This joint laboratory is the result of a fruitful partnership in astrophysics between the CNRS and the Canaries Institute of Astrophysics (IAC).
It will strengthen the many scientific and instrumental collaborations between the French and Spanish communities around three major research axes in international collaborations involving large infrastructures:
– in very high energy gamma astronomy with the CTA – Cherenkov Telescope Array project to install a network of several dozen telescopes;
– in solar physics around the Themis telescope already installed in the Canaries and operated jointly since the 1980s;
– and in the development of a measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background from the ground.
This laboratory complements an already rich ecosystem of collaborations. Around twenty international research projects and networks, and around thirty emerging actions, associating the CNRS and its French partners with Spanish institutions, in all scientific fields, testify to the dynamism of the bilateral French – Spanish cooperation.
Agreement signature on the French side (from left to right : Chantal Khan Malek – DERCI, Guy Perrin – INSU, Patrick Nedellec – DERCI)
Agreement signature on the Spanish side (Rafael Rebolo López)