AIP

Welcome!

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is dedicated to astrophysical questions ranging from the exploration of our Sun to the evolution of the cosmos. It focuses on the study of stellar, solar and exoplanetary physics, extragalactic astrophysics and the development of research technologies in the fields of spectroscopy, robotic telescopes and E-science.

Image of a star cluster with stars marked in green, yellow and red on dark background; red ring at the top right

Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Désert leads new section ‘Exoplanets and their Atmospheres’

Im November 2025 übernahm Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Désert den Aufbau und die Leitung der Abteilung „Exoplaneten und ihre Atmosphären“ am AIP. Seine Forschung konzentriert sich auf die Bestimmung des Klimas und der chemischen Zusammensetzung der Atmosphäre ferner Welten, um Hinweise auf die Entstehung von Planeten und die mögliche Bewohnbarkeit von Exoplaneten zu finden.

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Shocked galaxy clusters: Unravelling the mysteries of radio relics

When galaxy clusters collide, huge shock waves are sent out. These energise electrons, giving rise to so-called ‘radio relics’ – vast structures that emit radio waves. By first observing how these shocks evolve and then replicating their evolution in high-resolution computer simulations, including end-to-end modelling of the radio emission, a research team lead by the Leibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has solved several long-standing problems that previously challenged our understanding of these phenomena.

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Discovery of a Planetary Nebula in a young Star Cluster

An international team of astronomers including scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) unexpectedly discovered a faint Planetary Nebula in the young star cluster NGC 1866 in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

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Research Area I: Stellar, Solar and Exoplanetary Physics

Cosmic events are determined by two natural forces: gravity and magnetic fields. The magnetic field research at the AIP is mainly focused on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, the magnetically induced activities on the Sun and the stars, solar coronaphysics as well as space weather in our solar system and on planets around other stars.

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Research Area II: Extragalactic Astrophysics

Galaxies are fundamental cosmic building blocks. At the largest scales, they serve as markers to study the distribution of matter in the universe - active galaxies and quasars are particularly important because of their intrinsic brightness. Nearby objects can be spatially resolved and consist of populations with very different patterns of motion, star formation histories and chemical abundances.

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Latest News

Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Désert leads new section ‘Exoplanets and their Atmospheres’

Nov. 17, 2025

In November 2025, Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Désert became head of the ‘Exoplanets and their Atmospheres’ section at AIP. His research focuses on determining the climates and atmospheric chemical compositions of distant worlds to uncover clues about planet formation and the potential habitability of exoplanets.

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Two colour images of a galaxy cluster arranged side by side, left: gas density, with bright (dense) center, right: dissipated energy with clearly visible arc-shaped structures (shock waves)

Shocked galaxy clusters: Unravelling the mysteries of radio relics

Nov. 14, 2025

When galaxy clusters collide, huge shock waves are sent out. These energise electrons, giving rise to so-called ‘radio relics’ – vast structures that emit radio waves. Using computer simulations, a research team lead by the Leibniz-Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has solved several long-standing problems that previously challenged our understanding of these phenomena.

[more]

Babelsberg Starry Nights Live on 18th November 2025

Nov. 12, 2025

In the dark season, the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) is once again inviting visitors to the popular Babelsberg Starry Nights. This event series is aimed at anyone interested in astronomy, regardless of prior knowledge. Researchers from the AIP will report on current topics and interesting projects from the world of astrophysics. On Tuesday, 18 November, Dr Axel Schwope will speak on ‘Cosmic Clocks’ – in German.

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[To all News]

Have you heard?

The Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) has suspended communication on its X account (formerly Twitter). The decision reflects concerns about the current direction of the platform, which is seen as inconsistent with our values like openness, scientific integrity, transparency and democratic discourse. AIP will continue to share news via its website and other social media platforms, such as Mastodon and Bluesky.

Latest Publications

The THESAN-ZOOM project: central starbursts and inside-out quenching govern galaxy sizes in the early Universe

McClymont, W., ... Puchwein, E., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 2, 1732 – Published December 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1861, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

Applying a star formation model calibrated on high-resolution interstellar medium simulations to cosmological simulations of galaxy formation

Burger, J. D., ... Weinberger, R.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 2, 1390 – Published December 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1720, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

MOGLI: Model for Multiphase Gas using Multifluid hydrodynamics

Das, H. K., Gronke, M., Weinberger, R.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1976, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

Ultra-Diffuse, Ultra-Different: Observed vs. Simulated Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies Live in Fundamentally Different Halos

Gannon, J. S., ... Libeskind, N., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1954, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmography and Large-Scale Structure

Serendipitous Discovery of a Faint Planetary Nebula in the Massive Young LMC Cluster NGC 1866

Bond, H. E., ... Niederhofer, F., Roth, M. M., Soemitro, A. A.

