|
Here is more detailed information about the research projects of our IMPRS students
(alphabetic order).
Check for students of our 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd generation, or our IMPRS alumni. |
| 5th generation students (joined IMPRS-HD 2009) | ||
|
Rene Andrae
(Germany)
andrae @ mpia.de Spin correlation of spiral galaxies | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Knud Jahnke (MPIA) / Matthias Bartelmann (ITA) |
|
Paul Boley
(USA)
boley @ mpia.de The inner regions of the youngest massive stars | Thesis abstract:
Massive stars are in many ways the most influential members of
star-forming clusters. Expanding ionized regions created by such stars
can trigger further star formation at the interface with the
surrounding ISM, while shocks and outflows associated with these
objects play important roles in grain reprocessing in the vicinity and
can trigger further collapse of surrounding molecular material.
However, despite being the most luminous stars, the most massive stars are often highly extincted, sometimes even entirely undetectable, at optical wavelengths during the youngest stages of their evolution. In studying such deeply-embedded objects, I will make extensive use of observations in the mid-infrared, including interferometric observations with the MIDI, high-resolution spectroscopy with CRIRES and direct imaging with VISIR -- all instruments at ESO Paranal. Such observations, when combined with radiative transfer modeling, will allow for a sounding of the inner-most regions of these massive stars. Supervisors: Thomas Henning / Roy van Boekel (MPIA) |
|
Crystal Brasseur
(Canada)
brasseur @ mpia-hd.mpg.de The faintest galaxies | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Hans-Walter Rix (MPIA) |
|
Federica Capranico
(Italy)
capranico @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Angular momentum correlations between galaxies | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Bjoern-Malte Schaefer (ARI) |
|
Gustavo Dopcke
(Brasil)
gdopcke @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de The transition from Pop. III to Pop. II/I star formation | Thesis abstract:
We make use of numerical models to find the 'critical metallicity' for the
transition of Pop. III to Pop. II star formation. Making use of the Gadget2
SPH code, we successfully reproduce previous results in the literature for a
spherical symmetric collapse and then show results from a full 3D treatment.
We conclude that dust cooling affects the fragmentation of low metallicity
gas clouds and can determine the evolution of the stellar IMF. We address questions like: What is the expected mass spectrum of stars in metal-free and metal-poor conditions? At what metallicity do we expect to find the transition from forming predominantly high-mass stars to the IMF we observe today? What are the dominant physical processes that govern fragmentation and determine the mass spectrum? To answer those questions we investigate the effects of the cooling due to dust grains on the collapse of low metallicity star-forming clouds. Making use of 3D numerical models to follow the thermal evolution of clouds with different metallicities, we study self-consistently the evolution of the gas and dust temperatures during the collapse, and determine the properties of the cloud at the point at which it undergoes gravitational fragmentation. This allows us to investigate the role that dust cooling may play in the transition from a Pop III IMF composed predominantly of high-mass stars to the IMF we observe today. Supervisors: Simon Glover / Ralf Klessen (ITA) |
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Aram Giahi
(Germany)
aram @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de T B C | Thesis abstract:
Supervisor: Bjoern Schaefer (ARI) |
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Philipp Girichidis
(Germany)
girichidis @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de T B C | Thesis abstract:
Supervisor: Robi Banerjee (ITA) |
|
Alessandra Grassi
(Italy)
sandri @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de T B C | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Bjoern-Malte Schaefer (ARI) |
|
Oleksiy Golubov
(Ukraine)
golubov @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Modelling the Milky Way disk | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Andreas Just (ARI) |
|
Meiert Grootes
(Netherlands)
Meiert.Grootes @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Panchromatic investigation of the mass assembly history of galaxies using the GAMA ans ATLAS surveys | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Richard Tuffs / Werner Hofmann (MPIK) |
|
Raoul Haschke
(Germany)
haschke @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Structure and evolution of the Magellanic Clouds | Thesis abstract:
The metallicities and three-dimensional structure of the old stellar
populations in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) are mostly unknown. RR Lyrae
are excellent tracers of Population II stars and can therefore be used
to examine these properties. In addition, we are using Cepheids in order
to study the structure of the young populations and the recent star
formation history of the MCs. Moreover, these studies yield detailed
extinction maps.
Supervisor: Eva Grebel (ARI) |
|
Mathias Jaeger
Austria
mjaeger @ mpia.de Evolution of the galaxy population since redshift z=2 | Thesis abstract:
To get better information about the evolution and creation of
blue and red galaxies at high redshifts the COMBO17+4 survey is going to
be reduced and analysed. Therefore the MPIAPHOT pipeline is used which is
based on MIDAS. Depending on the results of the first reductions, further
observations of interesting objects are possible.
Supervisor: Klaus Meisenheimer (MPIA) |
|
Fazeel Mahmood Khan
(Pakistan)
khan @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Dynamics and Evolution of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Merging Galaxies | Thesis abstract:
Supervisor: Andreas Just (ARI) |
|
Ervin Kafexhiu
(Albania)
Ervin.Kafexhiu @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Nuclear processes in accretion flows | Thesis abstract:
Supervisor: Felix Aharonian (MPIK) |
|
Natalia Kudryavtseva
(Russia)
natkud @ mpia.de Micro-arcsecond astrometry of exoplanet host stars and starburst clusters | Thesis abstract:
The 2nd generation Very Large Telescope Interferometer instrument GRAVITY
aims at achieving micro-arcsecond accuracy astrometry. In a study of the
GRAVITY science cases I investigate the astrometric detection of
exoplanets around very low mass stars. This includes defining the actual
sample of M-dwarfs to be surveyed and doing simulations to identify the
"best" survey strategy. The second science case involves astrometric detection of intermediate mass black holes in starburst clusters. As a starting point I want to measure proper motions and internal velocity dispersions for starburst cluster Westerlund 1. It is a massive young cluster, which might not be in virial equilibrium. The data for Westerlund 1 was obtained with the VLT adaptive optics system NAOS-CONICA. Analysis and interpretation of this data will help us to understand formation and evolution of starburst clusters and to study the motion of the stars around black holes. Supervisors: Wolfgang Brandner/Stefan Hippler (MPIA) |
|
Eva Lefa
(Greece)
Eva.Lefa @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Synchrotron-Compton emission from AGN jets | Thesis abstract:
The formation and propagation of relativistic jets is expected to
lead to an internal flow profile that could have a significant impact
on its non-thermal emission properties. Based on theoretical and
empirical techniques, we will analyze possible spectral characteristics
for AGNs at high energies and calculate the synchrotron-Compton
emission of stratified relativistic jets.
