Astronomy

The mission of the PhD in Astronomy is the training of research personnel for universities, research institutions, organizations for research from the ground or from space and for industries.

The PhD Course in Astronomy has been active since Cycle 1. The University of Padova is the only national academic institution able to independently offer all three levels of university training in Astronomy (First-cycle/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 research activities of excellence in planetary, stellar, galactic, extra-galactic astronomy, cosmology and high energy, gravitational waves, and astro-particles;

b) technological skills for the design and development of astronomical instrumentation for observations from the ground and from space and which can also allow the inclusion in industries of optics, optomechanics, electronics, computer science and in industries that deal with the development and construction of astronomical instrumentation for observations from the ground and from space;

c) skills for carrying out teaching activities at university level for the course unit of astronomical and astrophysical subjects.

The aim of the course is the training of highly qualified research personnel to be included in universities (Italian or foreign), in national research institutions (ASI, INAF, INFN, CNR etc.) as well as in 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.

The synergy with INAF is important, with which there is a specific agreement in the context of the PhD, and which has as its task the management of astronomical observatories and instrumentation research and development projects in the context of international collaborations.

Educational activities

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

1. At least four specialized courses (16 hours, 2 CFU, with final exam) to be chosen from the 8-10 offered each year;
2. At least 3 monographic courses of 10 hours, to be chosen from the 8-10 offered each year, typically carried out by external visiting professors, including foreigners (courses offered by foreigners are typically made compulsory by the coordinator);
3. Two international PhD schools dealing with astrophysical topics, lasting at least one week each. Participation in these schools is partially covered by the operating funds of the PhD.

The school also offers a specific course in scientific project management. From the first year, PhD students contribute, also as main proponents, to the preparation of requests for observing time to the major national and international telescopes (both ground-based and from space) and/or to the request for computing resources. PhD students are encouraged to follow specific courses for requests for funding on European projects. They participate in the formulation of funding applications by their research groups. PhD students are required to attend the Journal Club on a weekly basis (from October to June), where each individual PhD student presents (in English, on average at least twice in a year) to colleagues and professors an article recently published in refereed journals on astrophysical research topics. Every year, all PhD students are required to hold 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 stimulated to write scientific articles in refereed international journals for the presentation of their results. All training and research activities of the PhD course in Astronomy are carried out in English.

Research lines

The main lines of research currently pursued within the training plan (both as a dissertation offer and specific courses for the PhD) of the PhD Course in Astronomy are:

1. Solar System: observations (from Earth and 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 Italian Space Agency: BepiColombo, Exomars, JUICE, DART (NASA), MRO (NASA), PROSPECT (ESA RUSSIA)
2. Extrasolar planets: search and characterization (both with ground-based and space-based instrumentation) of extrasolar planets: search for new planets and extrasolar planetary systems, characterization (mass, radius, density, orbital parameters), study of their atmospheres, astrobiology. Direct participation in the design, construction and scientific use of the CHEOPS (ESA), PLATO (ESA) and ARIEL (ESA) space projects and in the HARPS-N@TNG (INAF), SPHERE@VLT (ESO), SHARK@LBT (INAF) and HIRES@ELT (ESO) projects.
3. Stars: models of stellar structure and evolution, observations (photometric, spectroscopic and astrometric) of stellar populations in star clusters, in the disk and bulge of the Galaxy and in nearby galaxies, novae, supernovae. Participation for the exploitation of the scientific data of the Gaia satellite (ESA).
4. Compact objects: theory and observations, formation of compact objects, also in binaries. Formation of massive black holes.
5. Milky Way: structure, kinematics, metal content, star-forming regions, properties of the bulge, disk and Galactic halo.
6. Magellanic Clouds: photometric, spectroscopic and astrometric study of their stellar population and 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, halos.
10. Cosmology: observational cosmology at low and high red-shift, cosmic microwave background, re-ionization, formation of cosmic structures, dark matter, dark energy, theoretical cosmology. Participation for the exploitation of the scientific data of the EUCLID satellite (ESA).
11. High energy astrophysics.
12. Astro-particles. Direct participation in the construction and exploitation of scientific data of the CTA (international) project.
13. Gravitational waves: formation of gravitational waves, dynamics of the collision of massive black holes and consequent emission of gravitational waves.
14. Fundamental physics from the study of cosmic rays.
15. Technology: design, development and construction of astronomical instrumentation for telescopes on the ground and in space.
16. History of Physics and Astronomy.
17. Outreach (Astronomy).

Professional profile

The main employment sector of the PhD in Astronomy remains that of research at universities and public research institutions (Italian or foreign), as also demonstrated by the work events of our PhD students: in the last survey we carried out (February 2019, including PhDs up to the XXIX cycle) it was found that 76% (144 out of 190) of our PhDs remained in the academic or research environment, in various capacities (from post-doc to full professor, in Italy or abroad) and no one is unemployed.

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

• research and teaching activities in universities;
• research activities in research institutions (national/international) and in industry;
• start-up activities and consolidation of industrial companies;
• activities in the world of software development;
• research and development activities in private and public bodies for the management of large databases;
• analysis and forecasting of complex systems in public bodies and private industries;
• more generally, research, innovation, training, production, forecasting and prevention activities in the tertiary and advanced tertiary sectors;
• activity of astronomical observatory or laboratory technician;
• activities in the world of scientific publishing;
• dissemination activities in planetariums and centers for the dissemination of astronomy and via the web;
• teaching activities in secondary schools.

• Calls for applications and rankings
• Administrative information
• PhD Guide
• Opinion of doctoral students, doctors

Syllabus

Astronomy

DEPARTMENT DI PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY "GALILEO GALILEI" - DFA

Via Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova

Giovanni Carraro (coordinator)

giovanni.carraro@unipd.it

Administrative contacts
segreteriadidattica.astronomia@unipd.it