23.04.2025
We are pleased to invite you to the public lecture “Licht aus Dunkler Materie " (in German).
Elisa Pueschel will present exciting new results and perspectives in the search for the mysterious Dark Matter, and show how her ‘Dark100’ project is breaking new ground with innovative approaches to uncovering this elusive form of matter.
When 30.4.25 at 20:00
Where Planetarium Bochum
For registration and further information, please have a look at the Planetarium’s homepage.
Picture:
A possible sky map if Dark Matter indirectly produces radiation through rare interactions.
13.04.2025
We are excited to announce that Dr. Lukas Merten has been appointed as a new PI at our CRC.
Lukas is a postdoc currently at RUB but will move to University of Wuppertal in January 2026 and works on modelling the propagation of cosmic rays. In the CRC he is in particular interested in the transition between Galactic and extra-galactic sources.
Within the A3 project he will take a closer look at the role of super-bubbles in accelerating cosmic rays. Can they reach the energy limit to explain the highest energetic Galactic cosmic rays around the so called knee? And if so, do they produce any signatures in neutral secondaries that can be measured with current or upcoming observatories?
As one of the coordinators of the open-source simulation framework CRPropa he will work closely together with other projects to improve the numerical tools used in CIM and make them available for the broader scientific community.
09.04.2025
As part of his PhD project, Sam Taziaux spent two months at the renowned CSIRO Institute in Perth, Australia. There he worked closely with George Heald, head of the SKAO headquarters in Perth, and Alec Thomson, both internationally recognised experts in the field of radio astronomy and the analysis of magnetic fields.
Sam's research project, which is part of A2, is dedicated to analysing cosmic ray transport and magnetic fields in dwarf galaxies. At CSIRO, he was able to benefit from the exceptional expertise there and was able to significantly improve the data reduction and analysis of his observed ATCA and MeerKAT data.
The stay was not only a great professional enhancement for Sam, but also a significant milestone in his scientific career, as he was able to get to know and work with the people from the CSIRO and SKAO. He was also able to establish contacts with the scientist at Curtin University in Perth to exchange ideas and expand his network.
Such research stays are excellent opportunities enabled by the CRC to specifically promote international cooperation. The CRC has thus opened up a unique opportunity to become involved in a global scientific network at an early stage, an invaluable advantage on the path to scientific independence.
Picture: Sam Taziaux and his supervisor Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar at the SKAO regional center at CSIRO, Perth.
11.03.2025
On March 1, 2025, our spokesperson Prof. Julia Tjus became affiliated professor at the Department of Space, Earth and Environment at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. This honor recognizes her long-standing connection to the Swedish university.
The collaboration is particularly fruitful as Julia’s expertise in high-energy astrophysics perfectly complements the extensive experience of researchers at Chalmers University in measuring and analyzing low-energy radiation.
This synergy allows for deeper insights into extreme cosmic events such as supernova explosions and active galactic nuclei and thus for a better understanding of the origins and properties of cosmic rays.
The aim of the affiliated professorship is to intensify existing collaborations and initiate new projects, especially in connection with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
Read more
here and
here
Image: Prof. Susanne Aalto, Professor of Astronomy and Plasma Physics, Deputy President and Deputy CEO of Chalmers University of Technology and Prof. Julia Tjus (right) at Chalmers Campus.
10.03.2025
We are excited to announce that Dr. Christopher Riseley has been appointed as a new PI at our CRC.
Chris is a Junior Professor of Radio Astronomy at the Astronomical Institute of Ruhr-University Bochum (AIRUB). His research focuses on using radio telescopes worldwide to study clusters of galaxies. He aims to answer key scientific questions related to diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters, including canonical relics, haloes, and mini-haloes. Chris is also exploring the unique sources discovered by the precursor instruments for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).
Specializing in long-wavelength radio astronomy, Chris works extensively with data from the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR), the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), and the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa.
In the coming years Chris will use these instruments to explore galaxy groups, understanding the interplay between galaxies and their environments. Within the CRC, Chris will apply his radio astronomy expertise to studying the rich physics of dwarf galaxies and nearby galaxies in these environments, answering questions related to dark matter, Cosmic Rays, galaxy evolution, and feedback mechanisms.
