Research

At the Institute for Gravitational and Subatomic Physics (GRASP) we try to gain understanding of the basic constituents of matter, their interactions and the fundamental properties of space and time. Therefore, we conduct experimental research in which we perform measurements of heavy-ion collisions and gravitational waves. Nationally we are part of Nikhef and we are involved in large international collaborations like ALICE and VIRGO. 

In our research, we focus on two areas.

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  Heavy Ion Physics

  We perform measurements of heavy-ion collision experiments with ALICE at the CERN LHC. We play a strong role in the data analysis and are active in the development, design and construction of the newest particle detectors.

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  Gravitational Waves

  We develop methods to search for new sources of gravitational waves as well as techniques to extract astrophysical information from signals once they are detected with large laser interferometers such as Virgo and LIGO.