Research

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The Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics combines expertise in the fields of neutrino, X-ray and very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. With the ECAP, the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg has created an outstanding framework for scientists to participate in major projects of astroparticle physics. ECAP also integrates the research in neutrino physics, in optical astronomy and the development of new detectors. Theory groups work in the fields of quantum gravity and statistical physics. The research at the ECAP covers the following astroparticle physics projects: the field of neutrino astronomy is the focus of the projects ANTARES, KM3NeT and IceCube; the experiments and observatories Fermi-LAT, H.E.S.S., SWGO and CTA work in the field of very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy; the satellite experiments eROSITA and ATHENA belong to a new generation of X-ray telescopes; EXO/nEXO and ORCA investigate neutrino properties. In all of these experiments, scientists of the ECAP are deeply involved in the manifold challenges of constructing and running detectors in such extreme conditions as the deep sea/ice, deep underground or space. Detector development at ECAP is not restricted to fundamental research but is successfully transferred to medical applications.