification and the organics in primitive and evolved materials.
Future Opportunity
185
ATLAS is a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, it is one of two general-purpose detectors at the LHC.
Already in Operation
2656
The ATLAS experiment plans two stages of upgrades which encompass a number of detector, trigger, software and computing developments that will be required to continue the exploitation of ATLAS throughout and beyond the next decade.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
371
The Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory is studying the universe's highest energy particles, which shower down on Earth in the form of cosmic rays.
Already in Operation
248
Cassini Huygens is a joint ESA/NASA and Italian Space agency (ASI) mission launched in 1997, to study the Saturn system and its largest moon Titan.
Already in Operation
187
The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) is an experiment at Fermilab from an international collaboration of about 500 Physicists who are committed to studying high energy particle collisions.
Already in Operation
255
Cluster is a constellation of four spacecraft flying in formation around Earth. They relay the most detailed information ever about how the solar wind affects our planet in three dimensions.
Already in Operation
188
CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) is a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, it is one of two large general-purpose detectors at the LHC.
Already in Operation
372
CMS is a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, and is one of two general-purpose detectors at the LHC. The main motivation for a luminosity upgrade is to extend the physics reach of the LHC and to study with greater precision the discoveries expected to be made at the LHC.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
374
The UK is a world leader in cosmic microwave background (CMB) research in the areas of instrumentation, theory and data analysis. Detection of a second polarisation mode, B-mode, is an opportunity for future development in this area.
Future Opportunity
191
The DØ Experiment consists of a worldwide collaboration of scientists conducting research on the fundamental nature of matter.
Already in Operation
376
Dark energy is the name given to the mysterious substance that is believed to be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate by exerting a negative pressure that opposes the pull of gravity. But although dark energy appears to account for about 75% of the energy-mass content of the universe, scientists have no real idea what it is.
Future Opportunity
192
The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is designed to probe the origin of the accelerating universe and help uncover the nature of dark energy by measuring the 14-billion-year history of cosmic expansion with high precision.
Already in Operation
1263
DiRAC is the integrated supercomputing facility for theoretical modelling and HPC-based research in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology, areas in which the UK is world-leading.
Already in Operation
379
The direct detection of Dark Matter is one of the key scientific goals of modern physics.
Future Opportunity
193
This experiment will make the most sensitive measurement ever of the shape of the electron.
Already in Operation
194
The E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope) project aims to provide European astronomers with the largest optical-infrared telescope in the world.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
64
e-MERLIN is an array of seven radio telescopes, spanning 217km, connected by a new optical fibre network to Jodrell Bank Observatory.
Already in Operation
445
In order to understand the properties of hadrons and the nature of matter within QCD (quantum chromodynamics), in particular the contributions to the spin of the proton and nature of the quark-quark interaction, a series of measurements of generalised parton distribution measurements and studies of the spectroscopy of mesons and baryons would need to be performed.
Future Opportunity
1264
Future Flavour Physics
Future Opportunity
390
The next generation of telescopes will require the development of technologies which will enable multi-object spectroscopy and integral field spectroscopy to be carried out at infrared wavelengths.
Future Opportunity
392
Gaia is an ESA cornerstone mission, which aims to create the largest and most precise three dimensional map of our Galaxy by providing positional and radial velocity measurements for about one billion stars in our Galaxy and throughout the Local Group.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
276
The Gemini Observatory consists of twin 8.1-metre optical infrared telescopes; one located in the northern hemisphere on Mauna Kea, Hawaii and the other in the southern hemisphere at Cerro Pachon in Chile.
Already in Operation
394
Gravitational wave experiments and observations are an emerging and rapidly expanding field that will have an enormous impact on almost every aspect of modern astronomy and cosmology, as well as providing means to test ideas in fundamental physics and quantum-gravity phenomenology.
Future Opportunity
369
The ATLAS experiment plans two stages of upgrades which encompass a number of detector, trigger, software and computing developments that will be required to continue the exploitation of ATLAS throughout and beyond the next decade. Upgrades are required to cope with the anticipated increase in the beam luminosity.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
197
GridPP manages the UK's involvement in CERN's Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid project (LCG).
Already in Operation
198
Gravitational waves are extremely small ripples in the structure of spacetime caused by astrophysical events like supernovae or coalescing massive binaries (neutron stars, black holes). Gravitational wave astronomy has the potential to provides a totally new look at the Universe.
Already in Operation
129
The Herschel Space Observatory is a space observatory sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands.