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 137, 11, 114202 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1088/1538-3873/ae1664, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Dwarf Galaxies and the Galactic Halo, Astrophotonics (innoFSPEC)

Dust-UV offsets in high-redshift galaxies in the Cosmic Dawn III simulation

Ocvirk, P., ... Sorce, J. G., ... Gottlöber, S., ...

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 703, A98 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452098, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

First large-scale spatial and velocity patterns of local metal-rich stars in the Milky Way

Kordopatis, G., ... Minchev, I., ...

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 703, A151 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202556657, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Differential rotation of solar α sunspots and implications for stellar light curves

Lößnitz, E. J., Pietrow, A. G. M., ... Verma, M., Kontogiannis, I., Balthasar, H., Denker, C., ...

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 703, A187 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202555654, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

A systematic search for orbital periods of polars with TESS: Methods, detection limits, and results

Hernández-Díaz, S., Stelzer, B., Schwope, A., Muñoz-Giraldo, D.

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 703, A166 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202554948, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: X-ray Astronomy

Revealing the chemical structure of the Magellanic Clouds with APOGEE. III. Abundance gradients of the Small Magellanic Cloud

Povick, J. T., ... Cioni, M.-R. L., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 1, 430 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2377, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Dwarf Galaxies and the Galactic Halo

The THESAN-ZOOM project: Population III star formation continues until the end of reionization

Zier, O., ... Puchwein, E., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 1, 410 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1053, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

The THESAN─ZOOM project: long-term imprints of external reionization on galaxy evolution

Zier, O., ... Puchwein, E., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 1, 391 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1052, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

A Preinfall Magellanic Analog─Corona and Stream Formation in the HESTIA Cosmological Simulations

Chisholm, R., ... Libeskind, N., ... Steinmetz, M.

The Astrophysical Journal, 993, 1, 67 – Published November 2025

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae0ccc, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmography and Large-Scale Structure

The THESAN-ZOOM project: burst, quench, repeat ─ unveiling the evolution of high-redshift galaxies along the star-forming main sequence

McClymont, W., ... Puchwein, E., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 1, 513 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1660, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

FOGGIE. X. Characterizing the Small-scale Structure of the Circumgalactic Medium and Its Imprint on Observables

Augustin, R. et al.

The Astrophysical Journal, 993, 1, 52 – Published November 2025

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae0462, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

High-redshift AGN population in radiation-hydrodynamics simulations

Bulichi, T.-E., ... Puchwein, E., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 1, 355 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1769, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

PEPSI investigation, retrieval, and atlas of numerous giant atmospheres (PIRANGA) ─ III. Composition and winds in the atmosphere of TOI-1518 b

Basinger, C., ... Ilyin, I., Strassmeier, K.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 543, 4, 4136 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1648, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: High-resolution Spectroscopy and Polarimetry, Stellar Activity

Revealing the chemical structure of the Magellanic Clouds with APOGEE. II. Abundance gradients of the Large Magellanic Cloud

Povick, J. T., ... Cioni, M.-R. L., ...

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 544, 1, 457 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1428, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Dwarf Galaxies and the Galactic Halo

Spatial Extent of the Magnetic Influence of an Active Region on the Solar Atmosphere

Mann, G., Schuller, F.

Astronomische Nachrichten, 346, 9, e70040 – Published November 2025

doi:10.1002/asna.70040, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

Alignment of spiral and elliptical galaxies from Siena Galaxy Atlas with filaments

Muralichandran, Y., Libeskind, N. I., Tempel, E.

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 703, A11 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202554113, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmography and Large-Scale Structure

The SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey: View of the Fornax galaxy cluster

Reiprich, T. H., ... Chaturvedi, A., ...

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 703, A9 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202554295, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

Multiscale cosmic curvature: From local structures to cosmology

Benisty, D.

Physical Review D, 112, 8, 083557 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1103/qsml-5dy9, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmography and Large-Scale Structure

Fermi-LAT Galactic Center Excess Morphology of Dark Matter in Simulations of the Milky Way Galaxy

Muru, M. M., Silk, J., Libeskind, N. I., Gottlöber, S., Hoffman, Y.

