Research

Particle Physics

In particle physics, very large detectors are used to study elementary particles. Particles such as protons are accelerated in a particle accelerator, and made to collide with each other. Nikhef is active in ALICE, ATLAS and LHCb at CERN.

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Outreach website

Nikhef's Outreach activities

Want to find out more about our research? On our Outreach website you will find all our outreach activities organised by Nikhef in Amsterdam for the general public, students and teachers. See you at Nikhef!

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Research Spotlight

KM3NeT: Neutrinos

Nikhef researchers are researching neutrinos, uncharged subatomic particles that shoot straight through our planet. The researchers do so in a collaborative effort at an international project called KM3NeT.

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Research

Astroparticle physics

Astroparticle physics combines physics and astronomy. In the cosmos, very strong magnetic fields create what can be considered a ‘natural’ particle accelerator. To perform astrophysics research, scientists ‘just’ need to build the right detectors. Nikhef is active in KM3NeT, Auger, XENON1T/nT and Virgo.

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Research Spotlight

ALICE: Quark-Gluon Plasma

To solve mysteries surrounding quarks and gluons, the ALICE experiment tries to put quarks and gluons into a new state of aggregation at extremely high temperatures. This is the quark-gluon plasma. The researchers study this plasma before the quarks cool down and regroup into ‘normal’ matter.

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Technology at Nikhef

Technology departments

The technology departments at Nikhef employ about 80 people. They support the scientific projects by designing and building (parts of) detectors, accelerators, readout and control systems, and computer and network infrastructures.

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Research Spotlight

eEDM

Researchers at the University of Groningen, part of the Nikhef collaboration, cool and manipulate molecules to study the fundamental interactions and symmetries of the Standard Model of particle physics.

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National Institute for Subatomic Physics

Welcome to Nikhef. We are the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics. Our institute performs research into the elementary building blocks of our Universe, their mutual forces and the structure of space and time.
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Please note that some of the content on our homepage and further pages has not been translated into English yet.

Recent news

29 February 2024

Renovated Nikhef festively reopened: “A unifying building.”

NWO board chairman Marcel Levi officially reopened the renovated main building of the National Institute for Subatomic Physics Nikhef in Amsterdam on Thursday afternoon. The Nikhef building, he…

20 February 2024

Companies to work on R&D vibration-free cooling for Einstein Telescope

The two companies Demcon kryoz from Enschede and Cooll from Hengelo will receive money together with the University of Twente to develop an advanced cooling system for the…

16 February 2024

Flavia de Almeida Dias new inclusion contact at ATLAS experiment

Nikhef researcher Flavia de Almeida Dias has been chosen as diversity and inclusion liaison for the ATLAS experiment. ‘I have a steady job, so it’s safe for me…