About Interactions

The Interactions Collaboration seeks to support the international science of particle physics and to set visible footprints for peaceful collaboration across all borders.

The Interactions.org website is designed to serve as central resource for information about particle physics, including press releases, articles, news, event listings and images. (It seems fitting that the World Wide Web, which came from particle physics, should have a role in supporting the science that created it.)

This website was developed and is jointly maintained by the Interactions Collaboration, whose members represent the world's particle physics laboratories in Europe, North America and Asia, with funding provided by science funding agencies of many nations.

Interactions collaborators include:

  • Argonne National Laboratory

    Argonne is a multidisciplinary science and engineering research center, where “dream teams” of world-class researchers work alongside experts from industry, academia and other government laboratories to address vital national challenges in clean energy, environment, technology and national security.

     

  • Brookhaven National Laboratory

    We advance fundamental research in nuclear and particle physics to gain a deeper understanding of matter, energy, space, and time; apply photon sciences and nanomaterials research to energy challenges of critical importance to the nation; and perform cross-disciplinary research on climate change, sustainable energy, and Earth’s ecosystems.  


     

  • CERN

    At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles. The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.

  • Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron

    DESY is one of the world’s leading accelerator centres. Researchers use the large-scale facilities at DESY to explore the microcosm in all its variety – from the interactions of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of new types of nanomaterials to biomolecular processes that are essential to life. The accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds are unique research tools. The facilities generate the world’s most intense X-ray light, accelerate particles to record energies and open completely new windows onto the universe.

  • Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

    Fermilab is America's particle physics and accelerator laboratory. Founded in 1967, Fermilab drives discovery by investigating the smallest building blocks of matter using world-leading particle accelerator and detector facilities. We also use the universe as a laboratory, making measurements of the cosmos to the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and is managed by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.research universities.

  • High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)

    KEK was established in 1997 in a reorganization of the Institute of Nuclear Study, University of Tokyo (established in 1955), the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (established in 1971), and the Meson Science Laboratory of the University of Tokyo (established in 1988).

    Scientists at KEK use accelerators and perform research in high-energy physics to answer the most basic questions about the universe as a whole, and the matter and the life it contains.

     

  • Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules (CNRS)

    Founded in 1971, the aim of the National institute of nuclear and particle physics (IN2P3) of the CNRS is to promote and unify research activities in the fields of nuclear physics, particle and astroparticle physics. It coordinates programmes within these fields on behalf of the CNRS and universities, in partnership with CEA.

  • Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

    The Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), a Chinese Academy of Sciences research institute, is China’s biggest laboratory for the study of particle physics. We want to understand the universe better at the most fundamental level – from the smallest subatomic particles to the large-scale structure of the cosmos. We also want to use the knowledge and technology that comes from our research for the good of humanity. As well as theoretical and experimental research into particle and astroparticle physics, we have a broad range of research in related fields such as accelerator technologies and nuclear analysis techniques. The Institute also provides beam facilities for researchers in other fields of study.g (Tibet) and Daocheng (Sichuan).

  • IRFU CEA-Saclay laboratory

    IRFU, Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe, is a basic research institute of the CEA's Direction des sciences de la matière,. Its scientific activities cover the fields of astrophysics, nuclear physics, and particle physics. With such a wide range of topics, the institute must, of course, set itself highly ambitious goals. To that end, it can draw on a number of specific assets: scientific and technical skills, pooled resources, integration within the CEA, organizational structure, management-by-projects culture and, of course, its own experience and background.

    IRFU's research activities call for highly concentrated human skills and material resources, as well as heavy equipment built around cutting-edge technologies and requiring further development work. Most of these activities are carried out as part of international programs, in institutions or external laboratories in close cooperation with many French and foreign laboratories.

     

  • Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare

    The National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) is the Italian research agency dedicated to the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the laws that govern them, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). It conducts theoretical and experimental research in the fields of subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics. All of the INFN’s research activities are undertaken within a framework of international competition, in close collaboration with Italian universities on the basis of solid academic partnerships spanning decades. Fundamental research in these areas requires the use of cutting-edge technology and instruments, developed by the INFN at its own laboratories and in collaboration with industries. Groups from the Universities of Rome, Padua, Turin, and Milan founded the INFN on 8thAugust 1951 to uphold and develop the scientific tradition established during the 1930s by Enrico Fermi and his school, with their theoretical and experimental research in nuclear physics. In the latter half of the 1950s the INFN designed and built the first Italian accelerator, the electron synchrotron developed in Frascati, where its first national laboratory was set up. During the same period, the INFN began to participate in research into the construction and use of ever-more powerful accelerators being conducted by CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, in Geneva. Today the INFN employs some 5,000 scientists whose work is recognised internationally not only for their contribution to various European laboratories, but also to numerous research centres worldwide.

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  • Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna

    The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research is an international intergovernmental organization, a world famous scientific centre that is a unique example of integration of fundamental theoretical and experimental research with development and application of the cutting edge technology and university education. The rating of JINR in the world scientific community is very high.

    JINR has at present 18 Member States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan, D. P. Republic of Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Participation of Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Republic of South Africa and Serbia in JINR activities is based on bilateral agreements signed on the governmental level. The Supreme governing body of JINR is the Committee of Plenipotentiaries of the governments of all 18 Member States. Agreements are signed on the governmental level with Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Serbia and the Republic of South Africa.

    According to its Charter, the Institute exercises its activities on the principles of openness to all interested states for their participation and equal mutually beneficial cooperation.

  • Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe

    Kavli IPMU is founded as an international research institution addressing fundamental questions about the universe. What is the universe made of? How did it begin, and what is its fate? What are the laws that govern it, and why do we exist in it? These are basic questions for all humanity, as reflected in the thoroughly international and interdisciplinary character of Kavli IPMU. It aspires to become a truly world class institution, and more than half of its members are already international. With generous support from the Japanese government, Kavli IPMU has been off to a great start from scratch into a world-class research center with about eighty on-site scientific staff. Many exciting papers have been written by our members through collaborations with excellent visitors from abroad.

  • Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso - INFN

    Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) is one of the four national laboratories of INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics).

    The other laboratories of INFN are based in Catania, Frascati (Rome) and Legnaro (Padua); the whole network of laboratories house large equipment and infrastructures available for use by the national and international scientific community.

    The National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) is the Italian research agency dedicated to the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the laws that govern them, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). It conducts theoretical and experimental research in the fields of subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics.

  • Laboratory Nazionali di Frascati - INFN

    Built in 1955, the National Laboratory of Frascati (LNF) were the first Italian research facility for the study of nuclear and subnuclear physics with accelerators and are the largest laboratory of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the public body whose mission is theoretical, experimental and technological research in subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics.
    The main characteristic of LNF consists in knowing how to build particle accelerators.

  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

    In the world of science, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is synonymous with “excellence.” Thirteen Nobel prizes are associated with Berkeley Lab. Seventy Lab scientists are members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors for a scientist in the United States. Thirteen of our scientists have won the National Medal of Science, our nation’s highest award for lifetime achievement in fields of scientific research. Eighteen of our engineers have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and three of our scientists have been elected into the Institute of Medicine. In addition, Berkeley Lab has trained thousands of university science and engineering students who are advancing technological innovations across the nation and around the world.

    Berkeley Lab is a multidisciplinary national laboratory located in Berkeley, California on a hillside directly above the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. The site consists of 76 buildings located on 183 acres, which overlook both the campus and the San Francisco Bay.

  • Nationaal Instituut voor Subatomaire Fysica

    Nikhef is the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics. The institute performs research into the elementary building blocks of our Universe, their mutual forces and the structure of space and time. Research at Nikhef focuses on accelerator-based particle physics and astroparticle physics. Nikhef coordinates and leads the Dutch experimental activities in these fields and is a partnership between the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and five Dutch universities.

    Nikhef participates in experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, notably ATLAS, LHCb and ALICE. Astroparticle physics activities at Nikhef are fourfold, namely participating in: the ANTARES and KM3NeT neutrino telescope projects in the Mediterranean Sea; the Pierre Auger Observatory for cosmic rays, located in Argentina; gravitational-wave detection via the Virgo interferometer in Italy, and the direct search for Dark Matter with the XENON detector in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy. Detector R&D, design and construction take place at the laboratory located at Amsterdam Science Park as well as at the participating universities. Data analyses make extensive use of large-scale computing at the Tier-1 grid facility operated jointly by Nikhef and SURFsara. The Nikhef theory group has its own research programme while being in close contact with the experimental groups.

    The research at Nikhef relies on the development of innovative technologies. The knowledge and technology transfer to third parties is an integral part of Nikhef’s mission.

  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security. ORNL’s diverse capabilities span a broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines, enabling the laboratory to explore fundamental science challenges and to carry out the research needed to accelerate the delivery of solutions to the marketplace in support of DOE’s national mission

  • Sanford Underground Research Facility

    The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) houses world-leading physics experiments that could give us a better understanding of the universe. Located at the former Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, S.D., SURF provides significant depth and rock stability—a near-perfect environment for experiments that need to escape cosmic radiation that can interfere with the detection of rare physics events.

  • Science and Technology Facilities Council

    The Science and Technology Facilities Council is part of UK Research and Innovation – the UK body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. STFC funds and supports research in particle and nuclear physics, astronomy, gravitational research and astrophysics, and space science and also operates a network of five national laboratories as well as supporting UK research at a number of international research facilities including CERN, FERMILAB and the ESO telescopes in Chile. STFC keeps the UK at the forefront of international science, has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise.

  • SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

    SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory develops and operates some of the world’s premier science facilities, including the first hard X-ray free-electron laser. Research at SLAC explores the structure and function of matter and the properties of energy, space and time, at the smallest and largest scales, all with the goal of solving problems facing society and advancing human knowledge. SLAC is one of 17 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories, and is operated by Stanford University on behalf of the DOE.

  • SNOLAB

    SNOLAB is an underground science laboratory specializing in neutrino and dark matter physics. Located 2 km below the surface in the Vale Creighton Mine located near Sudbury Ontario Canada, SNOLAB is an expansion of the existing facilities constructed for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) solar neutrino experiment.

  • TRIUMF

    TRIUMF is one of the world’s leading subatomic physics laboratories. It brings together dedicated physicists and interdisciplinary talent, sophisticated technical resources, and commercial partners in a way that has established the laboratory as a global model of success. Its large user community is composed of international teams of scientists, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students.

  • Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center

    WIPAC is a scientific center for astroparticle research located at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. As the host institution of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory - a cubic kilometer neutrino and cosmic ray detector in the South Pole ice - WIPAC is the hub for the international IceCube Collaboration of more than 300 researchers from 52 research universities and laboratories in 12 countries. WIPAC is also involved in the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC), Dark Matter in Ice (DM-Ice), and the CHerenkov detectors In mine PitS (CHIPS) projects. With this suite of experiments, research at WIPAC covers neutrino physics and astronomy, cosmic rays, dark matter, and gamma ray astronomy.

    Primary support comes from the National Science Foundation.