Standard Model

Experiment Description Link
CERN Principle:
Ring Accelerator for hadrons with various, different detectors.
Observations:
Investigation of (sub-)atomic structure of matter;
Particles of the standard model, searching for Higgs-Boson, ....
Location:
Switzerland, 1954. 		CERN Home : http://public.web.cern.ch/Public/Welcome.html
DESY
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron 		Principle:
Accelerators and LASER.
Observations:
Investigation of atomic structure of matter, even up to biologic cells; Particles of the standard model (e.g. structure of protons); ...
Free electron laser.
Location:
Hamburg (Germany), 1959. 		DESY Home : http://zms.desy.de/
Fermilab
Named after "Enrico Fermi". 		Principle:
Ring Accelerator for hadrons with different detectors.
Observations:
Particles of the standard model (e.g. found bottom and top quark), ...
Location:
Batavia in Illinois (near Chicago), 1967. 		Fermilab Home : http://www.fnal.gov/
IceCube Principle:
Thousands of optical sensors (photo multipliers), buried under the ice, to detect collisions of neutrinos with atoms of the ice.
Observations:
Neutrinos, searching their origins, ...
Location:
Antarctica, 2011. 		IceCube Home : http://icecube.wisc.edu/
JLAB (formerly CEBAF)
Jefferson Lab
Named after "Thomas Jefferson". 		Principle:
Acceleration of electrons which collide with probes.
Observations:
Investigation of subnuclear structure, e.g. how quarks make up protons and neutrons etc.
Free electron laser.
Location:
Newport News (Virginia, USA), 1995. 		JLAB Home : http://www.jlab.org/
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Principle:
Various Detectors. Including CNGS-experiment with a beam coming from CERN.
Observations:
Investigating the nature of neutrinos, especially the so called "neutrino-oscillation": a model, according to which a neutrinos can change into another type.
Location:
Italy (Mt. Gran Sasso). 		LNGS Home : http://www.lngs.infn.it/
CNGS Home : http://proj-cngs.web.cern.ch/proj-cngs/
RHIC
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider 		Principle:
Accelerator and collider.
Observations:
Investigation of (sub-)atomic structure of matter; particles of the standard model (e.g. structure of protons; quarks & gluons); etc.
Location:
Brookhaven (New York), 2000. 		RHIC Home : http://www.bnl.gov/rhic/
SLAC
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, now
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
SSRL
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource 		Principle:
Linear acceleration of electrons and positrons.
Synchrotron radiation (x-ray).
Observations:
Investigation of (sub-)atomic structure of matter, even up to molecules and their activities.
Particles of the standard model (discoveries like charm quark, tau lepton, psi particle ...).
Location:
Menlo Park (California, USA), 1966. 		SLAC Home : http://slac.stanford.edu/
SNOLAB Principle:
Optical sensors, photo multipliers, detectors, scintillators, ...; in a mine 2km below surface.
Observations:
Neutrinos, Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, Cosmic Dark Matter Searches, ...
Location:
Sudbury (Canada), 2012. 		SNOLAB Home : http://www.snolab.ca/
SSRF
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility 		Principle:
Electron Accelerator (LINAC, Booster, Storage Ring). Emits light from infrared up to X-ray.
Observations:
Investigation of atomic structure of matter, chemical reactions; biomedical applications.
Location:
Shanghai, 2009. 		SSRF Home : http://ssrf.sinap.ac.cn/english/

 