Already in Operation
398
Future development of high energy colliders might include high-energy electron positron colliders, high-energy lepton-hadron colliders and high-energy muon colliders
Future Opportunity
400
A next-generation ground-based, gamma-ray telescope array, sensitive to Cerenkov radiation, could probe the gamma-ray Universe at very high energies (up to 100 TeV) beyond the reach of the current generation of gamma-ray telescopes, and with an order of magnitude higher sensitivity at lower energies than is currently achievable.
Future Opportunity
1296
There are a number of science challenges requiring high performance computing that will need to be addressed.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
404
The observation of a muon converting to an electron, violating lepton-flavour would be a landmark measurement that would radically alter our view and understanding of the universe and would certainly signal new physics.
Future Opportunity
405
The primary goals in kaon physics cover rare-decays, medium-rare decays, radioative kaon decays and tests of lepton universality. This includes the measurement of the rare branching fraction K+ -> pi+ nu nu to 10% precision. This channel has been identified as an important test of the Standard Model (SM) which complements the LHC programme of physics.
Future Opportunity
200
Hinode is an observatory satellite to study the impact of the Sun on the Earth.
Already in Operation
409
ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory is detecting some of the most energetic radiation that comes from space. It is the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched.
Already in Operation
201
The Inverse Square Law (ISL) experiment at Birmingham University aims at testing the inverse square law of gravitation at distances down to 10 μm.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
202
The Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP) aims to foster world-class research in particle physics phenomenology - the bridge between theory and experiment in the study of the tiny building blocks of all matter in the universe and of the fundamental forces that operate between them.
Already in Operation
294
The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) is the largest single-dish, astronomical telescope in the world designed specifically to operate in the submillimetre wavelength region of the spectrum.
Already in Operation
204
KMOS, the K-band Multi-Object Spectrometer, is a second-generation instrument for ESO's Very Large Telescope. The instrument combines the ability to carry out 3D spectroscopy using an integral field unit with a multi-object capability.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
378
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN will be upgraded so that it will operate at a luminosity of about ten times that of the initial LHC.
Future Opportunity
205
The LHC beauty (LHCb) is an experiment set up to explore what happened after the Big Bang that allowed matter to survive and build the Universe we inhabit today
Already in Operation
206
The Liverpool Telescope is one of the world's largest fully robotic telescopes. It is a 2-metre optical telescope sited on the island of La Palma, in the Canaries.
Already in Operation
2657
The LOw Frequency ARray, LOFAR, is a radio telescope comprising thousands of antennas grouped in 'stations' spread all over Europe.
Already in Operation
411
Next generation neutrino oscillation experiments will allow physicists to gain a greater understanding of the neutrino mass matrix and to probe neutrino oscillations and may shed light on our understanding of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM).
Future Opportunity
413
A variety of dedicated facilities are needed to study the low background nuclear physics. Experiments requiring low background, such as double beta decay experiments, require upgraded and potentially new underground laboratories.
Future Opportunity
208
The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) has been proposed to demonstrate the feasibility of ionization cooling of muon beams.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
209
MINOS, or Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search, is an experiment at Fermilab designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations.
Already in Operation
210
The neutron electric dipole moment experiment seeks to understand one of the big mysteries facing particle physics and cosmology today – why is the Universe made of matter rather than anti-matter?
Already in Operation
417
Upcoming next generation neutrino experiments will with their precision measurements put the many models and mechanisms for neutrino mass generation and lepton flavour physics to the test. In addition, the minimal picture of three active neutrinos whose mixing with each other is described by a unitary matrix can be checked.
Future Opportunity
212
The ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT) is a 3.6m telescope located at La Silla Observatory, Chile.
Already in Operation
422
The most extreme test of nuclear matter occurs when nuclei collide at energies at which the energy density reaches 0.7 GeV/fm3 (5 times normal nuclear matter density). At such densities the nucleons dissolve into their quark constituents, undergoing a phase transition. This provides a laboratory test of the nature of matter a short instant after the Big Bang.
Future Opportunity
213
NuSTAR (Nuclear Structure, Astrophysics and Reactions) is an "umbrella" collaboration of more than 800 scientists focusing on experiments using stage 1 of FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research).
Under Construction/R & D Phase
425
By their nature, many surveys are multi-purpose and have great legacy value. Some example applications are recorded here.
Future Opportunity
320
Planck is ESA's first space mission to study the relic radiation (Cosmic Microwave Background) from the Big Bang. Ever since the detection of the Cosmic Microwave Background, astronomers have used this to understand both the origin of the Universe and the formation of galaxies.
