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Published online 27 October 2009 | Nature 461, 1181 (2009) | doi:10.1038/4611181b

News

US physicists propose astrophysics goals

Dark energy and dark matter prove popular choices for funding.

Eric Hand

Cosmic-ray experiments would suffer, unless budgets increased, under a list of priorities for high-energy physics given to the US Department of Energy (DOE) by independent advisers last week.

The DOE should instead fund one massive dark-matter detector, one major dark-energy experiment and a high-energy gamma-ray detector, according to the report, which was presented on 23 October in Washington DC.

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  • This NatureNews summary is incomplete in my opinion, the recommendations sound quite different when taken as a whole. The report of the Particle Astrophysics Science Assessment Group (PASAG) is posted online here The report speaks highly favorably about Auger North, and only budget constraints place it in the 'better' funding scenarios: 'PASAG finds the science reach of Auger North to be important, and it recognizes the strong international support with the corresponding expectation that the U.S. would be the host site.' The international partners would indeed bring up 60% of the cost. Technically, construction could start in 2011.
    Johannes Blümer, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, Germany

    • 30 Oct, 2009
    • Posted by: Johannes Bluemer

  • PASAG gave a strong endorsement of the Auger North proposal,
    recommending that it be funded by the High Energy Physics programs
    unless funding for basic science is flat. Contrary to what is implied
    in this news summary, there is a strong upward trend in science
    funding in the U.S. The NSF budget for 2009 is 7.8% above 2008, and
    the President's request for 2010 is an additional increase of 8.5%.
    Congress approved a doubling of science budgets over 10 years when it
    passed the America Competes Act in 2007. Moreover, the stimulus money
    from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided NSF with
    almost 15 times the annual monetary difference between the austere
    budget scenario B and scenario C under which PASAG recommended
    construction of Auger North. Science budgets are not flat. The trend
    in science funding is such that PASAG did indeed endorse Auger North
    for current funding trends.

    Paul Sommers
    Co-spokesperson, Pierre Auger Collaboration

    • 30 Oct, 2009
    • Posted by: Paul Sommers