Italian Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini and Saxony's Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow visited the Sos Enattos mine in Lula, in the Nuoro province of Sardinia, a site that is competing to host the future Einstein Telescope, a planned gravitational-wave observatory. The visit strengthens a joint candidacy by Sardinia and Saxony that would see two interferometers built in the two regions in a so-called double-L configuration.
According to a note from the Italian Ministry of University and Research, the joint bid rests on the scientific expertise and geological characteristics of the two territories, which offer conditions considered especially favorable for the telescope. The case for the double-L layout was reinforced by the Geometry Comparison Report, a study prepared by more than 200 experts to compare the possible configurations of the infrastructure and to provide technical input for the Einstein Telescope's Committee of Governmental Representatives. The report highlights advantages of the double-L solution over a triangular configuration in terms of scientific opportunities, lower instrumentation costs and project management.
Bernini said she was pleased that Gemkow had accepted her invitation to see Sos Enattos, which she described as the site Italy considers the best option for hosting the Einstein Telescope, particularly in a double-L configuration that she said the scientific community also prefers. She added that the outcome confirmed the validity of the joint candidacy presented by Saxony and the Italian region of Sardinia. Gemkow said the planned sections of the telescope in the Lusatia region of Saxony and in Sardinia reinforce the cross-border dimension of a project unlike any other, in keeping with the European ideal.
Sardinian regional president Alessandra Todde said the result showed that teamwork and promotion of the territory can produce outcomes, calling the initiative a Sardinian project carried out alongside Saxony and a European project, and describing it as a unique opportunity for the region. Antonio Zoccoli, president of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics, described the meeting as a sign of the commitment of Italian, Sardinian and Saxon institutions to work together to turn the Einstein Telescope, one of the most ambitious scientific projects in the world, into reality. He said the effort aims to build a distributed European infrastructure unique in the world by combining scientific, technological and industrial skills.
Fabio Florindo, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, said the telescope will require detecting even the smallest tremors of the Earth, a task in which geology and geophysics will be essential. Roberto Ragazzoni, president of the National Institute for Astrophysics, said the quiet underground of Sardinia and Saxony is an extraordinary scientific resource, since only in such stillness can the telescope pick up the faintest signals from extreme cosmic events. He said the institute contributes multi-messenger astronomy, listening underground to the merger of two stars and observing their light from above.
The collaboration was formalized with a declaration of intent signed in Rome in January by Todde and Gemkow, and with a scientific agreement signed on July 17 in Nuoro by the main Italian and German research bodies involved in the project. During the visit, the two ministers also attended a session titled Saxony and Sardinia: two sites for a unique European research infrastructure, held at the Mining Museum in Lula. Speakers there included Lula mayor Mario Calia, former Sos Enattos mine director Gianluca Loddo, and the presidents of the three national institutes.
Source: askanews.it
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