Thesis

First-ever population studies of blazar in the TeV regime with Cherenkov telescope data

• Call:

  IDPASC Portugal - PHD Programme 2019

• Academic Year:

  2019 / 2020

• Domain:

  Astrophysics

• Supervisor:

  Michele Doro

• Co-Supervisor:

  Alessandro de Angelis

• Institution:

  Instituto Superior Técnico

• Host Institution:

  Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas

• Abstract:

  Ground-based Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes observe the sky in the TeV regime, with gamma rays produced during non-thermal events such as in astrophysical shocks or relativistic jets in active galaxies. These instruments collected so far more than 50 targets among the class of active galactic nuclei, specially Blazars, that are those whose relativistic jet points at us. The TeV emission probes the extreme regime where electrons populating the relativistic jet upscatter low-energy ambient photons via inverse Compton process. It is timely now to start perform comparative studies among these targets. This has not been fully attempted so far. The candidate will make use of MAGIC telescope data at first, working on the first public catalog of MAGIC targets, and later on comparing with other telescopes data as well as using Fermi-LAT public data. The work will be finally made in prospects of CTA, a project of state-of-art high-energy astrophysics. It is foreseen the successful candidate will share the working time between Portugal (2 years) and University of Padova (1 year) in order to achieve the Doctor Europaeus PhD title.