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Prof. Dr. Matthias Steinmetz

Image of Matthias Steinmetz

Matthias Steinmetz is scientific chairman of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and director of the research branch Extragalactic Astrophysics. Topics under investigation in this research branch extend from the structure, dynamics and chemical evolution of the Milky Way over the structure and evolution of galaxies and their massive black holes to the formation of galaxies, clusters of galaxies and the large scale cosmic web. Furthermore, researchers in this research branch are participating in the development of the next generation of instruments for telescopes of ESO's Paranal Observatory and for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), and are actively engaged in the establishment of a E-science and research data infrastructure for astronomy.

Executive Board
Scientific Member of the Board, Chair
Extragalactic Astrophysics
Director
Office: KH/2.46
Phone: +49 331 7499 800
msteinmetznothing@aip.de

Leibniz-Institut
für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)
An der Sternwarte 16
14482 Potsdam

Matthias Steinmetz's personal research interests focus on the formation and evolution of galaxies, in particular the Milky Way. He has been actively engaged in performing high resolution simulation of the galaxy formation process and is heavily involved in the development and scientific exploitation of spectroscopic surveys , in particular the 4m Multi-Objekt Spectroscopic Telescope 4MOST for ESO, which will go into operations in 2025 on Paranal in Chile. Matthias Steinmetz currently serves as the scientific member in the German delegation to ESO Council.

As president of the German Astronomical Society and Chairperson of the Council of German Observatories (2014-2017) Matthias Steinmetz coordinated the Position Document "Perspectives of Astrophysics in Germany 2017-2030".

Matthias Steinmetz ist co-initiator of the German National Center for Astrophysics, a national lab for astrophysics and the associated technology development, which currently is being established in Goerlitz (Saxony).

Publications

Latest refereed publications, retrieved from NASA ADS:

Rediscovering the Milky Way with an orbit superposition approach and APOGEE data: I. Method validation
Khoperskov, S., ... Steinmetz, M., Ratcliffe, B., Minchev, I., Krajnović, D., ... Kacharov, N., Marques, L., Valentini, M., de Jong, R. S., 2025
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 695, A220; published March 2025
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202453304, NASA ADS
Participating AIP sections and groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume, Galaxies and Quasars
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., 2024
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 1, 392; published November 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2364, NASA ADS
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., ..., 2024
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 691, A98; published November 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451427, NASA ADS
Why does the Milky Way have a bar?
Khoperskov, S., Minchev, I., Steinmetz, M., Ratcliffe, B., Walcher, J. C., Libeskind, N. I., 2024
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 533, 4, 3975; published October 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae1902, NASA ADS
Empirical derivation of the metallicity evolution with time and radius using TNG50 Milky Way and Andromeda analogues
Ratcliffe, B., Khoperskov, S., Minchev, I., ... de Jong, R. S., Steinmetz, M., 2024
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 690, A352; published October 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202449268, NASA ADS
Participating AIP sections and groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume
Discovery of the local counterpart of disc galaxies at z > 4: The oldest thin disc of the Milky Way using Gaia-RVS
Nepal, S., Chiappini, C., ... Guiglion, G., ... Steinmetz, M., ... Khalatyan, A., 2024
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 688, A167; published August 2024
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202449445, NASA ADS
Participating AIP sections and groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume, IT Services
Robust bounds on ALP dark matter from dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the optical MUSE-Faint survey
Todarello, E., ... Steinmetz, M., ..., 2024
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2024, 5, 043; published May 2024
doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2024/05/043, NASA ADS
Recovery of the low- and high-mass end slopes of the IMF in massive early-type galaxies using detailed elemental abundances
den Brok, M., Krajnović, D., ... Steinmetz, M., Weilbacher, P. M., 2024
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 530, 3, 3278; published May 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae912, NASA ADS
Participating AIP sections and groups: Galaxies and Quasars, 3D and Multi Object Spectroscopy
Gaia DR3 data consistent with a short bar connected to a spiral arm
Vislosky, E., Minchev, I., Khoperskov, S., ... Ratcliffe, B., ... Steinmetz, M., de Jong, R., 2024
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 528, 2, 3576; published February 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae083, NASA ADS
Participating AIP sections and groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume
Chemical clocks and their time zones: understanding the [s/Mg]-age relation with birth radii
Ratcliffe, B., Minchev, I., ... Queiroz, A., Steinmetz, M., 2024
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 528, 2, 3464; published February 2024
doi:10.1093/mnras/stae226, NASA ADS
Participating AIP sections and groups: Milky Way and the Local Volume