Cosmology and Astronomy

Experiment Description Link
AKARI Principle:
Coooled, infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Forming of galaxies, birth of stars, ....
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2006. 		AKARI @ JAXA : http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/akari/index.shtml
AKARI @ ESA : http://www.sciops.esa.int/index.php?project=ASTROF&page=index
ALMA
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 		Principle:
Array of movable radio-antennas/-telescopes.
Observations:
(Sub-)Millimeter radiation.
Location:
Chile, 2011. 		ALMA Home : http://www.almaobservatory.org/
ALMA @ NRAO : http://www.alma.nrao.edu/
ALMA @ ESO : http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/alma/
Chandra
Chandra X-Ray Observatory 		Principle:
X-ray space-observatory. Compared to XMM-Newton ten times better resolution but much lower sensitivity.
Observations:
X-ray.
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1999. 		Chandra Home : http://chandra.harvard.edu/
Chandra @ NASA : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/
Cobe
Cosmic Background Explorer 		Principle:
Infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Cosmic Background radiation. Results support "Big Bang"-theory.
Location:
Satellite, 1989. 		COBE @ NASA : http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/cobe/
CGRO
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
Named after "A. H. Compton". 		Principle:
Gamma-radiation space-observatory.
Observations:
Gamma-radiations/-bursts.
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1991 ... 2001. 		Chandra @ NASA : http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/cgro/index.html
Chandra @ Max-Planck-I. : http://www.mpe.mpg.de/gamma/instruments/cgro/
Corot
Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits 		Principle:
Space-telescope.
Observations:
Brightness fluctuations of stars to observe transitting planets. Search for planets outside our solar system.
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2006. 		COROT @ CNES : http://smsc.cnes.fr/COROT/index.htm
Darwin
Named after "Charles Darwin". 		Principle:
Infrared space-telescopes.
Observations:
Radiation of planets in other solar systems. Searching for hints for extraterrestrial life.
Location:
Satellite (2. "Langrange"-point("L2")), Start 2015?. 		Darwin @ ESA : http://www.esa.int/esaSC/120382_index_0_m.html
E-ELT
European Extremely Large Telescope 		Principle:
Optical telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, ....
Location:
?. Concept Phase. 		E-ELT Home: http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt/
FAST
Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope 		Principle:
Radio-telescope.
Observations:
Radiation up to 5GHz.
Location:
Guizhou, China, 2014. 		FAST Home : http://www.bao.ac.cn/bao/LT/
Fermi
formerly GLAST 		Principle:
Gamma-ray space-telescope.
Observations:
Gamma-ray radiation, emitted e.g. by supermassive black holes, merging neutron stars, streams of hot gas, ...
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2008. 		Fermi Home : http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Gaia Principle:
Optical space-telescope with spectrometer, measuring 1 billion stars: position (via parallax), brightness, color, speed, ...
Observations:
Cataloguing the sky and the Milky Way.
Location:
Satellite (around L2), 2013. 		Gaia Home : http://sci.esa.int/gaia/
Gemini Principle:
Optical/Infrared-telescopes (incl. e.g. adaptive optic, laser guided stars, ...).
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, black holes, exoplanets, ....
Location:
Hawaii, 2000. 		Gemini Home : http://www.gemini.edu/
GEO600 Principle:
Laser interferometer.
Observations:
Gravitational waves.
Location:
Hannover (Germany), 2002. 		GEO600 Home : http://geo600.aei.mpg.de/
GMT
Giant Magellan Telescope 		Principle:
Optical and infrared telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, galaxies, black holes, ....
Location:
Cerro Las Campanas (Chile), 2018?. Design Phase. 		GMT Home : http://www.gmto.org/
Grantecan
Gran Telescopio Canarias 		Principle:
Optical and infrared telescope with active and adaptive optics.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, galaxies, black holes, ....
Location:
La Palma (Canary Islands), 2009. 		GTC Home : http://www.gtc.iac.es/en/
Green-Bank Telescope Principle:
Steerable, 100m antenna.
Observations:
Radiation with a frequency of 300MHz...100GHz (wavelength of 1m ... 3mm).
Location:
Green Bank, West Virginia (USA), 2000. 		GBT Home : http://www.gb.nrao.edu/GBT/
GTC
Gran Telescopio Canarias 		Principle:
Optical telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, black holes, ....
Location:
La Palma, 2007. 		GTC Home : http://www.gtc.iac.es/
Herschel
Named after "Sir William Herschel". 		Principle:
Cooled, infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars and galaxies and how they are forming.
Location:
Satellite (2. "Lagrange"-point ("L2")), 2009. 		Herschel @ ESA : http://www.esa.int/esaSC/120390_index_0_m.html
Herschel @ Max-Planck-I. : http://www.mpia-hd.mpg.de/IRSPACE/herschel/
HESS
High Energy Stereoscopic System 		Principle:
Tscherenkow telescope.
Observations:
High energetic gamma light, SMBH, supernovae, pulsars, ....
Location:
Namibia, 2012. 		HESS: http://www.unam.na/research/hess/hess_index.html
HESS @ MPI : http://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/hfm/HESS/
Hubble Space Telescope
Named after "Edwin Hubble". 		Principle:
Optical space-telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, exoplanets, ....
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1990. 		Hubbel : http://hubblesite.org/
Hubbel @ NASA : http://hubble.nasa.gov/
Hubbel Heritage : http://heritage.stsci.edu/
Hubbel Europe : http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Integral
International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory 		Principle:
X-ray space-telescope.
Observations:
X-rays from exploding stars, Black Holes, GRB ....
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2002. 		Integral @ ESA : http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=21
IRAS
Infrared Astronomical Satellite 		Principle:
Cooled, infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects like young stars, comets, dust, ....
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1983. 		IRAS @ Caltech : http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/IRASdocs/iras.html
ISO
"Infrared Space Observatory" 		Principle:
Cooled, infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Galaxies, finding water and several molecules on remote objects, spectroscopic observations, ...
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1995. 		ISO @ ESA : http://iso.esac.esa.int/
KECK
Named after "W. M. Keck".
Part of the "Mauna-Kea"-Observatory. 		Principle:
Optical telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, exoplantes, ....
Location:
Hawaii, 1993. 		Keck Home : http://www.keckobservatory.org/
Kepler
Named after "Johannes Kepler". 		Principle:
Space-telescope with photometers.
Observations:
Brightness fluctuations of stars to observe transitting planets. Search for planets outside our solar system ("extrasolar").
Location:
Satellite (orbiting sun), 2009. 		Kepler @ NASA : http://kepler.nasa.gov/
Planetquest : http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
LIGO Principle:
Laser interferometer.
Observations:
Gravitational waves.
Location:
Hanford and Livingston (USA), 2002. 		LIGO Home : http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/
LISA
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna 		Principle:
3 space-telescopes with lasers, measuring via interferometry distance change between them.
Observations:
Gravitational waves. Further proof of Theory of General Relativity (Einstein's Theory of Gravitation).
Location:
Satellites (earth-trailing solar orbit), 2019. 		LISA @ ESA : http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=27
LISA @ NASA : http://lisa.jpl.nasa.gov/
LOFAR
Low Frequency Array 		Principle:
Simple antennas (wires in the shape of a pyramid) distributed across Europe and connected together. Heart of the connection is an IBM “Blue Gene” supercomputer in the Netherlands, where all incoming data is combined and processed.
Observations:
Radiation with a frequency of 20...240MHz.
Location:
Europe, 2007. 		LOFAR Home : http://www.lofar.org/
LOFAR @ MPIFR : http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/lofar/
LOFAR @ MPA : http://lofar.mpa-garching.mpg.de/index_de.html
MAGIC Principle:
Cherenkov telescopes.
Observations:
Gamma Radiation of super novae, black holes, ....
Location:
La Palma, 2004. 		MAGIC Home : http://wwwmagic.mppmu.mpg.de/index.html
Mauna-Kea
Named after a vulcano on Hawaii.
Family of Observatories. 		(Independent) Members:
UH, UKIRT, IRTF, CFHT, CSO, JCMT, VLBA, Keck, Subaru, Gemini, SMA.
Observations:
Astronomical objects.
Location:
Hawaii. 		Mauna-Kea Home : http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/maunakea.htm
NANTEN Principle:
Submillimeter Observatory
Observations:
Molecular and atomic spectral lines
Location:
Chile (Atacama desert), 2006. 		Nanten Home : http://www.astro.uni-koeln.de/nanten2/
NuSTAR
Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array 		Principle:
X-Ray space-observatory.
Observations:
Collapsed stars, young supernovae, black holes, gamma-ray bursts.
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2012. 		NuSTAR @ NASA : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/nustar/main/index.html
NuSTAR @ Caltech : http://www.nustar.caltech.edu/
OLT
Overwhelmingly Large Telescope 		Principle:
Optical telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, ....
Location:
Concept Phase. 		OLT Home: http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/eelt/owl/
Paranal Observatory
Named after a mountain in Chile.
