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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.

Technical illustration of the telescope in its building
Man in white coat looks through telescope
MUSE Ultra Deep Field
Sun-magnetic_field_lines
BB0A5279_spi

The European Union funds conceptual study of the Wide Field Spectroscopic Telescope

Last November 4th a contract was signed to fund the conceptual study of a new telescope, the Wide Field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST), which could potentially become operational in Chile after 2040. The consortium leading the WST project will receive three million euros to fund a detailed conceptual study over the next three years, from 2025 to 2027.

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Call for nominations and applications for the Johann Wempe Award 2025

In honour of Prof. Dr. Johann Wempe (1906 – 1980), the last director of the former Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam (AOP), the AIP grants the Johann Wempe Award to outstanding scientists. Applications and nominations are accepted until 31st January 2025.

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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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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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Professor Katja Poppenhäger appointed new director at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP)

Katja Poppenhäger has been named the new Director of the research field ’Stellar, Solar and Exoplanetary Physics’ at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP). With her extensive international experience in exoplanet research, she is strengthening AIP's profile and establishing new priorities.

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Latest News
pos17_build_seq_2_pencil

New technology for spectroscopic surveys of millions of stars and galaxies
Nov. 27, 2024

The AIP application in the 2024 Leibniz Competition entitled “InSpecT” has been successfully approved. “InSpecT” will focus on the development of innovative fiber positioning systems for large telescopes. In the future, “InSpecT” will enable large-scale spectroscopic surveys of over 400 million stars and galaxies.

[more]
Technical illustration of the telescope in its building

The European Union funds conceptual study of the Wide Field Spectroscopic Telescope
Nov. 25, 2024

Last November 4th a contract was signed to fund the conceptual study of a new telescope, the Wide Field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST), which could potentially become operational in Chile after 2040. The consortium leading the WST project will receive three million euros.

[more]
Many colourful stars in a spheroidal shape

Virtual lectures: Babelsberg Starry Night on 21 November 2024
Nov. 20, 2024

For the next Virtual Babelsberg Starry Nights of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) we offer two lectures: ‘How galaxies challenge the dark matter model’ (German) by Marcel Pawlowski and ‘Intermediate mass black holes - the missing piece’ by Nikolay Kacharov.

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Latest Publications

Detecting and sizing the Earth with PLATO: A feasibility study based on solar data

Krenn, A. F., ... Hofmeister, S. J., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 692, A17 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450681, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

DIAmante TESS AutoRegressive Planet Search (DTARPS). III. Understanding the DTARPS-S Candidate Transiting Planet Catalogs

Melton, E. J., ... Rosenswie, A. W., ...
The Astronomical Journal, 168, 6, 271 – Published December 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad8355, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Activity

WEAVE First Light Observations: Origin and Dynamics of the Shock Front in Stephan's Quintet

Arnaudova, M. I., ... Couto, G. S., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 3, 2269 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2235, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

PEPSI's non-detection of escaping hydrogen and metal lines adds to the enigma of WASP-12 b

Pai Asnodkar, A., ... Ilyin, I., Strassmeier, K. G., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 2, 1829 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2441, NASA ADS

Stellar surface information from the Ca II H&K lines - II. Defining better activity proxies

Cretignier, M., ... Pietrow, A. G. M., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 3, 2562 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2508, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

High-resolution spectroscopy of the variable hot post-AGB star LS 4331 (IRAS 17381‑1616)

Ikonnikova, N. P., Parthasarathy, M., Shaposhnikov, I. A., Hubrig, S., Sarkar, G.
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, 45, 2, 27 – Published December 2024
doi:10.1007/s12036-024-10012-0, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

Cataclysmic variables from Sloan Digital Sky Survey - V (2020-2023) identified using machine learning.

Inight, K., ... Schwope, A., ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society – Published November 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2524, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: X-ray Astronomy

Simulating Radio Synchrotron Morphology, Spectra, and Polarization of Cosmic Ray Driven Galactic Winds

Chiu, H.-H. S., Ruszkowski, M., Thomas, T., Werhahn, M., Pfrommer, C.
The Astrophysical Journal, 976, 1, 136 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad84e9, NASA ADS

Widespread Rapid Quenching at Cosmic Noon Revealed by JWST Deep Spectroscopy

Park, M., ... Weinberger, R.
The Astrophysical Journal, 976, 1, 72 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad7e15, NASA ADS

The Extremely Metal-rich Knot of Stars at the Heart of the Galaxy

Rix, H.-W., ... Khoperskov, S., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 975, 2, 293 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad7aee, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

First Detection of Molecular Gas in the Giant Low Surface Brightness Galaxy Malin 1

Galaz, G., ... Weilbacher, P. M., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 975, 2, L26 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad8656, NASA ADS

Outflow from the very massive Wolf-Rayet binary Melnick 34

Castro, N., Weilbacher, P. M., Roth, M. M., ... Micheva, G.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A346 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450208, NASA ADS

Abundances of iron-peak elements in 58 bulge spheroid stars from APOGEE

Barbuy, B., ... Chiappini, C., ... Valentini, M., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A296 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452235, NASA ADS