Already in Operation
433
This research focuses on the Big Bang and fundamental physics. Astronomical observations and particle physics experiments have shown in recent years that very large scales and very small scales are linked by the same physical theories, exemplified by the inflationary model of the very early universe.
Future Opportunity
435
In order to carry out radio surveys of increased sensitivity as well as spatial, temporal and spectral resolution; future radio telescopes will seek to overcome challenges in radio frequency technology, information technology and high performance computing.
Future Opportunity
446
The construction of dedicated, high-intensity accelerator facilities will produce beams of short-lived nuclei. Such a facility will open up a new frontier in nuclear structure near the limits of nuclear binding and will strengthen the understanding of nuclear properties relevant to explosive nucleosynthesis and other aspects of the physics governing the cosmos.
Future Opportunity
386
A proposed Jupiter System Mission is expected to be part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cosmic Vision programme and could provide orbiters around two of Jupiter's moons.
Future Opportunity
387
ExoMars is part of the European Space Agency's Aurora programme and lays the foundations for future human exploration of the Solar System. Its aim is to examine the geological environment on Mars and search for evidence of environments that may have once, and perhaps could still, support life.
Future Opportunity
388
It is not yet known for certain how planets are formed and the processes involved. Future science projects and missions will enable scientists to develop and revise theories regarding planetary formation.
Future Opportunity
438
High Performance Computing (HPC) has advanced remarkably in the last 20 years, with the computational capability of the world's fastest machines increasing by a factor of a million. Even the standard machines used today in academia and industry are many times more powerful than the fastest machine of a decade ago.
Future Opportunity
218
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a radio telescope in development which will have a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre. It will operate over a wide range of frequencies and its size will make it 50 times more sensitive than any other radio instrument.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
219
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is a neutrino observatory located 6,800 feet (about 2 km) underground in Vale Inco's Creighton Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
344
STEREO is a two spacecraft NASA mission is examining the Sun simultaneously from two different vantage points in the Solar System.
Already in Operation
16
STFC Big Science Questions address our key scientific challenges
Not applicable
440
In recent years, many discoveries have been made about the Sun and how it affects the Earth. However future studies will bring major advances in solar physics and the understanding of energy flow through the Solar System.
Future Opportunity
443
Experiments with superconducting cavities designed for applications in continuous-wave, high-current ion linear accelerators have resulted in very high CW accelerating gradients, up to 18 MV/m, with only a few watts of power dissipation in the cavity walls. These results make the prospects for compact, lightweight Neutral Particle Beam accelerators very attractive.
Future Opportunity
222
SuperNEMO is a next generation experiment to search for neutrinoless Double Beta Decay as evidence for Majorana neutrino masses down to a level below 0.05eV, the region suggested by the discovery of neutrino mass from neutrino oscillation experiments.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
223
SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) is the UK's leading extra-solar planet detection programme, comprising of a consortium of eight academic institutions.
Already in Operation
348
Swift is a NASA multi-wavelength space observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst science.
Already in Operation
225
T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) is a next generation neutrino oscillation experiment which will look for the appearance of electron type neutrinos being produced from oscillations of muon type neutrinos.
Already in Operation
1295
The UK Theoretical Astrophysics programme supports research in problems that are inherently multi-disciplinary and multi-scale. This research is support by the DiRAC Facility, which provides HPC resources for the UK Theoretical Astrophysics programme.
Under Construction/R & D Phase
444
Nuclear theory is essential to exploit fully the new opportunities arising from existing and future facilities and to identify future opportunities.
Already in Operation
1297
Theoretical physics has been pivotal in shaping and consolidating the Standard Model and is now crucial for formulating possible scenarios for future discoveries.
Already in Operation
226
The UK Infrared telescope (UKIRT) observatory is the largest Northern Hemisphere telescope dedicated solely to infrared astronomy.
Already in Operation
448
Venus Express is an ESA orbital mission to Venus launched in 2005 and operational until 2012. Venus Express is studying our nearest planetary neighbour.
Already in Operation
365
The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), is a 4m survey facility, part of the ESO Paranal site in Chile.
Already in Operation
363
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) consists of four, 8.2-metre, optical / infrared, telescopes owned by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and located at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.
Already in Operation
230
The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) is a 4.2 metre optical infrared telescope, part of the Isaac Newton Group of telescopes on La Palma, Canary Islands.
Already in Operation
232
ZEPLIN-III is a two-phase (liquid/gas) xenon detector looking for galactic WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particle) dark matter at the Boulby Underground Laboratory, North Yorkshire, UK, at a depth of 1100 m
STFC support completed