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 mainly intended for third-year undergraduate students.
Syllabus
Messengers of the Universe – General introduction to astroparticle physics. Scientific motivations and experimental landscape.
Neutrinos from the Sun and Deep Space – Solar, atmospheric, and extragalactic neutrinos. Neutrino oscillations. Detection techniques and key experiments. Supernova 1987A.
Gravitational Waves: Listening to the Dark Universe – Gravitational interferometers, astrophysical sources, GW signals. Connections with high-energy astrophysics.
The High-Energy Universe: Cosmic Rays and Gamma Rays
Multimessenger Astronomy: From SN1987A to GW170817 – Historical and recent cases of multimessenger observations. Coordination among particle, photon, and GW detectors. Impact on astrophysics, cosmology, nuclear physics, and fundamental physics.
Searching for Dark Matter – Astrophysical evidence for dark matter. Candidates. Experimental strategies: direct and indirect detection. Underground experiments.
Cosmology and the Microwave Background – Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB): from the observation by Penzias and Wilson to the measurements by the Planck satellite.
Outlook – Future prospects in astroparticle physics: scientific challenges, planned 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
D. Maoz - Astrophysics in a nutshell - Princeton
L. Bergstrom, A. Goobar - Cosmology and astroparticle physics - Springer