Index

Tamás Gál

Dr. Kay Graf

Research

My research focuses on the area of neutrino astronomy, trying to understand the sources of Cosmic Rays and the highest-energetic processes in the universe. This is performed as member of the KM3NeT and ANTARES collaborations; both neutrino detectors in the Mediterranean deep sea.

Within the KM3NeT collaboration, I am coordinating the computing and software working group and am – in  this function – member of the project’s steering committee since 2013. During his term as chair of the KM3NeT Institute board, I substitute Uli Katz representing ECAP in the board. In addition, I am general manager of ECAP and the Physics Institute at the Friedrich-Alexander University.

Curriculum Vitae

Awards and Grants:

  • 2006-2008
    grant for PhD thesis from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
  • 2005
    Ohm-award of the  Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nünberg und Helmholtz-Young-Scientist award in astro particle physics for the best diploma thesis of this year
  • 1998
    medal of honour (Ehrenmedaille) of the german army (Bundeswehr)

Publications

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

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PD Dr. Albert Lehmann

Dr. Jürgen Hößl

Prof. Dr. Christopher van Eldik

Research

Gamma-ray astronomy with H.E.S.S., CTA and SWGO

I am working with the H.E.S.S. instrument, the currently leading experiment for very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. H.E.S.S. is an array of five imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and is located in the Khomas Highlands of Namibia. H.E.S.S. detects gamma-rays with an energy of larger than 50 GeV: although the atmosphere of the earth is opaque to photons of such high energy, they can be detected from ground because when absorbed in the atmosphere gamma-rays produce Cherenkov light. With 100 square-metre mirrors on the four small H.E.S.S. telescopes and the 600 square-metre mirror of the large H.E.S.S. telescope, this Cherenkov light is collected and recorded by very sensitive cameras.

Gamma-ray astronomy explores the sky with photons of energies at least a million times higher than the energy of visible light. As opposed to the photons of visible light, which are mainly emitted by the hot surfaces of stars, photons of gamma-ray energies cannot be produced by thermal processes. There is simply no celestial body hot enough to emit photons of gamma-ray energies. Instead, acceleration processes are believed to be taking place in some of the most violent places of the universe, such as in active galactic nuclei or remnants of star explosions. Charged particles like electrons, positrons, protons or atomic nuclei are believed to be accelerated in such sources to very high energies.

Gamma-ray astronomy is a most valuable tool to make the sites of acceleration visible and to study the physics processes that take place in these sources. On their way to earth charged particles get significantly deflected by the galactic magnetic field, and therefore do not point back to their production origin. Instead, neutral gamma-rays, produced in interactions of the accelerated particles with magnetic fields, photons, or intergalactic gas, travel on a straight path to earth. Therefore, their direction of origin points back to where they got produced, which is often close to the accelerators of the charged particles.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA will become the successor of the currently operating ground-based gamma-ray instruments. With about 150 telescopes, it will allow for a 10 times better sensitivity to gamma rays as H.E.S.S. at TeV energies, while extending the energy coverage to a range starting from several 10 GeV to more than 100 TeV.

Bachelor and Master Thesis projects

If you are interested in working in our group on hardware, software or analysis-related opportunities, please get in contact with me.

Proposals for Bachelor’s and Master’s thesis topics (last update: 06/2023)

Academic Background

since 09/2011
Professor for Experimental Physics at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)

10/2010-02/2011
Visiting Professor at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

01/2005-08/2011
Postdoctoral Research Associate at MPI für Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany

01/2000-12/2004
Postdoc and PhD studies at DESY, Hamburg, Germany, and Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany

Academic Community Work

Mentor in the Ariadne Mentoring Program of the FAU

Dean of Study Affairs of the Physics Department (FAU)

Executive Board member of the Physics Department (FAU)
Executive Board member of the Institute of Physics (FAU)
Executive Board member of ECAP

Scientific Community Work

Reviewer and Tutor for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Reviewer for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Editor of Proc. Sci. Texas 2010 Symposium
Referee for Astroparticle Physics
Referee for The Astrophysical Journal
Referee for Nuclear Instruments and Methods A

Co-Organiser of the Gamma 2008 symposium
Co-Organiser of the Texas 2010 symposium
Co-Organiser of the IAU symposium SED 2011
Co-Organiser of the HAP Workshop Non-thermal Universe
Co-Organiser of the International School for Astroparticle Physics

Current Projects

Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy with the H.E.S.S. Instrument
Member of the H.E.S.S. Collaboration

Interests

  • Gamma-ray emission from the Galactic Centre region
  • Hunt for the sources of (Galactic) Cosmic Rays
  • Search for gamma-ray signals from Dark Matter annihilations
  • Machine learning techniques for gamma-ray analysis
  • Statistical methods in (astro-)particle physics

