Astronomy

The mission of the PhD in Astronomy is to train research staff for University, research bodies, organisations for ground-based or space research, and industry.

The PhD Course in Astronomy has been active since Cycle 1. The University of Padua is the only national academic institution able to offer independently all three levels of university education in Astronomy (Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree and PhD), continuing a centuries-old tradition.

Course objectives

The PhD Course in Astronomy aims to develop:

a) skills to carry out उत्कृष्ट research activity in planetary, stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology and high-energy astrophysics, gravitational waves, and astroparticles;

b) technological skills for the design and development of astronomical instrumentation for ground-based and space-based observations, which may also enable entry into the optics, optomechanics, electronics and IT industries, as well as industries involved in the development and construction of astronomical instrumentation for ground-based and space-based observations;

c) skills for carrying out teaching activity at university level for teaching astronomical and astrophysical subjects.

The aim of the Course is to train highly qualified research personnel to be employed in Universities (Italian or foreign), national research bodies (ASI, INAF, INFN, CNR etc.) as well as international agencies (ESA, ESO, NASA, etc.) responsible for the development of astronomical research from the ground or from space, or in private industries involved in the development of astronomical instrumentation and software.

Important is the synergy with INAF, with which there is a specific agreement within the framework of the PhD, and whose task is the management of astronomical observatories and research and instrumentation development projects within international collaborations.

Training activities

The training includes courses organised specifically for the PhD. In particular, each PhD student, within the three years, must have attended:

1. At least four specialist courses (16 hours, 2CFU, with a final assessment) chosen from the 8–10 offered each year;
2. At least 3 monographic courses of 10 hours, chosen from the 8–10 offered each year, typically taught by external visiting professors, including from abroad (courses offered by foreign lecturers are typically made compulsory by the coordinator);
3. Two international PhD schools dealing with astrophysical topics, each lasting at least one week. Participation in these schools is partially covered by the PhD’s operating funds.

The school also offers a specific course in scientific project management. From the first year, PhD students take part, including as principal proposers, in preparing applications for observing time on the major national and international telescopes (both ground-based and space-based) and/or in applying for computing resources. PhD students are encouraged to attend specific courses on applications for funding for European projects. They take part in drafting funding applications for their research groups. PhD students are required to attend the weekly Journal Club (from October to June), where each individual PhD student presents (in English, on average at least twice over the course of a year) to colleagues and lecturers an article recently published in peer-reviewed journals on astrophysical research topics. Every year, all PhD students must give a public seminar (in English) to present their research results. PhD students are encouraged to participate in international meetings and to present the results of their research. PhD students are encouraged to write scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals to present their results. All training and research activities of the PhD course in Astronomy are carried out in English.

Research areas

The main research areas currently pursued within the training plan (both in terms of thesis opportunities and specific PhD courses) of the PhD Course in Astronomy are:

1. Solar System: observations (from Earth and from space) and direct exploration (with probes) of the Solar System: planets, asteroids, comets, with participation in the main space projects of the European Space Agency and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana: BepiColombo, Exomars, JUICE, DART(NASA), MRO (NASA), PROSPECT (ESA RUSSIA)
2. Exoplanets: search for and characterisation (both with ground-based and space-based instrumentation) of exoplanets: search for new exoplanets and extrasolar planetary systems, characterisation (mass, radius, density, orbital parameters), study of their atmospheres, astrobiology. Direct participation in the design, construction and scientific use of the space projects CHEOPS (ESA), PLATO (ESA) and ARIEL (ESA), and in the projects HARPS-N@TNG (INAF), SPHERE@VLT (ESO), SHARK@LBT (INAF) and HIRES@ELT (ESO).
3. Stars: models of stellar structure and evolution, observations (photometric, spectroscopic and astrometric) of stellar populations in star clusters, in the disc and bulge of the Galaxy and in nearby galaxies, novae, supernovae. Participation in the exploitation of scientific data from the Gaia satellite (ESA).
4. Compact objects: theory and observations, formation of compact objects, including in binaries. Formation of massive black holes.
5. Milky Way: structure, kinematics, metallicity, star-forming regions, properties of the Galactic bulge, disc and halo.
6. Magellanic Clouds: photometric, spectroscopic and astrometric study of their stellar population and of the stellar population in their clusters
7. Galaxies: structure, kinematics, stellar populations, dynamics
8. Active galaxies: active galactic nuclei, quasars, blazars.
9. Galaxy clusters: structure, formation, evolution, haloes.
10. Cosmology: observational cosmology at low and high redshift, cosmic microwave background, reionisation, formation of cosmic structures, dark matter, dark energy, theoretical cosmology. Participation in the exploitation of scientific data from the EUCLID satellite (ESA).
11. High-energy astrophysics.
12. Astroparticles. Direct participation in the construction and exploitation of scientific data from the CTA project (international).
13. Gravitational waves: formation of gravitational waves, dynamics of the collision of massive black holes and consequent emission of gravitational waves.
14. Fundamental physics through the study of cosmic rays.
15. Technology: design, development and construction of astronomical instrumentation for ground-based and space-based telescopes.
16. History of Physics and Astronomy.
17. Outreach (Astronomy).

Professional profile

The main employment sector for PhD graduates in Astronomy remains research at Universities and public research bodies (Italian or foreign), as also shown by the career paths of our PhD students: in the latest survey carried out by us (February 2019, including PhD graduates up to the XXIX cycle), it emerged that 76% (144 out of 190) of our PhD graduates remained in academia or research in various roles (from post-doc to full professor, in Italy or abroad), and none is unemployed.

Specifically, the potential career opportunities of the PhD in Astronomy are:

• research and teaching activities in Universities;
• research activities in research bodies (national/international) and in industry;
• start-up activities and consolidation of industrial enterprises;
• activities in the software development sector;
• research and development activities in private and public organisations for the management of large databases;
• analysis and forecasting of complex systems in public bodies and private industries;
• more generally, activities in research, innovation, training, production, forecasting and prevention in the tertiary and advanced tertiary sectors;
• work as an astronomical observatory or laboratory technician;
• activities in scientific publishing;
• outreach activities in planetariums and centres for the dissemination of Astronomy and via the web;
• teaching activities in secondary schools.

• Calls and rankings
• Administrative information
• Guide to the PhD
• Opinions of PhD students and graduates

Syllabus

Astronomy

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY "GALILEO GALILEI" - DFA

Via Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padua

Giovanni Carraro (coordinator)

giovanni.carraro@unipd.it

Administrative contacts
segreteriadidattica.astronomia@unipd.it