Supervisors: Frank Rieger (MPIK) / Stefan Wagner (LSW) |
|
Chia-Chun Lu
(Taiwan)
chia-chun.lu @ mpi-hd.mpg.de High-energy observations with the HESS telescope system | Thesis abstract:
Supervisor: Werner Hofmann (MPIK) |
|
Johannes Ludwig
(Germany)
ludwig @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de tbd | Thesis abstract:
Supervisor: Eva Grebel (ARI) |
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Iwona Mochol
(Poland)
Iwona.Mochol @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Pair cascades in black hole magnetospheres | Thesis abstract:
Vacuum gaps of spinning supermassive black holes threaded by
externally supported magnetic fields are promissing sites of particle
acceleration up to ultra-high energies. Such processes are accompanied by
emission of TeV curvature photons, which can in turn create subsequent
pairs e+e- if the magnetic field is strong enough. The whole process is
self-supporting until the vacuum is discharged. In our work we model this
cascade production and acceleration, taking into account energy losses
resulting from radiation damping forces.
Supervisors: John Kirk (MPIK) |
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Faviola Molina
(Venezuela)
fmolina @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Analysis of CO, density, and temperature in simulated molecular clouds | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Ralf Klessen (ITA) |
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Natalie Raettig
(Germany)
raettig @ mpia.de The global baroclinic instability: physical conditions and implication on planet formation | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Hubert Klahr / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Ellen Simmat
(Germany)
Ellen.Simmat @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Photometry with GALEX GAMA | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Richard Tuffs (MPIK) |
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Daniel Seifried
(Germany)
dseifried @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Evolution of large scale outflows from collapsing molecular cloud cores | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Robi Banerjee (ITA) |
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Jochen Tackenberg
(Germany)
tackenberg @ mpia.de The early evolution of high-mass star formation | Thesis abstract:
Supervisors: Henrik Beuther / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
|
Tessel van der Laan
(Netherlands)
vdlaan @ mpia.de Formation and evolution of nuclear starburst rings | Thesis abstract:
My research focusses on the formation and evolution of circumnuclear starburst rings in galaxies. These starburst rings can
occur anywhere between 50pc and 1kpc distance from the nucleus. They have star formation rates of up to 5% of the total star
formation in a galaxy, which makes them an important part of the secular evolution of the galactic nuclear region. The
general theoretical picture on the formation of nuclear rings is fairly clear, the detailed mechanism of how star formation
occurs and proceeds within the ring is not. Are there preferred locations for star formation within the ring, or is star
formation randomly distributed throughout the ring? How does stellar evolution affect the ring? Are starburst rings short
lived phenomena and what happens to their stars? Observational tests for these questions are basically non-existent, due to
the difficulties associated with the small angular size of most circumnuclear rings and the need to obtain a complete
inventory of high quality datasets. For the nearby galaxies NGC5248 and NGC6951 we have managed to get suchs datasets
together. The former is a SAB spiral galaxy at a distance of 15Mpc. It harbors two (!) prominent starburst rings at radii
180pc and 1kpc from the nucleus, respectively. The latter, also an SAB galaxy at a distance of 24Mpc, has a single starburst
ring at 580pc radius. For each galaxy we have obtained subarcsecond 3-dimensional data of the stellar, ionized and molecular
gas in the circumnuclear rings. Together with state-of-the-art modelling, we hope to use these datasets to get a detailed
understanding of circumnuclear starburst rings.
Supervisors: Eva Schinnerer / Hans-Walter Rix (MPIA) |
| 4th generation students (joined IMPRS-HD 2008) | ||
|
Christian Angrick
(Germany)
cangrick @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Statistics of gravitational potential perturbations | Thesis abstract:
While halo mass functions based on the well-known Press-Schechter formalism
(recently modified by Sheth & Tormen to include effects from elliptical
collapse) is theoretically a very sensitive measure of cosmological models,
masses of dark-matter (DM) halos are poorly defined, global and unobservable
quantities.
In order to compare theoretical predictions with observations, they
have to be related to observable quantities as X-ray fluxes or temperatures.
Although theoretical scaling relations exist,
one has to rely on purely empirical results as it is impossible to include
complicated baryonic physics in the DM dominated cosmological framework
properly. As X-ray temperatures of clusters are themselves local quantities, we try to directly compare them to theoretical predictions without invoking masses, thus, trying to derive the X-ray temperature function directly from Gaussian random fluctuations in the gravitational potential. This approach will be useful to reduce scatter in observed cluster distributions and thus on cosmological conclusions drawn from them. The formalism that has already been established dealing with the gravitational potential shall be extended in order to apply it to other cosmological applications as well, e.g. lensing and cluster dynamics. Supervisor: Matthias Bartelmann (ITA) |
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Carolina Bergfors
(Sweden)
bergfors @ mpia.de Characterisation of substellar objects | Thesis abstract:
More than 40 planetary systems have been discovered to date in which the planet host star is
part of a binary or multiple stellar system. Since more than 50% of solar-type stars are part
of a binary/multiple system, and a close stellar or brown dwarf companion affects the formation
of planets, knowing the fraction of exoplanet hosts that are part of a binary/multiple system
and the relations between properties of the stars and planets such as orbital period and
eccentricity will provide clues as to how planets form and evolve as well as to how common they
are.
