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

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Research Themes

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.

Dark Energy

We use the boundary between cosmic structures and the expanding Universe to probe the effect of dark energy on structure formation. Dark energy fights against gravity that tries to accrete more matter onto galaxy clusters, quenching their growth. In a Universe with dark energy, the largest cosmic structures should already be inching towards their ultimate size.

Dark Matter

Over 80% of the matter in the universe remains stubbornly dark. What is it made of? Why haven't we detected the particle yet? What astrophysical probes can best constrain its properties? Our group tries to bring together high-energy physicists and astrophysicists in active conversation to corner the most elusive criminal yet in cosmological research.

Cosmic Rays

We study ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, the highest-energy particles in the Universe, with three primary questions in mind:

Can we identify at least one likely nearby source of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays?
Can we determine the composition of the highest-energy particles (protons or heavier nuclei), without reference to particle physics models?
What will we be able to learn about the astrophysics of the systems that accelerate the highest energy particles, when the first source is found?

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 combining optopolarimetric, radio, and gamma-ray observations, as well as population models to understand their statistical properties.

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