Throughout human history, different peoples have studied the skies to better understand how the universe works, and our place within it.
For all we know about the universe, there are still big questions that remain unanswered. To answer our remaining questions, physics experiments are pushing the limits of human technology and capability, driving advances in technology and demanding ever-greater ingenuity and creativity to unravel the universe’s mysteries.
Astroparticle Physics
Astroparticle physics is a crossover field studying subatomic particles that come from astronomical sources beyond Earth. Astronomical sources produce particles in amounts and energies that particle accelerators can’t. Understanding more about these astroparticles gives us information about the creation and evolution of stars, galaxies and other astronomical objects. Studying these particles here on Earth gives physicists new insight into the universe’s biggest unanswered questions.
Research focus topics
Earth’s surface is constantly being bombarded with background radiation. This radiation is harmless to humans and other life on Earth, but for experiments studying particle interactions it presents a challenge.
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About a century ago, astronomers started noticing that some objects in the universe behaved in strange ways. All of this evidence suggested the same conclusion: there must be additional matter in the universe.
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Neutrinos are tiny elementary particles, similar to electrons but with no electric charge. They come in three flavours, electron, muon, and tau, and are among the most abundant particles in the universe.
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SNOLAB maintains a wet chemistry lab underground to take advantage of SNOLAB’s depth and to serve the lab’s analytical chemistry needs and life science experiments. The facility has lab bench space, a fume hood, a glove box, an ultra pure water system, an analytical balance, chemical storage, and ultrasonically cleaned equipment. Underground chemistry The underground […]
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SNOLAB partners with Health Canada in the detection of very small levels of radioisotopes that can provide crucial information about nuclear events external to SNOLAB, thereby aiding national and international security interests. This is part of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with basic obligations banning detonation […]
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Advances in quantum technology have the potential to revolutionize how people work and live, both in Canada and globally. SNOLAB’s depth, technical expertise, cryogenic capabilities, and experience working with large international collaborations and hosting large, complex experiments makes it an ideal partner for international research in quantum materials, quantum computing, and quantum sensing. Cosmic rays, […]
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