M dwarfs are the most common stars in the Galaxy, but their binary frequency is however not as well known as it is for solar-type stars. The binary frequency and properties such as the mass-ratio and orbital separation may tell us how very-low-mass stars and brown dwarfs form. In addition, knowing in advance if a star is part of a binary/multiple system is useful information for eg. transit photometry and astrometric searches for exoplanets. We are adressing these questions about binary/multiple frequency and the planetary systems' characteristics by searching for stellar and brown dwarf companions to known exoplanet host stars and to a sample of young, nearby M dwarfs. Supervisors: Wolfgang Brandner/ Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Anne Bochow
(Germany)
Anne.Bochow @ mpi-hd.mpg.de The HESS Central Trigger System | Thesis abstract:
H.E.S.S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System) consists of 4 Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes situated in the Khomas Highlands in Namibia. The telescopes detect Cherenkov flashes that are emitted from particle showers which are created when 100 GeV-100 TeV gamma-ray radiation interacts in the atmosphere. Each telescope independently triggers, when a certain number of pixels in the camera exceeds a given trigger threshold. H.E.S.S. uses a stereoscopic reconstruction technique whereby only those events are considered in which at least two of the four telescopes triggered. A Central Trigger System (CTS) is used to decide whether the detected light in the different telescopes results from the same particle shower. It accepts an event when the participating telescopes triggered within a certain coincidence window, and assigns each event a global event number. This event number permits one to merge the individual telescope data into a global event. During the 1st part of my Ph.D., I am working on the upgrade of the CTS for H.E.S.S. Phase 2, when a fifth telescope will be added to the existing array. The CTS consists of the Central Trigger electronics board, a telescope interface board and several other electronic components which have to be set up and tested in the laboratory before commissioning. The 2nd part of my thesis will focus on data analysis. Supervisor: Werner Hofmann (MPIK) |
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Mauricio Cisternas
(Chile)
cisternas @ mpia.de Morphological indicators for merging in AGN host galaxies | Thesis abstract:
Does a merging event always precede AGN activity? In this project, we will
try to address this question by quantifying the distortions and
interaction signatures that can be detected on a sample of AGN in
comparison to inactive galaxies from the ACS-COSMOS survey. In order to do
this we will first attempt at a visual classification, with the long-term
goal of developing an automatic morphological classification pipeline. We
will investigate and combine all the different available galaxy
descriptors to find which combination of parametric and non-parametric
estimators yield a quantitative indicator of interaction on the host
galaxy, and also define the strength level of these signatures that we are
able to detect.
Supervisor: Knud Jahnke / Josef Fried (MPIA) |
|
Gisella De Rosa
(Italy)
derosa @ mpia.de Tracking black-hole growth and reionization with quasars at redshift 7 | Thesis abstract:
Luminous quasars at high redshift provide probes of the evolution of
supermassive black holes and the intergalactic medium at early cosmic time.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has for the first time detected substantial
numbers of quasars at z>5: currently more than 80 QSOs are known at z>5 and
15 of them are at z>6. This sample has provided a powerful tool to examine
fundamental properties of the early Universe only 900 Myr after the Big
Bang. In this thesis project we will assemble a much larger sample of
quasars at z>6 pushing the detection to z>7: we will create the first ever
statistically complete sample of quasars up to z=7.5 and extend existing
samples at z~6. The candidate sample will be selected as i- and z-band
dropouts in the Pan-STARRS survey. Studying the new sample and the known
sources at date we will try to address the following open questions: 1) What
is the accretion history of the first supermassive black holes? How do they
relate to the properties of their hosts? What is the evolution of the AGN's
structures? 2) Does the IGM become largely neutral by z~7?
Supervisors: Sebastian Jester / Fabian Walter (MPIA) |
|
Min Fang
(China)
fang @ mpia.de Disks and accretion behaviour of YSOs | Thesis abstract:
Goal: To acquire a better understanding of the relation between the properties
of the central stars and the properties of the disks surrouding young stellar
objects. We wish to achieve this by studying several star forming regions at
optical and infrared wavelengths, characterizing their central stars and
disks, respectively. The accretion rates are estimated using optical spectroscopy
and, in regions of low extinction, optical photometry (U-band excess). X-ray
fluxes are included in our analysis where available.
Supervisor: Roy van Boekel / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Roman Follert
(Germany)
follert @ mpia.de Origins, measurement, and correction of differential atmospheric piston turbulence around the LBT site | Thesis abstract:
Fizeau interferometry allows true, wide-field imaging of an astronomical source
with a spatial resolution set by the maximum, edge-to-edge separation of the feed telescopes.
The technique of adaptive optics (AO) is essential to ensure flat wavefronts, but AO cannot
control the arrival time, or differential piston, of the incoming wavefronts. Removal of this
differential piston is a prerequisite for high quality, scientifically useful interferograms.
For this purpose LINC-NIRVANA, the near Infrared interferometric camera for the LBT telescope,
will be equipped with a Fringe Tracker. To test this device already in the lab under realistic
conditions comparable to the LBT site, a differential piston simulator shall be constructed and
fed with atmospheric data measured at Mt. Graham. Then, the piston simulator will be attached
to the Linc-Nirvana fringe tracking unit in order to conduct the aforementioned tests.
Supervisor: Tom Herbst (MPIA) |
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Mario Gennaro
(Italy)
gennaro @ mpia.de The initial mass function with PanSTARRS 1 and UKIDSS | Thesis abstract:
We present the discovery of three new cluster candidates in the inner galaxy. Those cluster
have been identified using near infrared data from the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey.
