National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN)
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 Universities and Research (MUR). It conducts theoretical and experimental research in the fields of subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics. All the INFN’s research activities are undertaken within a framework of international competition, in close collaboration with Italian universities.
The INFN Division of Trieste is one of the twenty INFN Divisions present on the national territory. The researchers of the Division work at the Department of Physics of the University of Trieste, at the laboratories housed in the Area Science Park in Padriciano, at ICTP and SISSA. The Udine Associated Group at the University of Udine also refers to the Trieste Division. The research carried out in Trieste covers all the fields of interest of the Institution and it should be noted that the theoretical physics group of the Trieste Division is the largest among the INFN Divisions.
The INFN is an important organization with a presence in five continents and more than 30 countries. Of its countless international activities, some of the most important research is conducted at CERN in Geneva. Around 1,000 scientists from the INFN work in research groups at CERN, taking part in all experiments with the LHC particle accelerator (CMS, ATLAS, ALICE, LHCb, LHCf, Totem) and the SPS accelerator (COMPASS).
The researchers of the Trieste Division collaborate with the main High Energy Physics laboratories in the world, such as CERN, DESY, SLAC, KEK, FermiLab, Brookhaven, Grenoble, GSI as well as with INAF, ASI, ESA, NASA and ISAS /JAXA.