Explore national research projects led by Astrocent scientists, funded by NCN, NAWA, NCBR, and FNP, advancing dark‑matter detection, photonics, and cryogenic technologies.
Projects funded by Polish Ministry
STAR: Scalable Tracking for Advanced Rare-event detection (Sonata 21)
Funding basis: Contract no. UMO-2025/59/D/ST2/03437
Financing institution: National Science Centre (Sonata 21)
Total budget: PLN 1 460 100,00
Duration:
Date of signing the financing agreement:
Project description: This project develops a proof-of-concept detector for neutrinoless double beta decay, a process that could reveal whether neutrinos are Majorana particles and help explain the Universe’s matter–antimatter asymmetry. It combines xenon-doped dual-phase liquid-argon TPC technology with Timepix4 pixel readout to achieve scalability, high energy resolution and precise particle tracking. The work includes simulations, reconstruction software and a small-scale prototype.
Leader: Miroslav Macko
Funding basis: Contract no. MNiSW/2025/DIR/811
Financing institution: Ministry of Science and Higher Education
Total budget: PLN 29 750 000,00
Duration: 1.10.2025 – 31.12.2030
Date of signing the financing agreement: 30.12.2025
Project description: The subject of the initiative is to support the project entitled “Astrocent Plus – Particle Astrophysics Science and Technology Centre (Astrocent Plus)” (hereinafter referred to as the Project), co-funded by the European Commission under the European Union Framework Programme Horizon Europe within the Teaming for Excellence initiative. The Project aims to develop the Astrocent Centre of Excellence in conducting fundamental research combined with innovative applied research and development activities in the field of particle astrophysics, focused on the development of technologies used both in breakthrough scientific research and in addressing global challenges such as healthcare, climate change, and sustainable energy sources.
Leader: Leszek Roszkowski
Astrocent – Centrum Technologiczne Astrofizyki Cząstek (IRAP EFSE / MAB FENG)
Funding basis: Contract no. FENG.02.01-IP.05-A015/25
Programme: International Research Agendas FENG
Financing institution: Foundation for Polish Science
Total budget: PLN 34 046 400,00
Duration: 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2029 r.
Date of signing the financing agreement: 17.03.2026
Project description: The project aims to develop breakthrough, scalable, multi-channel detection systems for scientific and commercial applications. Originally driven by particle astrophysics, these technologies will support research on dark matter, neutrinos and gravitational waves, while enabling practical applications in medicine, security, renewable energy, climate monitoring, natural-resource exploration and seismology. The project covers four R&D areas: a xenon-doped liquid-argon PET scanner with greatly improved sensitivity; UV-to-visible light-conversion materials for large detectors and photovoltaics; large-area organic and perovskite photosensor arrays; commercialisation of infrasound sensor networks and new scalable seismic-monitoring technologies. Expected results: prototypes/demonstrators of new detector technologies, increased technology readiness for selected solutions, and strengthened R&D capacity and international collaboration. The work will be carried out with APC/CNRS, GSSI, the McDonald Institute, DESY and the Łukasiewicz Research Network.
Leader: Marcin Kuźniak
Hyper-Kamiokande (MNiSW)
Funding basis: Contract no. 2022/WK/15
Financing institution: Ministry of Science and Higher Education
Project title: Hyper-Kamiokande
Total budget: 8,985,964.47 PLN
Duration: 1.12.2022 – 30.11.2028
Date of signing the financing agreement: 28.12.2022
Project description: The Hyper-Kamiokande detector will be an underground radiation detector using the Cherenkov phenomenon, so it will record the charged particles produced by neutrinos and enable determination of their energies. It will be 5 times larger (258 kt water mass) than the current Super-Kamiokande detector. An extremely attractive feature of this type of detector is its simple operating principle: a large volume filled with very pure water, surrounded by light detectors (photomultipliers). The difficulty in the construction of Hyper-K will be the huge size of the tank – it will be a cylinder 71 m high and 68 m in diameter, which requires the hollowing out of a 73 m (H) by 69 m (D) cave in the rock. The whole construction must be placed deep underground (about 650 m), for shielding the detector from cosmic radiation. This size and location present new experimental and engineering challenges, as it will be the world’s largest man-made facility of its kind.
