Subatomic Physics and Cosmology Laboratory - LPSC Grenoble. Activity report 2010-2011

The Grenoble Subatomic Physics and Cosmology Laboratory - LPSC aims to improve our knowledge about the most elementary particles and about the forces that govern their interactions. It helps to broaden our understanding of the universe, its structure and its evolution. The LPSC is a Mixed Teaching and Research Unit, affiliated to the National Nuclear and Particle Physics Institute (IN2P3), the National Institute of Universe Sciences (INSU) and the National Institute of Engineering Sciences and Systems (INSIS) from the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), as well as to the Joseph Fourier University and the Grenoble National Polytechnique Institute. The LPSC also plays a significant role at the national level and is involved in several international scientific and technical projects. Fundamental research is the driving force of LPSC activities. Among the themes studied at the LPSC, some are focused on the greatest unsolved mysteries of the universe, e.g. the unification of forces, the origin of the mass of particles, the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe and the search for dark matter and energy. Research starts at the scales of the nuclei of atoms and even much smaller, where quantum and relativistic physics laws prevail. The goal here is to understand the characteristics of the most elementary building blocks of matter and their interactions, to study the limits of existence of atoms and to discover new states of nuclear matter, such as the quark-gluon plasma. Research also extends towards the infinitely large; the goal here is to understand the origin of the structures of the universe and the cosmic phenomena that take place, and to understand the characteristics of the very first stages of the universe, just after the Big Bang. The branches of physics at these two extremes are actually closely linked. Infinitely small-scale physics plays an essential role in the first moments of the universe. Particle physics and cosmology both seek answers to the existence of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. The locations of the experiments are very diverse: ground-based, underground-based or even satellite-based. LPSC also studies artificially created short-lived particles (created by accelerators which our laboratory helps to design) or cosmic particles that were produced at different epochs of the history of the universe. These activities require the development of sophisticated, state-of-the-art instrumentation. A close collaboration between physicists, engineers and technicians is required to achieve the required performance. In addition, a strong theoretical research activity supports the experiments during the preparatory stages and during the data analysis. This report presents the activities of the laboratory during the years 2010-2011: 1 - Forewords, Presentation of the laboratory; 2 - Quarks, leptons and FUNDAMENTAL INTERACTIONS (DΦ experiment at Tevatron, ATLAS experiment at LHC, International Linear Collider (ILC) project, Ultra-cold Neutrons (UCN); 3 - Astro-particles and Cosmology (ultra-high energy cosmic radiation, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, fossil radiation study with PLANCK, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) experiment and theoretical activity, Directional detection of dark matter with MIMAC (MIcro-tpc Matrix of Chambers); 4 - Hadrons and nuclei (ALICE experiment at LHC, Study of the isomeric states of neutron-rich rubidium nuclei, Hadrons structure); 5 - Reactor physics: nuclear data, ADS subcritical reactors (GUINEVERE/FREYA project), Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) concept development, Thorium cycle with water reactors; 6 - Theory and phenomenology: perturbative QCD and accurate calculations, Beyond-the-Standard-Model, Lattice calculations, nuclei, hadrons and few-body systems; 7 - Interdisciplinary research (Research centre on plasmas-materials-nano-structures - CRPMN, Medical profiler); 8 - Accelerators and ion sources (SPIRAL2 Project, GENEPI-3C accelerator for the ADS GUINEVERE program, GENEPI-2 accelerator, 60 GHz ECR ion source prototype, Ion sources applications, Other projects and activities); 9 - Technological platforms: International Platform for Advanced Plasma Processing (IAP3), Molten Salts platform, Nuclear Physics Platform, IN2P3-LPSC grid node calculation platform; 10 - Support to research activities: Administration and financial department, Documentation and Communication department, Health and safety, radiation protection, General services, detectors and Instrumentation, Mechanics, Electronics, Data acquisition and Computers departments; 10 - Valorisation and technology transfer (low-level counting facility, MASSAR project, COMIC ion sources for FIB, COMIMAC astro-particles project, ZNeTS Network Traffic Supervisor software, Medical developments and applications, Research centre on plasmas-materials-nano-structures - CRPMN); 11 - Teaching and training; 12 - Communication and dissemination of scientific knowledge; 13 - Seminars; 14 - Publications, PhDs, accreditations to supervise research; 15 - Staff