Collaborations and major programmes

Our laboratory has more than 100 international collaborations that take various forms, including informal partnerships and collaborations on funded projects…
This synergy between collaboration and competitiveness maintains a virtuous circle, promoting scientific progress and opening new fields of research.
This page presents a non-exhaustive list of several collaborations and major programs.

Time-Frequency Metrology

Refimeve+

European Fiber Metrology Network
Network connected to Germany, Italy, and the UK

Website : https://www.refimeve.fr/index.php/fr/

Gravitational Wave Detection

VIRGO

Gravitational Wave Interferometer
18 countries including 14 EU – 140 institutions
Extension: LIGO – VIRGO – KAGRA US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, … 240 institutions

Website : https://www.virgo-gw.eu/

MIGA

Gravitational Wave Detection through Atomic Interferometry

Metrology and Fundamental Tests

GBAR

Effect of gravity on antimatter (CERN)

The GBAR (Gravitational Behaviour of Antihydrogen at Rest) project aims to measure the free-fall acceleration of neutral antihydrogen atoms in Earth’s gravitational field. Initiated by Patrice Perez (CEA / Irfu), GBAR is an international collaboration involving fifteen institutes from France, Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Several groups from the LKB are involved in this collaboration. The project is described in the proposal submitted to CERN in September 2011 and approved in May 2012.

GRASIAN

GRAvity, Spectroscopy and Interferometry with ultra-cold Atoms and Neutrons

Website : https://grasian.eu/

CREMA

Measurement of the Proton Radius

HEATES

Tests of QED with Muonic Atoms
7 countries: US, Japan, Sweden, Austria, Italy, Switzerland – 17 institutions – 40 researchers

SPARC

QED Test on Uranium

Website : https://sparc.fr/

muX

Measurement of the Charge Radius of Heavy Elements

QUARTET

Spectroscopy of Exotic Atoms with Quantum Sensors

PUMA

Annihilation of Antiprotons and Exotic Nuclei (CERN)

PAX

Antiprotonic Atom Spectroscopy (CERN)

Space Missions for Fundamental Physics

MICROSCOPE

Test of the equivalence principle in orbit

The CNES Microscope satellite was launched on Monday, April 25. Its goal is to test the equivalence principle. All theoretical attempts to unify general relativity and quantum physics lead to modifications of the theory. These often introduce apparent violations of the equivalence principle, which is the foundation of general relativity. This principle, already tested to very high precision levels of around 10⁻¹³ in Earth-based experiments, will see its precision significantly improved by the MicroScope experiment through the comparison of several pairs of accelerometers aboard a drag-compensated satellite.

MAQRO

Macroscopic Quantum Effects in Space

Website : http://maqro-mission.org/

PHARAO-ACES

Atomic Clocks in Space (CNES-ESA)

For more information: https://syrte.obspm.fr/spip/science/references-micro-ondes-et-echelles-de-temps/activites-138/pharao-aces/