Sixteen contributions and a debate forum marked this third meeting of the Complementary Plan for Astrophysics and High Energy Physics in Aragón, entitled “Advanced technologies for the exploration of the Universe and its components.” The event, held at the Aragón Institute of Technology (ITA), concludes three years of collaborative work in the region. Researchers from ITA, CAPA at the University of Zaragoza, and CEFCA came together for this closing meeting.

CEFCA presented its work in three main areas. First, technological development, focused primarily on JPCam, the scientific instrument of the JST250 telescope, equipped with 1.2 billion pixels, making it one of the most powerful cameras worldwide in the field of astronomy.

This development is directly linked to the other two major achievements: the scientific exploitation of the data collected every night by the large telescopes of the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory (OAJ), which support the flagship surveys J-PAS and J-PLUS. Finally, part of this R&D effort is the Data Processing and Archiving Unit (UPAD), responsible for managing the vast amounts of big data generated nightly. This infrastructure is also recognized as part of Spain’s Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) that comprises the Pico del Buitre Observatory.

In terms of scientific output, CEFCA researchers working within the framework of the Complementary Plans have published six scientific papers and participated in around 35 talks and presentations disseminating these projects.

On the High Energy Physics side, CAPA highlighted projects such as the axion helioscope BabyIAXO, currently under construction for installation at DESY (Hamburg), and dark matter search experiments carried out at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory, including ANAIS+ and TREX-DM. ITA, meanwhile, is contributing through the development of advanced electronic instrumentation for the next generation of detectors, particularly in the upgrades of the CMS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

The Complementary Plan for Astrophysics and High Energy Physics is an R&D program promoted by Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, in collaboration with seven autonomous communities (Catalonia, Andalusia, Cantabria, Valencia, Aragón, the Balearic Islands, and Madrid). Its main objective is to increase Spain’s participation in leading international projects by developing advanced technologies in areas such as particle physics, astrophysical instrumentation, and space exploration. The program is framed within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, with a budget of €39.1 million, partially funded by the Next Generation EU funds, while also promoting digitalization, innovation, and regional development.