
ACME (the Astrophysics Centre for Multi-messenger studies in Europe) addresses the EC Call to provide wider, simplified, and more efficient access to the best research infrastructures (RI) available to researchers in the astronomy and astroparticle physics communities. ACME is set up to realize an ambitious coordinated European-wide optimization of the accessibility and cohesion between multiple leading RI, offering access to instruments, data and expertise, focused on the new science of multi-messenger astrophysics. ACME will forge a basis for strengthened long-term collaboration between these RI irrespective of location. Collaboration and user training will be specifically aimed at levelling up access opportunities across Europe and beyond. ACME objectives are: - implement the European roadmaps’ recommendations and act as a pathfinder to broaden, improve and align access to the respective RI services and data, and assess and evaluate new models for better coordination and provision of at-scale services - provide harmonized and inclusive trans-national and virtual access to world-class RI - develop centres of expertise providing expert support to enable easier access for more researchers - improve science data products management to facilitate both focused research goals and serendipitous discoveries, implementing FAIR approaches to broaden access - improve interoperable systems for rapid identification of astrophysical candidate events, and alert distribution to the network of RI and scientific consortia to optimize follow-up observations - provide training for a new and broader generation of scientists and engineers - open the astrophysics and astroparticle physics data sets to other disciplines, such as environmental studies or marine biology for the undersea neutrino facilities and increase citizen engagement in scientific research
The goal of the RADIOBLOCKS project is to achieve a maximal boost for the European major world-leading research infrastructures in radio astronomy, which over the years have invested heavily in maintaining existing facilities as well as in substantial upgrade programmes, after identifying common challenges towards their mid- and long-term scientific visions. In this project, the institutes responsible of these facilities join forces, together with partners from industry and academia, in order to develop “common building blocks” for technological solutions beyond state-of-the-art, that will enable a broad range of new science and enhance European scientific competitiveness. They share the need to continuously improve their capabilities in order to enable new science: sensitivity, field of view, bandwidth, angular, time and frequency resolution, commensality and on-sky time, reaction time and RFI mitigation. Engagement with industry to co-develop advanced technologies will increase the partners’ technological levels and strengthen their market positions, creating a true European innovation system. This project carries out carefully targeted development work and addresses common aspects in the complete data chain, categorizing this in four phases: Novel detectors and components, digital receivers, transport and correlator, and data (post)processing. We will design and demonstrate common building blocks based on cutting-edge technologies, that will be enablers and extenders in the areas most critical to the RIs, and can and will be used for upgrades of several RIs. The building blocks will be new instrument components and advanced digital solutions based on newly available (HPC/AI optimized) hardware. This approach will enable a tremendous increase of the science delivery potential of Europe’s major radio astronomical observatories, for science cases that are high on their long-term agendas, aimed at the widest possible science community in Europe and beyond.