Between January 10 and 12, high-level representatives from the Einstein Telescope collaboration, the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) met in Cagliari and Sassari to discuss some important updates about the state-of-the-art of the Italian candidacy, both from a more strictly scientific and technological point of view and from an economic-social and political one. The meetings also involved the Rectors of the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari, the Region of Sardinia and Coldiretti.
One of the most relevant topics discussed during the three-day event was the presentation of a project to enhance and upgrade the Sos Enattos site, candidate to host the Einstein Telescope, which includes the realization of a new multifunctional facility and a new underground laboratory. The latter will be an ideal extension of the SAR-GRAV laboratory (already in operation at Sos Enattos, in particular with the quantum gravity experiment Archimedes and with INGV measuring stations for fundamental studies and site characterization for candidacy purpose), hosting fundamental physics experiments that require exceptionally quiet acoustic, seismic and electromagnetic conditions and providing a reference point for testing and validating several ET technologies currently under development.
The project will be carried out thanks to joint funding from the Region of Sardinia – which recently allocated 10 million euros through Regional Law No. 17 of December 19, 2023 – the INFN, INGV and INAF.
From the left: Giulio Selvaggi (INGV research director), Alessandro Cardini (INFN Cagliari director), Marco Pallavicini (INFN vice-president) and Filippo Zerbi (INAF scientific director) participate in a meeting at the University of Cagliari (Thursday, January 11th, 2024).