Astroparticle is a relatively young but broad field of physics. It links particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology, in a fruitful cross-fertilisation both of theoretical ideas and experimental techniques. The latter have been transferred, with adaptation, from accelerator-based experiments, such as charged-particles tracking, gamma-ray detectors, calorimeters, cryogenic techniques. The most diverse observatories have been developed, on the Earth’s surface and deep underground, beneath the Oceans and the ice of South Pole, on high-altitude mountain plateaus, and in space, on dedicated satellites and on the International Space Station. In this article the rise of astroparticle physics will be described, on a number of examples, including elements concerning the origin of the name and on the scientific policy actions that guided the process at both community and government levels.
Alessandro Bettini (Thu,) studied this question.