In brief

The discovery of gravitational waves (GWs) opens novel possibilities to probe the foundations of our Universe in an attempt to go beyond current paradigms. The Centre of Excellence (CoE) Foundations of the Universe offers interdisciplinary research aimed at cross-correlating the results of GW observations with ongoing theoretical and experimental efforts in cosmology, particle physics and gravity. The CoE combines Estonian expertise in the mentioned fields and provides a unified framework that promotes interdisciplinary cooperation. Besides fundamental research, the proposed activities involve the development of experimental hardware and info-technology methods to extend current capabilities, including next-generation machine learning algorithms and the potential applications of quantum computers in fundamental research. The CoE relies on Estonian membership in ESA and CERN to boost knowledge transfer, cooperation with industry, and raise the international competitiveness and awareness of Estonian science.

The CoE members teach and supervise PhD, MSc and BSc students in Tallinn University of Technology and University of Tartu, organize summer schools and train high-school physics teachers at CERN, and promote science via popularization in written and electronic media.

Partners

The partners of CoE are the Lab of High Energy and Computational Physics at NICPB in Tallinn, Tallinn University of Technology, the Institute of Computer Science, the Laboratory of theoretical physics at Institute of Physics and the Tartu Observatory at the University of Tartu.

Supported by

The CoE is supported by the Estonian Research Council CoE program TK202 “Foundations of the Universe”. The supporting budget of TK202 is 7,000,000 euros for the period of 2024-2030.