The laboratory is a "Mixed Research Unit" in French terminology, funded by Paris Diderot University, the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (represented by three of its Institutes: mainly IN2P3, but also INSU and INP), the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, and the Paris Observatory.

This group, headed by Cyrille Rosset, includes two main areas of research: Research carried out by this group, headed by Anne Lemière, aims at understanding the violent phenomena of the universe (mostly within compact stars, neutron stars, or black holes).

The group is engaged in many international projects with telescopes or instruments detecting photons, cosmic rays, or neutrinos.

For the observation of: The research carried out by this group, headed by Davide Franco, is dedicated to understanding neutrino properties is one of the laboratories' main activities.

The staff of the laboratory consists of 75 permanent researchers and over 60 engineers, technicians, and administrative personnel, plus about 125 non-permanent employees (PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, visitors).