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Astrophysics
Versión en español

The Astrophysics Group at PUCV works on a variety of topics in extragalactic astrophysics, including galaxy formation and evolution, the circumgalactic and intergalactic media, large-scale structure of the Universe, halo-galaxy connection, galaxy clusters, observational cosmology, high redshift Universe, active galactic nuclei, supermassive black holes, ultrarelativistic jets and radiative processes. Our researchers use multi-wavelength observations (radio, sub-mm, infra-red, optical, ultra-violet, X-rays, gamma-rays) to advance in our understanding of the Universe, leveraging the privileged access to international observing facilities based in Chile (e.g. VLT, ALMA, Gemini-South, Magellan, APEX, SOAR, ASTE, La Silla, CTIO, ACT, Simons Observatory, etc.), space-based facilities (e.g. HST, JWST, Fermi, Chandra). The Astrophysics Group also uses the university’s computing cluster in order to aid in the complex and data-intense analyses, including theoretical work.

International collaborations: Current international collaborations of members of the Astrophysics Group at PUCV include: ACT, ARCTOMO, CCAT, CLASH-VLT, CMB-S4, EHT, F^4, KiDS, LSST, M2FINDERS, RadioAstron, Simons Observatory, SDSS-V, and 4MOST. 

Teaching: At the undergrad level the Astrophysics Group at PUCV offers a BSc in Physics with a minor in Astronomy. At the graduate level, the group offers courses and thesis topics in both: our M.Sc. in Physics program and our Ph.D. in Physical Sciences program (a joint program between PUCV and USM). At PUCV, our researchers and students have direct access to a 0.5m optical telescope located in El Sauce Observatory (near Cerro Tololo) as well as the IFIS Observatory located in Curauma.

Faculty and their specific research lines:

  • Prof. Raphael Gobat: extragalactic astrophysics, galaxy clusters and protoclusters, galaxy evolution, astrobiology
  • Prof. Mikhail Lisakov: astrophysics of jets, magnetic fields, supermassive black holes, active galactic nuclei
  • Prof. Cristóbal Sifón: galaxy clusters, galaxy evolution, observational cosmology, cosmic microwave background
  • Prof. Nicolas Tejos: extragalactic astrophysics, intergalactic medium, circumgalactic medium, large-scale structure, galaxy evolution, fast radio bursts

For contact information of our faculty, see https://fis.ucv.cl/nosotros/