Swiss Contributions to the EST

EST core mission to unravel solar magnetism critically depends on polarimetric instrumentation. Swiss leadership in high-precision solar polarimetry guarantees a significant competitive advantage for EST and is fundamental for CH-EST key role in the following instrumentation deliverables:

  • High-Precision Polarimetric modulators (HPPOL)
  • Telescope Polarimetric calibration unit (TELPOL)
  • Next-Generation optical Sensor (NGS)

EST Data Center (EST DC) will operate as a powerful distributed system of specialized nodes: (1) near-telescope DC and (2) sea-level DC, both performing initial calibration, short-term storage, and data distribution. These are complemented by specialized continent-based node DCs.

Swiss node DC (CH-DC) will be an impactful digital technology, harnessing Swiss expertise in solar science, AI, HPC and data science. CH-DC will be operated as a virtual cluster (vCluster) at CSCS, following cost and operational models similar to other major infrastructures like SKAO and CTA, with the following digital technology deliverables:

  • Prioritized data management
  • Digital twin data processing pipelines
  • Data reduction tools
  • Data product pipelines
  • Data prototyping pipelines
  • Data simulations

Roadmaps

EST is on the ESFRI Roadmap from 2016. EST Board of Governmental Representatives (BGR) prepares Step 1 ERIC application for 2026.

Swiss participation in the EST has been endorsed by the “SCNAT Astronomy Community Roadmap Update of Swiss Community Needs for Research Infrastructures 2029-2032 and beyond” (updated in 2024): “Recommendation 6: Financial support should be made available for medium/large-size projects carried out beyond the ESO and SKAO boundaries… Within this framework, participation of Switzerland in EST should be secured. …”

The “ASTRONET Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap 2022-2035” has identified fundamental questions about our Universe, the most pressing for solar physics being: “What is the impact of the Sun on the heliosphere and on planetary environments?” Itrecommends EST as a priority for implementation on par with CTA.