Examination procedure
Seminar
Examination procedure notes
The topic of the final seminar will be agreed upon by the student and the lecturer.
Prerequisites
The course is intended for third-year undergraduate students
Syllabus
Messengers of the Universe – General introduction to astroparticle physics. Scientific motivations and the experimental landscape.
Cosmic Rays: Particles from the Sky – Discovery and origin of cosmic rays. Energy spectrum, composition, direct and indirect detection techniques. Historical and current experiments.
Cosmology and the Microwave Background – Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): from the observation by Penzias and Wilson to the Planck satellite measurements.
The Gamma-Ray Universe – Production of gamma rays in astrophysical sources. Emission mechanisms. Experiments.
Neutrinos from the Sun and Deep Space – Origin of solar, atmospheric, and extragalactic neutrinos. Detection techniques and key experiments. Supernova neutrinos.
Searching for Dark Matter – Astrophysical evidence for dark matter. Candidate particles. Experimental strategies: direct and indirect detection. Underground experiments.
Gravitational Waves: Listening to the Dark Universe – Gravitational wave interferometers, astrophysical sources, GW signals. Connections with high-energy astrophysics.
Multimessenger Astronomy: from SN1987A to GW170817 – Historical and recent cases of multimessenger observation. Coordination among particle, photon, and GW detectors. Impact on astrophysics, cosmology, nuclear physics, and fundamental physics.
Outlook – Future prospects in astroparticle physics: scientific challenges, upcoming experiments, and interdisciplinary connections.
Bibliographical references
A. De Angelis, M. Pimenta - Introduction to particle and astroparticle physics, Springer
M. Spurio - Particles and astrophyics, Springer
E. Roulet, F. Vissani - Neutrinos in physics and astrophysics, World Scientific
M. Maggiore - Gravitational Waves - Oxford