The importance of this work relies on the fact that the details of star formation history of
our Galaxy are poorly known in regions far away from the Sun; finding new clusters and new star
forming regions close to the center of the Galaxy will help us to understand the mechanism of
star formation in a different environment. We surveyed UKIDSS catalog for regions close to molecular bubbles in the inner galaxy ($ | l | \le 10^\circ$; $| b | \le 1^\circ$); some those bubbles are also associated with HII region, and this is a hint for the possible presence of young stellar cluster candidates. In three of these regions we identified young stellar association. An important evidence for the presence of young clusters is the clear overabundance in these regions of stars with Infrared excess. Upper main sequence members have been identified by a color-color selection in the (H-K) vs. (J-K) diagram. Comparing the magnitude of the most massive and luminous stars of this associations to theoretical isochrones of the Geneva group (see Lejeune \& Schaerer, 2001) we were able to give an estimate of the total masses which are $\sim1400 M_\odot$, $\sim2900 M_\odot$ and $\sim2100 M_\odot$ respectively. Supervisor: Wolfgang Brandner / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Alexander Hansson
(Sweden)
hansson @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de The origin of the local early-type dwarf galaxy population | Thesis abstract:
Early-type dwarf galaxies (dEs) are the most abundant type of galaxies in clusters though only
a small number of these objects are known in the field so far. This suggests that many cluster
dEs are products of their environment.
We are conducting a study of the local dE population which will reveal important clues
regarding the formation and evolution of these systems, including an assessment of the role of
the environment in which these objects reside.
Supervisor: Torsten Lisker (ARI) |
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Alexander Karim
(Germany)
karim @ mpia.de A radio view on AGN and star formation activity in the COSMOS survey | Thesis abstract:
The star formation activity in the universe has dramatically declined since the
epoch when the universe reached (roughly) half of its present age.
Pan-chromatic cosmological surveys over larger areas on the sky are key to study
in detail how star formation activity is evolving - not only as a function of time
(redshift), but also of galaxy type, mass, environment etc.
These studies are important for our understanding of galaxy formation and also
provide stringent constraints for cosmological models.
As galaxies at earlier epochs contain more gas and dust, tracers of star
formation that are insensitive to the presence of dust are required.
IR surveys would be ideal to probe the emission peak arising from the dust heated by star formation, but lack the angular resolution and/or sensitivity. Currently only radio observations achieve angular resolutions similar to optical ground-based imaging data. In order to reach the very faint end of the radio luminosity function to estimate the dust unbiased star formation rate (SFR) one has to go even beyond the sensitivity of the deep VLA-COSMOS project (20cm radio continuum). I am thus using the stacking technique to estimate the average SFR taking into account sufficiently large and complete mass selected samples out to a redshift of z=1. Furthermore, repeating stacking in the COSMOS Spitzer map at 24um gives us the possibility to calibrate the faint-end of the radio-infrared correlation. Since stacking, when applied properly, is a powerful technique, follow-up projects in different contexts and higher redshift ranges are likely. Another part of my project is to use optical and (sub)mm data in order to study interesting objects from the COSMOS field, in particular massively star forming merger systems at high redshift or in dust obscured quasars. Supervisor: Eva Schinnerer/Hans-Walter Rix (MPIA) |
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Hagen Meyer
(Germany)
hmeyer @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Identifying the progenitors of early-type dwarf galaxies | Thesis abstract:
In the local universe dwarf galaxies form 80 % of the galaxy population.
It is therefore reasonable to assume that they are the most numerous
type of galaxies in the universe.
Dwarf galaxies can roughly be divided into star-forming dwarf galaxies
(e.g. Blue Compact Dwarfs, Dwarf Irregulars)
and passive (red and dead), early-type dwarfs (dwarf ellipticals)
with (almost) no star-formation and only little gas.
The latter are most
commonly found in galaxy clusters, like the Virgo-Cluster. Candidate mechanisms to explain the transformation of star-forming dwarfs into passive dwarf galaxies are ram-pressure stripping, or fast gravitational perturbations of the dwarf by other cluster members. Details of these transformation processes are, however, currently not well understood. To answer these questions we use a optical multi-wavelength sample from the SDSS and additional UV/NIR-data to study dwarf galaxies in the nearby Virgo-Cluster. We will investigate structural properties and colours of likely progenitors of early-type dwarf galaxies as well the early-type galaxies themselves. Supervisor: Torsten Lisker (ARI) |
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Milica Milosavljevic
(Serbia)
milica @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Molecular cloud formation in convergent flows | Thesis abstract:
Stars form within massive clouds of molecular gas known as giant molecular clouds, or
GMCs. Understanding how these clouds are formed is therefore a crucial part of the study of the
birth of stars. A promising theory for GMC formation suggests that these clouds form in places
where streams of warm atomic gas collide. The collision compresses the gas, which becomes
thermally unstable, breaking up into cold, dense clumps embedded within a largerscale turbulent
flow. However, current studies of this process have a number of drawbacks that limit their
usefulness. They use a highly simplified treatment of the thermal energy balance of the gas,
and have ignored its chemical evolution. It has therefore been difficult to directly compare
the clouds formed in these simulations with observations of real GMCs in a meaningful fashion,
and hence difficult to properly test the predictions of the theory. We will address this
problem by performing threedimensional adaptive mesh refinement simulations of cloud assembly
with the FLASH code. These simulations will for the first time selfconsistently model the
assembly of the clouds, the thermal energy balance within them, and the chemical transition
from atomic to molecular gas.
Supervisor: Ralf Klessen (ITA) |
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Dading Nugroho
(Indonesia)
nugroho @ mpia.de Star formation properties and kinematics of nearby AGN host galaxies | Thesis abstract:
My thesis work centers on a study of star formation and kinematics of the
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) host galaxies at nearby universe (z < 0.2).
There are two spectroscopic data sets that will form basis of my thesis.