Physical Review Letters, 135, 16, 161005 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1103/g9qz-h8wd, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmography and Large-Scale Structure, Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

The HST Legacy Archival Uniform Reduction of Local Group Imaging (LAURELIN). I. Photometry and Star Formation Histories for 36 Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxies

Durbin, M. J., ... Sacchi, E., ...

The Astrophysical Journal, 992, 1, 106 – Published October 2025

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae00c8, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Supercomputing and E-Science

HST Proper Motions of Andromeda V and Andromeda VI

Casetti-Dinescu, D. I., Pawlowski, M. S., ... Kanehisa, K. J., ...

The Astrophysical Journal, 992, 1, 54 – Published October 2025

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae0479, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Dwarf Galaxies and the Galactic Halo

Radiometer calibration using machine learning

Leeney, S. A. K., ... Puchwein, E., ...

Scientific Reports, 15, 1, 34335 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1038/s41598-025-16732-9, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

Stars Born in the Wind: M82's Outflow and Halo Star Formation

Rao, V. V., ... de Jong, R. S., ...

The Astrophysical Journal, 992, 1, 13 – Published October 2025

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adfdce, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Correction: Bo\vsković's Spherical Trigonometric Solution for Determining the Axis and Rate of Solar Rotation by Observing Sunspots in 1777

Husak, M., ... Krajnović, D., ...

Solar Physics, 300, 10, 144 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1007/s11207-025-02542-9, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

Simulating the LOcal Web (SLOW): IV. Not all that is close will merge in the end: Superclusters and their Lagrangian collapse regions

Seidel, B. A., ... Sorce, J. G., ...

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 702, A243 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202453421, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics

Dwarf-dwarf interactions and their influence on star formation: Insights from post-merger galaxies

Chauhan, R., Subramanian, S., Kudari, D. A., Amrutha, S., Das, M.

Astronomy and Astrophysics, 702, A222 – Published October 2025

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202554437, NASA ADS

AIP sections/groups: Dwarf Galaxies and the Galactic Halo

[List of AIP publications] [AIP publications in ADS]

Events and dates at AIP

Observation evening in the Great Refractor

03.11.2025, 20:00 – 21:00

Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam. Prior registration required, see Observation Evenings.

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Special Seminar | Dr. Laura Keating (Edinburgh)

05.11.2025, 11:00 – 12:00

Scientific

Speaker: Dr. Laura Keating (Edinburgh)
Title: The Hidden Neighbours of Neutral Oxygen Absorbers during Reionization

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External Colloquium | Prof. Dr. Volker Springel (MPA)

06.11.2025, 14:30 – 15:30

Scientific

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Volker Springel (MPA)
Title: Supercomputer Simulations of the Universe

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Babelsberg Starry Night - Live at the campus babelsberg

18.11.2025, 19:15 – 21:00

Public Event

The AIP invites you to a live Babelsberg Starry Night at the Babelsberg campus:

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PUNCH4NFDI Annual Meeting 2025

19.11.2025, 8:00 – 20.11.2025, 14:00

Scientific

Annual, internal meeting of the PUNCH4NFDI Consortium, only for PUNCH4NFDI members and contributors.

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External Colloquium | Lise Christensen (Niels Bohr Institute)

27.11.2025, 14:30 – 15:30

Scientific

Speaker: Lise Christensen (Niels Bohr Institute)
Title: TBD

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Special Seminar | Elena Asencio (University of Bonn)

01.12.2025, 15:00 – 16:00

Scientific

Speaker: Elena Asencio (University of Bonn)
Title: The classical Milky Way satellites are perturbed by the Milky Way tides

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Observation evening in the Great Refractor

02.12.2025, 19:00 – 20:00

Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam. Prior registration required, see Observation Evenings.

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External Colloquium | Oscar Agertz (Lund Universtiy)

04.12.2025, 14:30 – 15:30

Scientific

Speaker: Oscar Agertz (Lund Universtiy)
Title: TBD

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Galaxies and space cats – interdisciplinary starry night between science and fiction

11.12.2025, 19:15 – 21:00

Public Event

The AIP invites you to a special edition of the Babelsberg Starry Night on the Babelsberg campus, an interdisciplinary event combining science and science fiction literature. The event is presented by scientist Dr Ramona Augustin and science fiction author Tobias Radloff.

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Public Event

Scientific

Internal Event

Holidays