Snowmass 2021 Topical Report on Synergies in Research at Underground Facilities

TL;DR

This report surveys diverse scientific and engineering research activities conducted in underground laboratories, highlighting shared needs, potential conflicts, and opportunities for synergy across multiple disciplines beyond physics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of non-physics research at underground facilities, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration and identifying common and unique infrastructure requirements.

Findings

Multiple research fields share infrastructure needs.

Potential conflicts in usage and site requirements are identified.

Opportunities for interdisciplinary synergy are highlighted.

Abstract

This is a Snowmass 2021 Topical Report for the Underground Facilities and Infrastructure Frontier on Synergies in Research at Underground Facilities: A broad range of scientific and engineering research is possible in underground laboratories, beyond the physics-focused activities described in the other Underground Facilities and Infrastructure Topical Reports. These areas of research include nuclear astrophysics, geology, geoengineering, gravitational wave detection, biology, and perhaps soon quantum information science. This UF Topical Report will survey those other scientific and engineering research activities that share interest in research-orientated Underground Facilities and Infrastructure. In most cases the breadth and depth of research aims is too large to cover in completeness and references to surveys or key documents for those fields are provided after introductory summaries. Additional attention is then given to shared, similar, and unique needs of each research area with respect to the broader underground research community's Underground Facilities and Infrastructure needs. Where potential conflicts of usage type, site, or duration might arise, these are identified.