The first is data from observation using VIMOS-Integral Field Unit mounted
at VLT-Melipal and second from observation with FORS2 instrument at
VLT-Kueyen. The study will help constrain the fuelling mechanisms of AGN and relation between AGN activity with star formation in host galaxies to understand the role of AGN to the transition of galaxies from blue cloud to the red sequence population in the color magnitude diagram. In more general, this study is a part of our effort to understand the relation of the Supermassive Black Hole (SMBH) and their host galaxies. Supervisor: Knud Jahnke / Hans-Walter Rix (MPIA) |
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Xiaoying Pang
(China)
xiaoying @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Galactic and extragalactic star cluster evolution | Thesis abstract:
NGC3603 which is one of the most compact star clusters in the Milky Way
and is considered as a Galactic starburst cluster.NGC3603 is an arena of
star formation in which we can find very luminous OB stars, and pre-main
sequence stars which are still undergo formation of which pro-disk are
observed, and aslo molecular clouds. Depite the young age of NGC3603
which is only about 1Myr old, it already shows distinct mass
segregation. My work is to research on the dynamical evolution of the it
which is based on HST-WFPC2 data of 1997 (PI.Drissen) and
2007 (PI.Brandner). Then estimate dynamical timescels of NGC3603 to see
whether it is already undergone dynamical disolution, which is also
another way to see whether primodial mass segregation or dynamical
evolution plays more important role in initial mass funcion(IMF).
Supervisor: Eva Grebel (ARI) |
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Sanjaya Paudel
(Nepal)
sjy @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Stellar populations of early-type dwarf galaxies and their nuclei | Thesis abstract:
Though diffuse elliptical galaxies represent majority of the galaxy populations in dense
regions of the nearby Universe like rich clusters, their origin and evolution remain still
a matter of debate.
Several recent and past studies show that these galaxies exhibit a great variety of
kinematics and stellar population
properties, posing a number of questions to the current understanding
of external and internal evolution of dwarf elliptical galaxies.
However, some of the proposed mechanisms for nucleus formation are based on late nucleus formation, e.g. out of merging globular clusters or from intense star formation in centrally accumulated gas. Can the nuclei thus tell us something about the formation history of their host galaxies? Given the importance of the stellar population difference between the nuclei and the outskirts of the dEs (or maybe: between the nuclei and the host dEs) of the virgo cluster, I am studying the stellar population of 26 nucleated dEs using the medium resolution spectroscopy with aiming to probe it further. Supervisor: Torsten Lisker (ARI) |
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Oliver Porth
(Germany)
porth @ mpia.de Formation of relativistic MHD jets | Thesis abstract:
We investigate jet acceleration and collimation using full special relativistic magneto- and hydro-
dynamics including gravity in an approximate manner.
In this scenario, the jet is launched as a disk wind in Keplerian rotation. Due to
the scale-free nature of our formulation this has applications to active galactic nuclei
as well as to galactic microquasars.
Special focus is on the asymptotic force balance - unraveling the decollimating nature
of electric forces.
Supervisor: Christian Fendt (MPIA) |
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Ana Uribe Uribe
(Colombia)
uribe @ mpia.de Interaction between circumstellar disks and embedded protoplanets. | Thesis abstract:
Circumstellar disks are a natural and necessary outcome of the process of
star formation due to angular momentum conservation in the collapse of
molecular cloud cores. Understanding the mechanisms by which matter is
accreted into the central young star is not only of fundamental importance
in star formation theory but also in acquiring a complete picture of the
properties and evolution of circumstellar disks themselves, which are
believed to be the birthplaces of planets. The problem of planet formation
is one that encompasses many orders of magnitude and thus involves a broad
range and sequence of physical processes. In this project we concentrate
on studying, form a theoretical and numerical approach, properties of
circumstellar disks such as angular momentum transport, general structure
and the interaction of the disk with embedded protoplanets.
Supervisor: Thomas Henning / Hubert Klahr (MPIA) |
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Kasper Borello Schmidt
(Denmark)
kschmidt @ mpia.de Identifying the multiply-imaged and strongly magnified QSOs in PS1 | Thesis abstract:
Lensed QSOs (at various luminosities) have proven over the last years to be a productive astrophysical
tool: the separation statistics is a powerful and independent tool to probe the concentration of
potential wells (galaxies and groups); the relative image brightnesses may be one of the best ways to
constrain dark-matter sub-halos; and the high magnifications that occur allow studies of the host
galaxies at unprecedented flux sensitivity and physical resolution. Drawing on the sample of
photometrically-identified QSO candidates, we plan to devise a statistically well-defined sample of
multiply-images QSO candidates, and to follow-up the most promising candidates. Following the
experience with SDSS (14), we will employ two separate approaches, one to identify “small separation
lenses” (< few arcsec); and one to search for wide-separation lenses (> few arcsec). In the first case,
the underlying assumption is that IPP only detects on source, that the subsequent analysis shows that
this source has QSO-like colors, but that the source shape is not consistent with the PSF; subsequent
multi-band deblending exercises can help remove QSO–star projection pairs. In the second,
’wide-separation’ case the approach will be to search for separate “catalog entries” or sources, that
have similar, QSO-like colors and that lie within < 20" of each other. We expect dozends of
wide-separation candidates, and many hundreds of small separation candidates
Using the PMAS IFU spectrometer at CAHA we then plan to get follow-up spectra for all wide-separation
candidates, and selected small-separation candidates (e.g. very high redshift objects)
Supervisor: Hans-Walter Rix / Sebastian Jester (MPIA) |
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Bhargav Vaidya
(India)
vaidya @ mpia.de Theory of outflows from massive stars | Thesis abstract:
Massive stars play a vital role in the dynamical evolution of clusters
in which they are the major source of heavy elements and UV radiation.
During their short life time, they undergo a number of physical processes
like winds, photo evaporation, jet like outflows, expanding H II regions
and supernova explosions.
Outflows from these massive stars are ubiquitous and are observed for stars having
wide range in luminosity and age.
Observations of large number of massive star forming regions, predict a rather
simple and self explanatory picture of the outflow evolution, however,
the real physical understanding is missing.