Duties

  • Deputy Director of H.E.S.S. (2016-2019)
  • Member of the H.E.S.S. Executive Board (2013-2019)
  • Member of the H.E.S.S. Observation Time Allocation Committee (2013-2019)
  • Member of the H.E.S.S. Collaboration Board (since 2011)
  • Convener of the H.E.S.S. Analysis and Reconstruction Working Group (2013-2016)

Design and Preparation of the CTA Observatory
Member of the CTA Consortium

Interests

  • Hunt for the sources of (Galactic) Cosmic Rays
  • Gamma-ray astrophysics of the Galactic Centre region
  • Searches for Dark Matter in the Galactic Centre Halo

Commitments

  • Development of a compact mass testing facility for CTA mirror tiles
  • Development of a system to calibrate the MST telescope pointing

Design and Preparation of the SWGO Observatory
Member of the SWGO Collaboration

Dr. Robert Lahmann

Research Activities

I am currently a member of the ANTARES and KM3NeT collaborations (optical neutrino telescopes) and of the ARIANNA and RNO-G collaborations (radio neutrino detection). My prime research topic is the detection of ultra-high-energy (UHE, E > 1017 eV) neutrinos. I was principal investigator of acoustic neutrino detection in ANTARES .  My focus has shifted in the meantime to radio detection of UHE neutrinos.

Priviously, I worked in high energy physics on the OPAL experiment at CERN and the H1 experiment at DESY.

Professional Record

since 07/2024 außerplanmäßiger Professor Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
08/2018 – 09/2019 Visiting Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of California, Irvine
since 03/2012 Assistant Professor (Privatdozent), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
since 10/2003 Staff Scientist (Akademischer Rat), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, tenured since 06/2008
05/2000 – 09/2003 Development Engineer for electronic restraint systems (airbags), Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart
09/1996 – 04/2000 Fellow, DESY, Hamburg
01/1992 – 10/1996 Research Assistant, University of Maryland at College Park

Academic Record

Selected Publications

  • R. Lahmann, Investigations of ice and emitter properties from radio signals recorded with ARIANNA, in: Proceedings of the 36th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2019), Madison, WI, USA, July 24 – Aug. 1, PoS ICRC2019 (2020), 939 (article on journal server)
  • C. Glaser et al., NuRadioReco: A reconstruction framework for radio neutrino detectors, Eur. Phys. J. C 79 (2019) no.6, 464 (article on journal server), (article on arXiv)
  • S. W. Barwick et al., Observation of classically ‘forbidden’ electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection, JCAP 07 (2018) 055 (article on journal server), (article on arXiv)
  • R. Lahmann et al., Thermo-acoustic sound generation in the interaction of pulsed proton and laser beams with a water target, Astropart. Phys. 65 (2015) p. 69 ( article on journal server), (article on arXiv)
  • J.A. Aguilar et al. (ANTARES Collaboration), AMADEUS – The acoustic neutrino detection test system of the ANTARES Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescope, Nucl. Inst. and Meth. A 626-627 (2011) p. 128 ( article on journal server), (article on arXiv)
  • C. Richardt et al., Reconstruction methods for acoustic particle detection in the deep sea using clusters of hydrophones, Astropart. Phys. 31 (2009), p. 19 (article on journal server)
  • G. Anton et al., Study of piezo based sensors for acoustic particle detection, Astropart. Phys. 26 (2006), p. 301 (article on journal server)

List of my publications with the RNO-G collaboration on inSPIRE
List of my publications with the ARIANNA collaboration on inSPIRE
List of my publications with the KM3NeT collaboration on inSPIRE
List of my publications with the ANTARES collaboration on inSPIRE
List of my publications with the H1 collaboration on inSPIRE
List of my publications with the OPAL collaboration on inSPIRE

Recent Conference and Seminar Talks

Icon png   2019-07-ICRC2019_lahmann_talk_NU11h  (3.9 MB)

36th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2019), Madison, WI (USA), July 2019: "Investigations of ice and emitter properties from radio signals recorded with ARIANNA"


Icon png   2019-04-18_Scripps_seminar  (10.5 MB)

Seminar talk at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego (USA) April 2019: "Acoustic detection of neutrinos"


Icon png   2018-06_ARENA2018_acoustic_history_lahmann  (9.4 MB)

8th International Workshop on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Detection Activities (ARENA 2018), Catania (Italy): "History of acoustic neutrino detection" (invited talk)


Icon png   2011-10-VLVnT2011_lahmann  (9.6 MB)

5th International Workshop on Very Large Neutrino Telescopes (VLVnT 2011), Erlangen (Germany), Oct. 2011: "Neutrino Detection, Position Calibration and Marine Science with Acoustic Arrays in the Deep Sea" (invited talk)


Patents

Triggers and firing decisions do not only matter in experimental particle physics. I am principal inventor or co-inventor of several patents for the Robert Bosch GmbH concerning electronic restraint systems. Here you can find a selection.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Funk