The chemical evolution of the Milky Way thin disk using solar twins

Plotnikova, A., Spina, L., Ratcliffe, B., Casali, G., Carraro, G.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A298 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451167, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume

Comparing the interstellar and circumgalactic origin of gas in the tails of jellyfish galaxies

Sparre, M., Pfrommer, C., Puchwein, E.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A259 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450544, NASA ADS

The MUSE eXtremely Deep Field: Detections of circumgalactic Si II* emission at z ≳ 2

Kusakabe, H., ... Wisotzki, L., ... Pessa, I., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A255 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451009, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

The observational evidence that all microflares that accelerate electrons to high energies are rooted in sunspots

Battaglia, A. F., ... Warmuth, A., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A172 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451152, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

Magnetic field of the roAp star KIC 10685175: Observations versus theory

Shi, F., ... Hubrig, S., Järvinen, S., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A272 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451417, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

SDSS J102915.14+172927.9: Revisiting the chemical pattern

Caffau, E., ... Steffen, M., ... Gallagher, A. J., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A245 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452079, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Stellar Physics and Exoplanets

Solar active region evolution and imminent flaring activity through color-coded visualization of photospheric vector magnetograms

Kontogiannis, I., Pietrow, A. G. M., ... Verma, M., Denker, C.
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A119 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451393, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

An X-ray flaring event and a variable soft X-ray excess in the Seyfert LCRS B040659.9–385922 as detected with eROSITA

Krishnan, S., ... Krumpe, M., Homan, D., Brogan, R., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A102 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202349126, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: X-ray Astronomy

Transferring spectroscopic stellar labels to 217 million Gaia DR3 XP stars with SHBoost

Khalatyan, A., ... Chiappini, C., ... Nepal, S., ... Guiglion, G., Valentini, M., ... Steinmetz, M., ... Enke, H., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A98 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451427, NASA ADS

The Smallest Scale of Hierarchy Survey (SSH): III. Dwarf-dwarf satellite merging phenomena in the low-mass regime

Sacchi, E., ... de Jong, R. S., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A65 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450106, NASA ADS

The SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey: X-ray beacons at late cosmic dawn

Wolf, J., ... Urrutia, T., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A30 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451035, NASA ADS

Spatially resolved spectroscopic analysis of Lyα haloes: Radial evolution of the Lyα line profile out to 60 kpc

Guo, Y., ... Wisotzki, L., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A66 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202347958, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Galaxies and Quasars

A Rapid Sequence of Solar Energetic Particle Events Associated with a Series of Extreme-ultraviolet Jets: Solar Orbiter, STEREO-A, and Near-Earth Spacecraft Observations

Lario, D., ... Warmuth, A., ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 975, 1, 84 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad6c47, NASA ADS
AIP sections/groups: Solar Physics

The effect of helium reionization on the Ly α forest hydrogen flux statistics

Meiksin, A., Puchwein, E.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 1, 1035 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2438, NASA ADS

The glow of axion quark nugget dark matter: II. Galaxy clusters

Sommer, J. S., ... Sorce, J. G., ...
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A38 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451316, NASA ADS

There is no place like home - finding birth radii of stars in the Milky Way

Lu, Y. (., Minchev, I., ... Khoperskov, S., Steinmetz, M., Libeskind, N., ... Ratcliffe, B.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 1, 392 – Published November 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2364, NASA ADS

The SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper (LVM): Scientific Motivation and Project Overview

Drory, N., ... Cioni, M.-R. L., ...
The Astronomical Journal, 168, 5, 198 – Published November 2024
doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad6de9, NASA ADS

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

 

Events and dates at AIP

Conference MHD Days
02.12.2024, 9:00 – 04.12.2024, 17:00
Scientific

The German MHD Days were initiated in Potsdam in 1997 as a forum for theoretical research problems in magnetohydrodynamics, predominantly in astrophysics and geophysics. Since many of the problems are of fundamental nature, links to liquid metal phenomena, turbulence, convection and rotation of fluids have been in the scope of the meeting since.

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Jamboree 2024 (Winter)
05.12.2024, 10:30 – 12:00
Scientific
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External Colloquium | Prof. Julio Navarro (U. of Victoria)
12.12.2024, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific
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Observation evening at the Great Refractor
12.12.2024, 19:00 – 20:00
Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam.

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Observation evening at the Great Refractor
09.01.2025, 19:00 – 20:00
Public Event

The AIP invites to a public observation evening in the Great Refractor at the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam.

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Hauskolloquium - Moorits Muru
16.01.2025, 14:30 – 15:30
Scientific
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External Colloquium | Gherardo Valori (MPS Göttingen)
23.01.2025, 14:00 – 16:00
Scientific

The Solar Orbiter Mission and the SO/PHI instrument: new opportunities for novel science

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Public Event
Scientific
Internal Event
Holidays

Conferences
Magneto-Convection.jpg

19th MHD Days 2024
Dec. 2, 2024 – Dec. 4, 2024
[Website]
Bows and bubbles that are caused by stellar feedback and galactic winds

The role of feedback in galaxy formation: from small-scale winds to galactic outflows
18th Potsdam Thinkshop
July 14, 2025 – July 18, 2025
[Website]