Familiy of Telescopes. 		Members:
VLT, VISA, VISTA.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, ....
Location:
Chile (Cerro Paranal), 1999. 		Paranal @ ESO : http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/
Pierre-Auger-Telescope
Named after "Pierre Auger". 		Principle:
Mainly two detectors:
  • SD: Water-tanks with photomultipliers to observe Cherenkov-radiation.
  • FD: Telescopes to observe fluorescent light above SD.
Observations:
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays, the most energetic and rarest of particles in the universe. High energetic particles coming from the universe and hitting earth's atmosphere are creating a shower of particles.
Location:
Two sites in Argentina and USA (to observe southern and northern hemisphere). 		PAT Home : http://www.auger.org/
Planck
Named after "Max Planck". 		Principle:
Space-telescope.
Observations:
Cosmic (microwave) background radiation. Results may support "Big Bang"-theory, "Hubble"-Constance, existence of "Dark Matter" and "Dark Energy", "inflationary"-universe. Helping to find out structure of the universe. May be able to check "String"-theory
Location:
Satellite (2. "Lagrange"-point ("L2")), 2009. 		Planck @ ESA : http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=17
Planck @ Max-Planck-I. : http://planck.mpa-garching.mpg.de/
Radiotelescope Effelsberg Principle:
Parabolic, steerable, 100m antenna.
Observations:
Radiation with a wavelength of 3.5...900mm.
Location:
Germany, 1972. 		Homepage @ MPIFR : http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/effelsberg/
ROSAT
 Principle:
X-ray space-observatory.
Observations:
X-ray, pulsars, supernovae, ....
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1990 ... 1999. 		ROSAT @ Max-Planck-I. : http://www.mpe.mpg.de/xray/wave/rosat/index.php?lang=en
Space Interferometry Mission
SIM Planet Quest 		Principle:
Infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Finding planets out of our solar system, dark matter and galaxy assembly, better understanding of Black Holes and their environment, precise measurment of stars.
Location:
Satellite (earth-trailing solar orbit), 2015. 		SIM @ NASA : http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/index.cfm
Spitzer Telscope
Former "SIRTF".
Named after "Lyman Spitzer". 		Principle:
Cooled, infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, ....
Location:
Satellite, 2003 ... 2009. 		Spitzer @ Caltech : http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/
Spitzer @ NASA : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html
Subaru
Part of the "Mauna-Kea"-Observatory. 		Principle:
Optical telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, ....
Location:
Hawaii, 1999. 		Subaru Home : http://subarutelescope.org/
SUZAKU Principle:
X-ray space-telescope.
Observations:
X-ray sources.
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2005. 		SUZAKU @ JAXA : http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/akari/index.shtml
TMT
Thirty Meter Telescope 		Principle:
Optical telescope, incl. adaptive optic.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, galaxies, ....
Location:
?, 2017?. Design Phase. 		TMT Home : http://www.tmt.org/
VLT
Very Large Telescope
Member of the "Paranal Observatory". 		Principle:
Optical telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. stars, nebulae, ....
Location:
Chile (Cerro Paranal), 1999. 		VLT @ ESO : http://www.eso.org/projects/vlt/
WISE Telscope
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer 		Principle:
Cooled, infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Astronomical objects, e.g. coolest stars, galaxies, .... Origins of planets, stars and galaxies.
Scans entire sky.
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 2009. 		WISE @ NASA : http://www.nasa.gov/WISE/
WMAP
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
Named after "T. D. Wilkinson". 		Principle:
Cooled space-telescope; measures temperature difference of points in the sky.
Observations:
Cosmic (microwave) background radiation. Results support "Big Bang"-theory, existence of "Dark Matter" and "Dark Energy". Helping to find out structure of the universe.
Location:
Satellite (2. "Lagrange"-point ("L2")), 2001. 		WMAP @ NASA : http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/
James Webb Space Telescope
Named after "James Webb". 		Principle:
Infrared space-telescope.
Observations:
Stars, Galaxies, ... of the early universe.
Location:
Satellite (2. "Lagrange"-point ("L2")), 2013. 		JWST @ NASA : http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/
XMM-Newton
X-Ray Multi Mirror
Named after "Isaac Newton". 		Principle:
X-ray space-telescope. Compared to Chandra only one tenth of the resolution but much higher sensitivity.
Observations:
X-rays from exploding stars, Black Holes, GRB ....
Location:
Satellite (earth orbiting), 1999 ... 2012. 		XMM-Newton @ ESA : http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=23

