Next Monday, October 6, 2025, the official inauguration of the University Research Institute (IUI) Centro de Astropartículas y Física de Altas Energías (CAPA) will take place, with the presence of the Rector of the University of Zaragoza, Rosa Bolea; the Director General for Science and Research of the Government of Aragón, Pilar Gayán; the Director of CAPA, Igor García Irastorza; and the former director, Manuel Asorey. The event will be held at 11:30 a.m. in the Paraninfo building of the University of Zaragoza.
The creation of the institute, housed in the Faculty of Science, represents institutional recognition of the significance and international projection of this field of research in Aragón, as well as of the visibility and impact of its researchers in leading projects, thus consolidating a trajectory of more than three decades of excellence in the field of astroparticle and high-energy physics. Established as a research center of the University of Zaragoza in 2019, CAPA was formally constituted as a university institute this past June by agreement of the University of Zaragoza’s Governing Council.
Among CAPA’s main lines of research are the direct detection of dark matter —both axions and WIMPs—, the development of ultra-low background radiation detectors, the study of physics beyond the Standard Model and General and Special Relativity, as well as the exploration of astrophysical and cosmological signals of dark matter and the applications of field theory to quantum information and topological materials. Alongside these consolidated areas, the institute will also promote new and synergistic emerging lines, such as the development of quantum sensors and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to the analysis of astroparticle data