Crete High Energy Astrophysics and Cosmology Group
Welcome
to the High Energy Astrophysics and Cosmology group at the University of Crete
We are having fun trying to unlock the most stubborn secrets of the cosmos, in a resort island where the scientists are cheerful, the beaches wonderful, the food phenomenal, the sun brilliant, the mountains high, the goats happy, and the people hospitable.
Find out about our group.
Scroll down to read about our research themes
Find us at our research homes:
the University of Crete and IA-FORTH
Research Themes
Dark Energy
We use the largest possible non-expanding scale of cosmic structures to probe the effect of dark energy on structure formation. In contrast to usual observables (such as the Hubble expansion rate history) that measure the impact of dark energy on the Universe as a whole, the average density of structures on turnaround scales probes dark energy locally.
Active Galaxies
Supermassive black holes are known to power relativistic jets, which are responsible for some of the most spectacular phenomena in the Universe. We study these jets using optopolarimetric, radio, and gamma-ray observations, as well as population models to understand their statistical properties.
Galactic Magnetism
Mapping the magnetic field of the Galaxy with good accuracy would open the door to making unprecedented progress in fields ranging from the astrophysics and particle physics of the highest-energy particles known, to inflationary B-modes at the dawn of the Universe, to the mechanisms that mitigate the formation of stars. Our group is pursuing many different avenues to take local, tomographic measurements of the strength and direction of the magnetic field in interstellar clouds.
Cosmic Rays
We study ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, the highest-energy particles in the Universe, with three primary questions in mind:
Can we determine the composition of the highest-energy particles (protons or heavier nuclei) electromagnetically, without reference to particle physics models?
Can we identify at least one likely nearby source of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays?
What can we learn about the astrophysics of the systems that accelerate the highest energy particles, when the first source is found?