Remarks:

  1. Terms and definitions:
    • ν = frequency; λ = wavelength
    • exoplanet = extra solar planet, i.e. planet that does not belong to our solar system but e.g. orbiting another star.
  2. The radiation that telescopes detect has in general a lower frequency compared to what the source originally had emitted. According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (GTR) and e.g. Edwin Hubble's observations spacetime is expanding since the Big Bang. Since electromagnetic waves travel through space while the spacetime is expanding the waves (i.e. the wavelenght) are expanding as well - and the frequency is decreased. In other words: the emissions are "redshifted". Another reason for redshift would be if the source and the observer travel away from each other.
  3. Adaptive optic: telescopes based on earth suffer from one disadvantage: the measured light has to go through our atmosphere. Unfortunately the atmosphere, i.e. the air, moves and bends the light in a chaotically way. A well known example is hot air over a street or a heating that ascends and leads to that typical flickering. Telescopes have to fight with the same flickering. But there is a technique to try to overcome this drawback, the so called adaptive optic. In the 1980s the USA started a military programme called SDI: in brief the idea was to have satellites that fight attackers, e.g. to destroy enemy missles with lasers on satellites. They encountered the same problem: a clear picture of the attacking missle is needed. Therefore a system was invented where the optic is continuously adapted to the movement of the air. Today they technique is availabe for civil usage. Now how does it work in modern telescopes: a reference star is projected into the sky with a laser ("Laser Guide Star"). By measuring this star the distortions, caused by the moving air, can be worked out. Then the optic of the telescope can be adjusted to compensate the turbulences in the atmosphere. This is performed approximately 10 times per second. An adjustable optic can be a deformable mirror. There are other techniques, for instance using a reference star etc... The advantage of satellites like the Hubbel-Space-Telescope is, that they are not disturbed by the atmosphere. On the other hand of course satellites cannot be as big as earth-based telescopes.
  4. Several mechanisms are being used to try to detect planets in other solar systems:
    1. The 2nd redshift decribed above (please see 2.): the orbit of a planet is always a (plane) ellipse. The same is true for a satellite orbiting earth - or the moon. Such an orbit can be in a plane that also includes our earth. In other words: a planet can orbit another star in that way, that at one point on its way it is between its sun and us (earth). Besides there is a second point where the planet is exactly on the other side of its sun, i.e. from our point of view the planet is behind its star. The planet of course attracts its sun with its gravity. And since the star is drawn towards the the planet the star moves towards us, if the planet is between the star and us and moves away from us, if the planet is behind its star. Because the star is contiuously travelling towards us, then away and so on we see a redshift, then a blueshift ... of its spectrum.
    2. A planet is orbiting its sun in a similar way as above so that from time to time it is between its sun and us. During this time the star is shielded from us. How much depends on the size of the star, the planet and the distances (mainly between the star and planet). If, for example, the star is much smaller than its sun what we could observe is just a dark dot passing by the sun. Now the fluctuation of the brightness of the star is measured. Brightness-variations of approximately 1% can be detected.
    3. Again the same situation as above but now we use the planet as gravitational lens: due to its gravity the planet bends the light of its star similar like a lens. Thus, if the planet is between us and its star, we can see how the light of the star gets bent around the planet.
    4. The star itself is so bright that we can directly see it: especially during the birth of planets and solar systems planets can get very hot. So hot that they radiate infrared and even visible light. The same was true for earth in a time where our solar system was born and the earth was formed. One contribution was coming by meteoroids that hit earth; and earth was heated up with every collision.
  5. High energetic photons (0.1 ... 250keV), i.e. light with a high frequency (3·1016 ... 3·1020 Hz, short wavelength of 10-8 ... 10-12 m) is well absorbed by the atmosphere. Thus x-ray (ν=107 ... 1012 Hz) sources and gamma-ray (ν=1012 ... 1020 Hz) sources have to be observed from satellites.

 

General

And of course for information you can also check Wikipedia .