Leader: Marcin Ziembicki
Understanding delayed (spurious) emission mechanisms in dual-phase TPCs for Dark Matter searches (Sonata 19)
Funding basis: Contract no. UMO-2023/51/D/ST2/02297
Financing institution: National Science Centre (SONATA 19)
Total budget: 1 223 600,00 PLN
Duration: 04.11.2024 – 03.11.2028
Date of signing the financing agreement: 04.11.2024
Project description: This project investigates unexplained low-energy backgrounds that limit searches for sub-GeV dark matter in dual-phase noble-liquid detectors. It will study delayed scintillation caused by trapped electrons and develop a scalable floating optical-amplification structure to improve electron extraction, suppress spurious signals and support future multi-tonne dark-matter experiments.
Leader: Andre Filipe Ventura Cortez
Preparing Cryogenic Infrastructure for Xenon Doping in LAr-Based Scintillation Studies (Miniatura 9)
Funding basis: Decision no. DEC-2025/09/X/ST2/00794 of the Director of the National Science Centre
Financing institution: National Science Centre (miniatura 9)
Total budget: PLN 49 995
Duration: 13.11.2025 – 12.11.2026
Date of signing the financing agreement: 28.10.2025
Project description: This project prepares Astrocent’s cryogenic infrastructure to enable precise xenon doping of liquid argon and launch measurements of scintillation light yield and timing in LAr+Xe mixtures using cryogenic SiPMs. The upgrade will expand the cryogenic system and integrate mass-flow control, valves, connectors, and vacuum/pressure sensors to ensure stable, reproducible doping. These studies will support the 3DPi PET system and the X-ArT collaboration, and will equip Astrocent’s dual-phase LAr TPC for key R&D relevant to medical imaging and dark-matter detector development – strengthening this capability locally in Poland.
Leader: Azam Zabihi
Development of the Most Sensitive Dark Matter Detector with Liquid Argon (Sonata Bis 11)
Funding basis: Contract no. UMO-2021/42/E/ST2/00331
Financing institution: National Science Centre (SONATA BIS 11)
Total budget: 2.852.105,00 PLN
Duration: 29.11.2022 – 28.11.2026
Date of signing the financing agreement: 29.11.2022
Project description: This proposed research project will investigate avenues towards improving the sensitivity of a future dual-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) to low-mass dark matter search, for which LAr TPC has been proved to have the strongest detection sensitivity at the level that no other technologies such as the solid-state detectors can reach in foreseeable future. The proposed work involves the construction of a table-top dual-phase LAr TPC. The TPC will perform a calibration measurement of the ionization yield of argon nuclear recoils induced by neutron scattering down to energies below 1 keV. The TPC will be used to explore the origin of single-electron backgrounds and will continue the development of cryogenic, large-area silicon-photomultiplier detector modules with low levels of intrinsic radioactivity. These activities pave the way to design and construct a tonne-scale dark matter detector with liquid argon to pursue the discovery of dark matter.
Leader: Masayuki Wada
Search for dark matter with liquid argon detectors (Opus 24)
Funding basis: Contract no. UMO-2022/47/B/ST2/02015
Financing institution: National Science Centre (Opus 24)
Total budget: 2,151,300.00 PLN
Duration: 29.11.2023 – 28.11.2026
Date of signing the financing agreement: 29.11.2023
Project description: Dark matter makes up about 23% of the Universe, yet its nature remains unknown. This project supports the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration by analysing DEAP-3600 data, contributing to DarkSide-20k, and developing new light-detection technologies for the future ARGO detector. It will also build a unique VUV test facility for wavelength shifters and photosensors.
Leader: Marcin Kuźniak