International Summer Student Internships (ISSI)
in
Astronomical Observatory (AO) of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków
Projects proposed for the summer 2022
- Statistical analysis of the variability of Active Galactic Nuclei
Supervisor: Dr Volodymyr Marchenko
Accretion disks and relativistic jets in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are known for
their multi-wavelength variable emission, ranging from radio frequencies to very
high-energy gamma-rays, and spanning the variability timescales from minutes to
years and decades. The goal of this project is to perform the basic statistical
(Fourier) analysis of the AGN variability at X-ray frequencies for the selected
targets, followed by a more sophisticated modeling in the time domain with with
auto-regressive models.
- Extended radio emission associated with AGNs –
searching for traces of former jet realignment
Supervisor: Dr Urszula Pajdosz-Smierciak
Blazars are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) observed at small viewing angle to
the observer's line of sight, hence most of them are point-like or at least
compact sources in the radio regime. High-dynamic radio imaging of these
objects at low radio frequencies sometimes reveals the presence of extended
emission, interpreted as the lobes propagating almost directly towards the
Earth. There are, however, rare cases of blazars which extended morphologies
are interpreted in the framework of an episodic jet activity with a
reorientation of the jet axis. With such, we may trace former AGN activity
phase.
The aim of this project is to find another candidates for sources of this kind,
derive their physical parameters and study possible jet reorientation scenarios.
It will also be possible to reduce and calibrate raw archival radio data using
CASA and/or AIPS softwares (including i.a. the SPAM pipeline) and prepare
proposals for dedicated observations of some promising sources.
In the future, the results may be included in the publication that will be
submitted to one of the leading astronomical journals.
The student will learn:
- basics physics of AGNs and their possible reorientation mechanisms;
- the analysis of radio images from different instruments using AIPS or CASA
softwares supplemented with DS9 (and possibly - raw radio data reduction,
calibration and imaging).
Requirements:
- general knowledge of astronomy;
- basic knowledge of radio astronomy (AIPS, CASA and DS9 knowledge will be a
big advantage but not necessary).
The project is intended for one or at most two students.
- Against all odds: investigating the
one-sided extended radio sources from the ROGUE I catalog
Supervisor: Dr hab. Arti Goyal
The theory of the formation of classical (double-lobed) radio sources with
sizes ranging from parsec to mega-parsec scales mandates the presence of radio
lobes on both sides of the optical host galaxy. The Radio sources associated
with Optical Galaxies and having Unresolved and Extended morphologies I (ROGUE
I) catalog lists the optical and radio morphologies of 32,616 radio sources
classified through visual identification. This catalog is the largest of its
kind that uses the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical maps, Faint Images
of Radio Sky at Twenty cm (FIRST), and NRAO Sky Survey (NVSS) radio maps to
ascertain the respective morphologies. In this study, approximately 2,500
sources are found to have extended radio morphologies. Surprisingly, about 500
of them have extended radio-emitting lobe ONLY on one side of the optical host
galaxy. This project aims to explore the nature of these sources.
In this project, we will use more sensitive and better angular resolution LOFAR
maps at 150 MHz, and the recently released VLA Sky Survey (VLASS) maps at 3 GHz
to confirm the single-sided lobe of these sources. In addition, we will use
optical emission-line diagnostics to measure the black hole mass, disk
luminosity, etc. Finally, these quantities will be compared with similar size
classical double radio sources.
Within the scope of this project, the student will learn:
1. strengths and weaknesses of sky survey programs conducted at different
wavebands and how to use them to our advantage.
2. cross-matching techniques to identify sources from different survey catalogs.
3. understanding the fundamental physics of radio source formation and
evolution.
This project is intended for one or at most two students. Basic knowledge of
programming is desired. Depending on the project's outcome, there is a
possibility of publishing the results in an international journal. More
information about the ROGUE project is available at http://rogue.oa.uj.edu.pl/
- Physics of relativistic jets in Active Galactic Nuclei
Supervisor: Dr hab. Lukasz Stawarz, prof UJ
Relativistic jets in Active Galactic Nuclei are highly magnetized beams of
ultra-relativistic particles launched from the closest vicinities of supermassive
black holes present at galaxy centers. The most powerful of such reach
extra-galactic scales, and deposit the bulk of the energy they carry out in the form
of the particle flux and the Poynting flux, within the inter-galactic medium. The
main goal of this project is to analyze (by means of both analytical and numerical
methods) a set of relatively basic MHD models for the internal structure of such
jets, as well as for their interactions with the inter-galactic medium.
International Summer Student Internships (ISSI) in Astronomical Observatory (AO) of
the Jagiellonian University in Kraków AO JU invites applications of students
interested in carrying an astronomical research project in our Observatory,
supervised by the AO staff members.
The four week internship will be organized in the summer period (July), the time period for each project is provided in the project description.
All successful applicants will be granted a small fellowship and a place in a student house will be provided for his/her stay, however no support will be provided
for the travel expenses and health insurance. AO will accept up to 4 students for these internships. AO will sign a formal agreements with these students on providing
them financial support and accommodation for the internship period.
Applications will be accepted from students of astronomy, physics, and other studies providing a solid knowledge of physics and mathematics. Eligible for application
are only students who will finish before the time of the internship their second or higher year of study. Students from all countries of the world can submit application.
The currently planned dates are 4th (Monday) to 29st (Friday) of July 2022.
Application for any selected project should be submitted in an electronic form till the May, 10th
both to the ISSI secretary
ISSIsecretary [at] oa.uj.edu.pl
and to the person supervising the project.
The applicant should also provide information if he/she is interested in performing other projects (which ones) in the case he is not accepted for his favorite one.
The candidate evaluation will be done in AO by the evaluation panel and the results will be
announced to all candidates via e-mail before May 18th.
Each application should include:
- A letter with a statement of the applicant on his interest in the selected project. This letter can include information which another project from the
list could be accepted by the candidate, in the case he is not accepted for his first choice project.
- A certificate from his university about his/her study.
- A list of his/her lectures and exams passed, providing respective obtained grades and including an explanation of the grading rules. The list should be
certified by his/her university according to a given university rules.
- CV including eventual candidate's achievements and publications.
- Information (contact details) about a scientist who is ready to provide the candidate a reference letter. Only scientists with publication record in
international literature can be suggested.
The candidate evaluation will be done in AO by the evaluation panel and the results will be
announced to all candidates via e-mail before
May 18th.
All formalities related to the given internship should be arranged with the ISSI secretary ISSIsecretary [at] oa.uj.edu.pl,
with cc. the project supervisor. In particular the accepted candidates will obtain scans of the acceptance letters after a qualification process is completed
(on request a hard copy of such letter will be send by post). The accepted candidate should provide original forms of the electronic documents 2 and 3 to the ISSI
secretary before his/her internship agreement is signed.
How to reach the Observatory?
