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Astrophysics, Cosmology, Gravitation

Astrophysics, Cosmology, Gravitation

The Universe is all of space and time and its content, including stars, galaxies, black holes, the vacuum, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitation (ACG) group studies the physics of the Universe, from observations of astrophysical and cosmological phenomena, to the theories that describe it, but it also poses more fundamental questions related to the force of gravity. 

In particular, we in the ACG group investigate the evolution of the Universe from its earliest to its latest stages, i.e., an origin of primordial fluctuations, formation of structures and the current cosmic acceleration. This includes a study of relevant astrophysical processes, such as the intergalactic medium, the formation and evolution of galaxies, gravitational waves and the large-scale structure of the Universe; while at the fundamental level, we explore alternative theories of gravity that could help to understand a possible quantum nature of the gravitational interaction, and whose applications can be found in the cosmological context as well as in black hole physics and holography.

Faculty members

María Argudo Fernández

Research Associate

PhD in Astrophysics, University of Granada (Spain, 2013)

Research interest: Extragalactic astrophysics, galaxy formation and evolution, interacting galaxies, effects of the environment on galaxy evolution, star formation in galaxies

   32 227 4879

   maria.argudo at pucv.cl

Dumitru Astefanesei

Associate Professor

PhD in PhysicsMcGill University (Canada, 2005)

Research interest: Gravitation, black hole physics, holography

   32 227 4888

   dumitru.astefanesei at pucv.cl

Radouane Gannouji

Associate Profesor

PhD in PhysicsUniversity of Montpellier (France, 2008)

Research interest: Cosmology, Gravitation

   32 227 4899

   radouane.gannouji at pucv.cl

Raphael Gobat

Research Associate

PhD in Astrophysics, Ludwig Maximilians University (Germany, 2009)

Research interest: Extragalactic astrophysics, clusters of galaxies

   32 227 4896

   raphael.gobat at pucv.cl

Ramón Herrera

Full Professor

PhD in Physics, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (Chile, 2004)

Research interest: Theoretical Cosmology, Inflation, Dark Energy

   32 227 4903

   ramon.herrera at pucv.cl

Samuel Lepe

Emeritus

PhD in Physics, University of Santiago, Chile (Chile, 2001)

Research interest: Cosmology

   32 227 4881

   samuel.lepe at pucv.cl

Olivera Mišković

Full Professor

PhD in Physics, University of Santiago, Chile (Chile, 2004)

Research interest: Gravitation, (super)gravity theories, black hole physics, gauge/gravity duality, holography

   32 227 4885

   olivera.miskovic at pucv.cl

Ayan Mukhopadhyay

Research Associate

PhD in PhysicsHarish Chandra Research Institute (India, 2010)

Research interest: Quantum Field Theory and String Theory, Classical and Quantum Black Holes, Quantum Information Theory, Quantum Many-Body Systems

   32 227 4879

 ayan.mukhopadhyay at pucv.cl

Jorge Noreña

Assistant Professor

PhD in Physics, International School for Advanced Studies (Italy, 2010)

Research interest: Cosmology, inflation, large-scale structure

   32 227 4897

   jorge.norena at pucv.cl

Joel Saavedra

Full Professor

PhD in PhysicsUniversity of Santiago, Chile (Chile, 2002)

Research interest: Gravitation

   32 227 4894

   joel.saavedra at pucv.cl

Cristóbal Sifón

Research Associate

PhD in Astrophysics, Leiden University (Netherlands, 2016)

Research interest: Extragalactic astrophysics and observational cosmology, cosmic radiation background, galaxy clusters

   32 227 4698

   cristobal.sifon at pucv.cl

Nicolás Tejos

Associate Professor

PhD in Astrophysics, Durham University (England, 2014)

Research interest: Extragalactic astrophysics, intergalactic medium, large-scale structure, fast radio bursts, circumgalactic medium, galaxy evolution

   32 227 4900

   nicolas.tejos at pucv.cl

Nelson Videla

Assistant Professor

PhD in Physics, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (Chile, 2014)

Research interest: Theoretical cosmology, inflation

   32 227 2841

   nelson.videla at pucv.cl

Postdoctoral researchers

Ilya Khrykin

PhD in AstronomyHeidelberg University (Germany, 2016)

Research interest: Quasars, supermassive black holes, galaxy evolution intergalactic and circumgalactic medium, epoch of reionization (hydrogen and helium) Fast Radio Bursts, missing baryons

Sponsoring researcher: Nicolás Tejos

   32 227 4621

   ilya.khrykin at pucv.cl

Yolbeiker Rodríguez Baez

PhD in Physics, Federico Santa María Technical University (Chile, 2022)

Research interest: Gravitational collapse, black hole perturbations, gravitational waves

Sponsoring researcher: Olivera Mišković

   32 227 4621

   yolbeiker.rodriguez at pucv.cl

Former postdoctoral researchers

PhD students

Romina Ballesteros

Thesis advisor: Dumitru Astefanesei

Carla Bernal

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Paulina Cabrera

Thesis advisor: Dumitru Astefanesei

Karen Martinez

Thesis advisor: Nicolás Tejos

Nicolas Pinochet

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Francisca Ramírez

Thesis advisor: Vladimir Juricic (UTFSM), Thesis co-advisor: Olivera Mišković

Carlos Ríos

Thesis advisor: Ramón Herrera

Marcelo Rozas

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Alejandro Varas

Thesis advisor: Olivera Mišković

Romina Ballesteros

Thesis advisor: Dumitru Astefanesei

Carla Bernal

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Paulina Cabrera

Thesis advisor: Dumitru Astefanesei

Karen Martinez

Thesis advisor: Nicolás Tejos

Nicolas Pinochet

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Francisca Ramírez

Thesis advisor: Vladimir Juricic (UTFSM), Thesis co-advisor: Olivera Mišković

Carlos Ríos

Thesis advisor: Ramón Herrera

Marcelo Rozas

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Alejandro Varas

Thesis advisor: Olivera Mišković

Former PhD students

Master students

Jean Báez

Thesis advisor: Ramón Herrera

Lucas Bernales

Thesis advisor: Nicolás Tejos

Andrés Castillo

Thesis advisor: Nicolás Tejos

Claudio Cofré

Thesis advisor: Ramón Herrera

Alejandro Guzman

Thesis advisor: Radouane Gannouji

Oriana Labrin

Thesis advisor: Olivera Mišković, Thesis co-advisor: Hernan González (USS)

Daniel Lisperguier

Thesis advisor: Nicolás Tejos

Former master students