Are these massive jet like outflows magneto-centrifugally driven? What kind of interaction is present between the disc and jet? If magnetic fields are important, where do they come from? In my thesis I will work on the theory of these outflows from massive accretion disc including simulations to investigate physical processes behind the simple outflow evolutionary picture can be understood. Supervisor: Christian Fendt / Henrik Beuther (MPIA) |
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Ana Valente
(Portugal)
avalente @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Cross-correlation studies between weak lensing and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect | Thesis abstract:
We use the halo model of large scale structure in order to compute the angular
power spectrum of both wear shear and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. While the weak
shear constrains the classical cosmological parameters, a model for the SZ effect
which has an empirical parameterization for the mass-temperature relation can be
used. A more sophisticated approach involving the baryon fraction and an entropy
floor is also possible. By correlating both signals, we aim to answer questions
regarding measurability, constraints on baryonic physics and biasing model.
Supervisor: Matthias Bartelmann (ITA) |
| 3rd generation students (joined IMPRS-HD 2007) | ||
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Ioanna Arka
(Greece)
Ioanna.Arka @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Particle-wave interactions: laboratory and astrophysics | Thesis abstract:
The interaction of particles with electromagnetic waves is of interest in
astrophysics and also in the laboratory. In my work I am computing the
acceleration, radiation and pair production of electrons in ultra-high
intensity lasers, and using the knowledge gained by this paradigm to
investigate the interaction of particles with electromagnetic waves
carried in relativistic outflows. Of particular interest are the phenomena
that arise when these outflows create relativistic shocks, and these are
the focus of my work.
Supervisor: John Kirk (MPIK) |
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Leonard Burtscher
(Austria)
burtscher @ mpia.de Resolving the central dust structure in nearby Seyfert galaxies | Thesis abstract:
To further test the unified model of Active Galactic Nuclei, the properties of the dusty torus,
which encapsulates the central engine, need to be determinded.
In this project, the interferometric observation of tori of active galaxies (e.g. PhD thesis
Tristram et al., 2007) will be extended to more than the few sources currently available.
Those data will then be compared to model calculations to gain insights into e.g. the geometry
and clumpiness of AGN tori.
The measurements will be carried out using the MIDI instrument at the VLTI on Cerro Paranal and
will be compared to radiative transfer and hydrodynamical models (e.g. PhD thesis Schartmann
et al., 2007).
Supervisor: Klaus Meisenheimer (MPIA) |
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Denija Crnojevic
(Italy)
denija @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Nearby groups of galaxies | Thesis abstract:
My Thesis topic is the study of Nearby Groups of galaxies within 2-4 Mpc. I am currently
concentrating on the Centaurus A group of galaxies, and in the future I will be considering the
Sculptor and Canes Venatici ones. The Cen A group presents about 30 dwarf members of different
morphological types and stellar content, for which I am analysing archival data from the Hubble
Space Telescope. These kind of data can provide information on the detailed stellar content of the
galaxies, and possibly constrain their star formation histories. The result can be then compared
with the properties of the galaxies in our Local Group, or in other nearby groups. Moreover, it is
crucial to understand the role played by the environment in the evolution of dwarf galaxies. In the
future it would then also be interesting to consider other data sets, like for example GALEX, SDSS,
or SPITZER.
Supervisor: Eva Grebel (ARI) |
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Nicola Da Rio
(Italy)
dario @ mpia.de Clustered star formation in the Magellanic Clouds | Thesis abstract:
My thesis project is focused on the study of pre-main sequence phase of star
formation in stellar associations of the Magellanic Clouds. Galactic OB associations are known
to host low-mass PMS populations, and recently it has been possible to confirm the detection of
such populations also in the Magellanic Clouds. Here, the much lower dust extinction -- due to
both lower metallicity than that of the Milky Way and a lower dust-to-gas ratio -- makes these
neighboring galaxies ideal laboratories for the observational study of young stellar system,
and of star formation in general.
I focus on these young stellar populations to analyze for the first time their Initial Mass
Function down to the subsolar regime and study the age distribution and eventual age spread,
both key questions fundamental for the understanding of how star form. Approaches and findings
will be tested and compared on other nearby galactic star forming regions which I am going to
study, such as the Orion Nebula Cluster.
Supervisor: Dimitrios Gouliermis / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Christoph Deil
(Germany)
Christoph.Deil @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Gamma-ray Astronomy with H.E.S.S. | Thesis abstract:
H.E.S.S. is an array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes in
Namibia consisting of four 100 m^2 telescopes at the corners of a square
of 120 m side length. Currently, an additional 600 m^2 telescope, H.E.S.S.II,
is being constructed in the array center, which will significantly
lower its energy threshold and improve sensitivity.
In the first year of my thesis I am testing the H.E.S.S.II drive and
control system (commissioned in early 2009). Another aspect
of the technical part of my thesis is to develop the remote
control software and integrate it into the existing H.E.S.S. data
acquisition system.
In the remaining two years I plan to work with H.E.S.S. I and II data to
address current questions in very high energy gamma-ray astronomy.
Supervisor: Werner Hofmann (MPIK) |
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Kelly Foyle
(Canada)
foyle @ mpia.de Galaxies and angular momentum transfer | Thesis abstract:
Using simulations and observations of disk galaxies I will investigate how
significant
angular momentum transfer is in galaxies and to what extent it is
responsible for redistributing matter in the disk. Stellar mass density
maps will be generated in order to determine the gravitational torques on
stars.
Supervisor: Hans-Walter Rix (MPIA) |
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Ronny Zhao-Geisler
(Germany)
rgeisler @ lsw.uni-heidelberg.de Astrometrical planet search with PRIMA at the VLT interferometer | Thesis abstract:
My Ph.D. thesis is a research project concerning the detection and characterization of
extrasolar planets by use of high precision astrometry. With the infrared interferometry measurements,
one can obtain precise star movements, and in the event there is an existing planet nearby,
orbital parameters can be calculated. At the State Observatory Heidelberg, our research group
is developing the reduction software for the PRIMA facility at the VLTI and is working together
with other institutes for developing a scientific observation plan.
