The third edition of the Big Science Business Forum (BSBF2024) was held Oct. 1-4 at the Generali Convention Center, Porto Vecchio, in Trieste. Antonio Zoccoli, president of theNational Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and invited to give lectures, including one presenting theEinstein Telescope, commonly abbreviated as ET, was among the event’s protagonists. The project, which consists of the construction of an immense infrastructure for the study of gravitational waves, also sees the collaboration of ECL Leonardo Consortium for Engineering and Architecture.
Currently, Zoccoli figures as the top expert on the project and, during the event, he was able to offer a more specific overview of the ET, without neglecting a dutiful reflection on the possibility of the same being built in Sardinia, at the former Sos Enattos mine. As he explained during the conference, “The Einstein Telescope is a third-generation detector of gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are emitted by large catastrophic events that occur in deep space, such as the collapse of two black holes.
We can think of gravitational waves as a messenger […] and it brings us a piece of information. We can combine this information with that of other messengers: light […], but also X-rays, Gamma rays, neutrinos […]. By putting all these messages together, we can get a piece of information about what’s going on in the universe […] and so it opens a new window of opportunity to study nature.”
BSBF 2024: a unique opportunity to promote the project
This is certainly an ambitious project that would find its ideal location in Sardinia. In fact, the island’s hinterland presents the perfect characteristics for the realization not only of the Einstein Telescope infrastructure, but also of the tunnel about 30 kilometers long and at a depth of at least 100 meters, inside which would pass the very high-tech instrumentation.
Currently, Sardinia is a candidate against the Netherlands to host the site earmarked for ET. On the former’s chances of winning the project, Zoccoli was positive, saying, “If we manage to bring it to Sardinia, we will have an ecosystem around this infrastructure created by high-tech companies, but it will not only be an ecosystem that will be created in Sardinia, but throughout our country. So it will be a great opportunity not only for science, but also for the productive world.”
With the aim of stimulating synergies among stakeholders, Zoccoli remarked on the importance of collaborations with technology companies and local institutions to ensure a robust infrastructure that can provide benefits to the entire community. The project not only provides scientific advancement, but represents a model of innovation that integrates science and industry, for the welfare and progress of all. The INFN, thanks to Zoccoli’s leadership, is committed to demonstrating Italy’s role in the global scientific scenario, in order to consolidate our country’s candidacy, offering as many opportunities for dialogue between research and the industrial fabric.
Image sources: BSBF, The Little One