PHY592A - Astrophysique et cosmologie (2023-2024)

Contacts:

Frédéric Daigne - Tel: 01 44 32 81 89 / E-mail: daigne@iap.fr
Alain Lecavelier des Etangs - Tel: 01 44 32 80 77 / E-mail: lecaveli@iap.fr

The PHY592A "Astrophysics and Cosmology" research internship aims to introduce students to the scientific community that explores our Universe, near or far, starting with the Earth and its environment. These internships are intended not only for students wishing to enter the world of research, but also for those who, out of curiosity and before choosing a different path, would like to learn more about the fascinating subjects that are at the heart of this field of fundamental and applied research.

Students who wish to do their internship in the field of "Space Physics and Astrophysics" should preferably contact Pascal Chabert (pascal.chabert@lpp.polytechnique.fr) : option PHY593B

In Astrophysics (and Cosmology), the range of activities is extremely wide: from the development of a detector that will be placed on a ground-based instrument or in space, to the analytical calculations on paper of the theorist, through the analysis of images or spectra from a telescope or the use of numerical simulations. Every student will therefore have no difficulty in choosing an activity profile corresponding to his or her personal tastes.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of research topics that are particularly active today:

1. Astronomical instrumentation (development and design of new instruments in spectroscopy, polarimetry, imaging, interferometry...)
2. Extrasolar planets;
3. Asteroseismology (study of the interior of stars by the analysis of their surface vibrations);
4. Compact objects and high energy astrophysics (neutron stars and black holes, active galactic nuclei, accretion disks and jets, gravitational waves...) ;
5. Interstellar medium and star formation;
6. Observational cosmology (formation and evolution of galaxies and clusters, cosmological background radiation, gravitational lenses...)
7. Theoretical cosmology (inflation models, nature of dark energy, nature of dark matter...). On these subjects, it is advisable to discuss with the professors n charge beforehand to see if the internship falls under PHY592A or PHY591.

Internships can be done in a laboratory in the Paris area (for example the Astroparticles and Cosmology laboratory, the Astrophysics Department and the Particle Physics Department of the CEA in Saclay, the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale in Orsay, or the laboratories of the Paris Observatory) or in the French provinces (see the list below)

There are also a limited number of internships abroad. It is recommended to contact as soon as possible the professors in charge of PHY592A to discuss it.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of astrophysics or cosmology laboratories in France:
– APC (Astroparticules et Cosmologie), Paris: www.apc-p7.org
– CRAL (Centre de Recherche Astronomique de Lyon), Lyon: www-obs.univ-lyon1.fr
– IAP (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris ), Paris: www.iap.fr
– IAS (Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale), Orsay: www.ias.u-psud.fr
– IPht (Institut de Physique Théorique) du CEA, Saclay: ipht.cea.fr
– IRFU ( Institut de Recherche sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers) du CEA, saclay: irfu.cea.fr
– LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille), Marseille: www.lam.oamp.fr
– Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie, Grenoble: Ipsc.in2p3.fr
– Observatoire de Haute-Provence: www.obs-hp.fr
– Observatoire de Midi-Pyrénées: www.obs-mip.fr
– Observatoire de Paris: www.obspm.fr
– Observatoire de Strasbourg: astro.unistra.fr

Course language: French/English