Supervisor: Andreas Quirrenbach (LSW) |
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Baybars Kuelebi
(Turkey)
bkulebi @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de Analysis of the magnetic white dwarf RE J0317-853 | Thesis abstract:
RE J0317-853 is a massive, highly magnetic (~300 MG) White Dwarf (WD) that is
rapidly rotating.
In my project we will analyze the magnetic field structure and geometry of this
object through a fitting process that takes advantage of numerous pre-calculated spectra and
an evolutionary code for the actual fitting. The succesful analysis of this object
will hopefully present an important addition to the high B WD studies, which in turn
hope to contribute to the magnetic field ancestory question, possible WD-WD merger scenerios
for these objects, and finally a better understanding of these objects will be useful
in tests of non-metric field theories
Supervisor: Stefan Jordan (ARI) |
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Sophia Lianou
(Greece)
lianou @ ari.uni-heidelberg.de The interacting group of galaxies around M81 | Thesis abstract:
We study the properties of the dwarf galaxies in the M81 group and
compare them to those of other nearby groups. In particular, we are
interested in investigating to what extent environment affects dwarf
galaxy evolution.
Supervisor: Eva Grebel (ARI) |
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Ekaterina Luettjohann
(Russia)
eluettjohann @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Mineralogical and chemical composition in the solar nebula | Thesis abstract:
The main goal of the project is to develop a model
of the early mineralogical and chemical evolution in a pre-planetary disk
based on numerical simulations. This model will include hydrodynamical
calculations of the disk structure and also chemical and physical processes.
Supervisor: Hans-Peter Gail (ITA) |
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Benjamin Moster
(Germany)
moster @ mpia.de SPH realizations of semi-analytical merger trees | Thesis abstract:
State-of-the-art merger simulations using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) have
investigate many physical processes in Galaxy formation, such as the efficiency of starbursts,
morphological transformations and stellar streams. However, these simulations have used initial
conditions which have been derived from grid parameters. Also, only binary mergers have been
simulated. The goal of the PhD thesis is to perform SPH simulations (using Gadget2) of galaxy mergers with cosmologically motivated constraints, i.e. initial conditions that are taken from a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation (SAM). By using merger trees from a SAM (which may include multiple mergers), the results are expected to trace the processes in the universe better than in binary mergers with standard initial conditions. The goal is to form/create a galaxy (main branch) at a given redshift (e.g. z=1) and then merge satellite galaxies onto the main branch as specified by the semi-analytic merger tree. The advantages over cosmological simulations (box) are a better spacial and mass resolution, since particles are only in the locations of interest. Supervisor: Rachel Somerville (STScI) / Andrea Maccio (MPIA) |
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Maximiliano Moyano D'Angelo
(Chile)
moyano @ mpia.de Data analysis and frequency of transiting extrasolar planets based on the detections in the Pan-Planets survey | Thesis abstract:
When extrasolar planets are observed to transit their parent stars, we can have access
to several of their physical properties. The strength of the transit method is to yield a
direct estimate of the radius of the planet, as well as to obtain the orbital inclination,
which in turn allows to measure the true planetary mass from radial velocity measurements.
In particular, a radius measurement allows to determine the planetary density and thus to
constrain evolutionary models and the migration history of the planet. The data for my
PhD will be acquired with the Pan-Planets and the LAIWO surveys. It is expected to find more
than 50 new transiting planets with the Pan-Planets survey. This homogeneous sample will allow
a comprehensive statistical study of planetary parameters, serving as an input for improved
models of planet formation (to be developed at MPIA).
Supervisors: Cristina Afonso / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Nikolay Nikolov
(Bulgaria)
nikolov @ mpia-hd.mpg.de Search for extrasolar planets | Thesis abstract:
A transiting extrasolar planet can be observed when the planetary
orbit lies nearly in the plane of the observer's line of sight. Then
once per orbital period the planet passes in front of the stellar
disk, causing a temporary drop in the brightness of the exoplanet host
star. Planetary transits may yield many properties (radius and orbital distance of the planet and inclination angle), provided the light curve has a high photometric accuracy (~ 1 %), a high time sampling and the parent star is well characterized (star radius is known or stellar mass-radius relation is assumed). During my PhD I will work with data from the Pan-STARRS and LAIWO surveys. The objective is to discover new transiting extrasolar planets and to characterize them. The results will be used for an improved planet population synthesis. Supervisors: Cristina Afonso / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Christine Ruhland
(Germany)
ruhland @ mpia.de Understanding the assembly of disk galaxies | Thesis abstract:
The diffuse outer stellar envelope of galaxies (their stellar halos) are a
gold-mine of information about the assembly of galaxies owing to their
long dynamical times and the relative absence of in-situ star formation.
My thesis project is to study the populations, kinematics and
(sub-)structure of the stellar halo of the Milky Way and other galaxies
using the SDSS, PanSTARRS-1 and data from HST.
Supervisor: Eric Bell (MPIA) |
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Olaf Schulz
(Germany)
Olaf.Schulz @ mpi-hd.mpg.de Muon reconstruction with the IceCube neutrino detector | Thesis abstract:
I work on the reconstruction of muon tracks within the IceCube
detector. IceCube is a km^3 array of photomultiplier tubes currently being
deployed in the antarctic ice, 1500 to 2500 meters below the southpole. When
high energy neutrinos interact, highly relativistic charged particles are
produced which can be detected by their Cerenkov-light in the ice.
In my work I put special emphasis on an improvement of the reconstruction
performance at low neutrino energies (E<10TeV). This includes the use of
combined data from IceCube and its predecessor AMANDA.
Supervisor: Elisa Resconi (MPIK) |
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Tatiana Vasyunina
(Russia)
vasyunina @ mpia.de Very early stages of massive stars | Thesis abstract:
What is the mechanism by which massive stars form? What are the initial
conditions for this? Despite of the importance of these questions, up to
date there are no clear answers for them. This thesis is devoted to the
investigation of two stages of the massive star formation:
the first phase is represented by Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs). Their
properties (low temperature, high column density, and so on) let us assume
that they are ideal sites for the very early stages of massive star
formation;
a later stage relates to embedded, newly formed massive stars in typical
cluster environments.
Assuming this, we address following questions:
Does pronounced pre-stellar phase exist for massive star formation at all?
How important is the gas and dust environment for the further evolution of
high mass stars?
Answering these questions will help to better understand the physics of
the massive star formation processes.
Supervisors: Hendrik Linz / Thomas Henning (MPIA) |
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Massimo Viola
(Italy)
mviola @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Cosmological weak lensing: effects of dark energy and analysis techniques | Thesis abstract:
My project is to further develope, calibrate and apply linear filters
to detect dark matter halos through their weak lensing signature.
In particular I am interested to use this technique to infer properties
of the halos such as their concentration or the inner slope of their
density profile.
I will test and calibrate the methods on numerical simulation and I plan
to apply it to available wide field data .
Supervisor: Matthias Bartelmann (ITA) |
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Hsiang-Hsu Wang
(Taiwan)
hhwang @ mpia-hd.mpg.de Evolution and formation of disk galaxies | Thesis abstract:
The formation of disk galaxies is one of the major remaining puzzles
in the theory of galaxy formation in a hierarchical context. Neither
analytical models nor numerical simulations can explain the rotation curve
shapes, the Tully-Fisher zeropoint, or the exponential
surface brightness distributions of disks. In particular, numerical
simulations suffer from an 'angular momentum catastrophe', and have thus
far been unable to yield realistic disks: the disks are too compact
and/or are dominated by a large bulge component. It is generally
believed that a better understanding of star formation and feedback are
required to solve these problems. I will run and analyze
numerical simulations of (i) isolated disks and (ii) the formation of
disk galaxies in a cosmological setting.
Supervisors: Frank van den Bosch (MPIA) / Rachel Somerville (STScI) |
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Olga Zacharopoulou
(Greece)
Olga.Zacharopoulou @ mpi-hd.mpg.de MHD, particle accelaration and high energy radiation signatures of AGN jets | Thesis abstract:
The attenuation due to pair production in photon-photon
scattering is the reason why the observed intrinsic spectra from some
sources is highly modified. In this project the optical depth of such an
interaction will be evaluated taking into consideration the different
models of the extra-galactic background light. Then it will be used for
the estimation of the intrinsic spectra of high energy sources. A
radiation model will be applied to the data in an attempt to understand
the physical processes behind them.
Supervisors: Felix Aharonian (MPIK) / Christian Fendt (MPIA) |
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Andras Zsom
(Hungary)
zsom @ mpia.de Monte Carlo simulations of dust aggregation in protoplanetary disks | Thesis abstract:
I'm developing a Monte Carlo based dust particle coagulation and fragmentation
code which will be used in hydrodynamical simulations modeling a circumstellar
disk to trace the evolution of dust particles. I'm planning to investigate how
dust particles evolve in non-equilibrium velocity fields like spiral arms, shock
waves, gaps opened by planets.
Supervisor: Kees Dullemond (MPIA) |
| 2nd generation students (joined IMPRS-HD 2006) | ||
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Peter Melchior
(Germany)
pmelchior @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Detection and characterisation of dark-matter halos by gravitational shear and flexion | Thesis abstract:
The project aims to develop methods to employ the shapelet decomposition of
galaxy images.
We want to achieve precise measurements of the shapes of weakly lensed
background galaxies and of the telescope's PSF in order to obtain accurate
estimates of the gravitational shear and flexion.
With this, we plan to produce mass maps of galaxy clusters at yet unreached
resolution and constrain cosmological parameters related to structure formation
via a combination of the shear and the flexion power spectrum.
Supervisor: Matthias Bartelmann (ITA) |
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Christian Schwab
(Germany)
C.Schwab @ lsw.uni-heidelberg.de Waverfront sensor calibration strategy and design for LBTs laserguidestar facility ARGOS | Thesis abstract:
During my thesis I am developing a calibration strategy for the Laser guide star facility ARGOS at LBT.
This includes the design, integration and test of the optics and optomechanics of a dedicated calibration
light source. To mimick the scenario as seen on-sky, the light source will project different light spots
in the primary focal plane of LBT, which are then imaged onto the wavefront sensors by the adaptive
secondary. This saves expensive night time for calibration and tweaking the AO system.
Additionally, I am involved in the LSW's extrasolar planet search program at Lick observatory,
conducting observing runs and analysing the data. Emphasis lies on characterizing the spatial and
temporal variations of the line spread function (LSP) of the used high-resolution spectrograph. I am
working with groups from San Francisco State University and UC Berkley to implement a fibre-feed behind
the spectrograph slit to improve the LSP stability and uniformity, leading to sub-1 m/s precision in
radial velocity measurements of chromospherically quiet stars.
Supervisor: Andreas Quirrenbach (LSW) |
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Jean-Claude Waizmann
(Germany)
waizmann @ ita.uni-heidelberg.de Observational consequences of Early Dark Energy on the tSZ effect and the upcoming Planck mission | Thesis abstract:
Models of Early Dark Energy predict, among other effects, an enhancement of
non-linear structures (like galaxy clusters) at redshift ~1, leaving their
fingerprint on the cosmic microwave background via the thermal Sunyaev Zeldovich
Effect (tSZ). Due to its spectral range the Planck satellite will be able to
observe the tSZ effect on the full sky. Using analytical estimates and numerical
simulations I want to find out, how the satellite data can be used to
distinguish between different cosmological models.
Supervisor: Matthias Bartelmann (ITA) |