Credit: NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)

Astrophysics

Astrophysics

The DIFA - Astrophysics Sector is active in the fields of theoretical, computational and observational astrophysics, and of astronomical and space technology. The staff is involved in several international projects with world-class observing facilities and space missions (e.g. HST, ESO VLT, Chandra, XMM-Newton, Herschel, NuSTAR, ALMA, NOEMA, LOFAR, SKA, VLA / VLBI, Fermi, RadioAstron, Euclid, ATHENA, XRISM).

Local observing facilities, regularly used by researchers and students, include two optical telescopes (60 cm and 152 cm diameter) located in Loiano, and two radio telescopes managed by INAF-IRA: the Northern Cross, owned by the University of Bologna, and the VLBI 32m parabolic antenna. Computational activities benefit from a local parallel cluster owned and managed by DIFA and of close relations with CINECA and its supercomputing facilities.

All the scientific and teaching activities benefit from the several synergies within the unique environment at the Navile Campus, where other institutes for astrophysical research are also located: INAF-OAS, INAF-IRA, the ALMA Regional Center (ARC) and the headquarters of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA).

Settori ERC

PE9_3 Interstellar medium

PE9_6 Stars and stellar systems

PE9_7 The Galaxy

PE9_8 Formation and evolution of galaxies

PE9_9 Clusters of galaxies and large scale structures

PE9_10 High energy and particles astronomy – X-rays, cosmic rays, gamma rays, neutrinos

PE9_12 Dark matter, dark energy

PE9_14 Cosmology

PE9_16 Very large data bases: archiving, handling and analysis

PE9_17 Instrumentation - telescopes, detectors and techniques

People

keywords: Young Stars, Exoplanets, Protoplanetary Disks, Astronomy, Low Noise Amplifiers, Space Instrumentation, Cosmic Microwave

Marco Balboni

Research fellow

keywords: Galaxy clusters, Intra-Cluster Medium, radio and X-ray observations, interferometry, galaxy cluster magnetic field
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Marco Baldi

Associate Professor

keywords: Theoretical and Computational Cosmology, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Modified Gravity, Cosmological Simulations
keywords: Clusters of galaxies, Intra-cluster Medium, X-rays
keywords: Stellar astrophysics, Spectroscopy, Galactic Bulge, Milky Way
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Luca Beduzzi

PhD Student

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Sirio Belli

Associate Professor

keywords: Galaxy Formation and Evolution, High-Redshift Galaxies, Optical and Near-Infrared Observations
keywords: Cosmology, Radioastronomy, Galaxy Clusters, Large-scale Magnetic Fields, Non-thermal emission
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Annalisa Bonafede

Associate Professor

keywords: Non-thermal processes, Clusters of galaxies, Large-scale magnetic fields, Radio observations
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Nicola Borghi

Research fellow

Teaching tutor

keywords: Observational cosmology, Stellar Populations, Cosmic Chronometers, Cosmological probes, Gravitational Waves, Dark Energy
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Lorenzo Briganti

PhD Student

keywords: Asteroseismology, Stellar structure and evolution, Blue Straggler Stars, Red Giant Stars
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Fabrizio Brighenti

Associate Professor

keywords: galactic flows, galaxy clusters, fluid dynamics, elliptical galaxies
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Giulia Brunelli

PhD Student

keywords: High energy astrophysics, Gamma-ray astrophysics, X-ray astrophysics, Pulsars, Pulsar Wind Nebulae, Pulsar halos
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Marcella Brusa

Full Professor

keywords: AGN evolution, X-rays, multiwavelength surveys, Active Galactic Nuclei
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Letizia Bugiani

PhD Student

Teaching tutor

keywords: Formation and evolution of galaxies, Quiescent galaxies, AGN feedback, High-redshift galaxies
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Mario Cadelano

Fixed-term Researcher in Tenure Track L. 79/2022

keywords: Pulsars, Globular Clusters, Resolved Stellar Populations, Radioastronomy

Alex Ciabattoni

PhD Student

keywords: Gamma-ray Astrophyics, Gamma-Ray Bursts, Geant4 simulations, Cosmology
keywords: galaxy clusters, radioastronomy, non-thermal emission, diffuse radio emission
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Andrea Cimatti

Full Professor

keywords: galaxy formation and evolution, cosmology, space sciences
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Luca Ciotti

Full Professor

keywords: Astronomy, Theoretical astrophysics
keywords: spectroscopy, galaxy evolution, active galactic nuclei, machine learning, multi-wavelength survey, deep learning

Michele Costa

PhD Student

keywords: High redshift, Quasar, Interstellar Medium
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Virginia Cuciti

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: galaxy clusters, non-thermal emission, radioastronomy, Large scale structure
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Daniele Dallacasa

Associate Professor

keywords: Clusters of Galaxies, Plasma Astrophysics, Radio galaxies, Radioastronomical techniques
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Leonardo De Deo

PhD Student

keywords: Theoretical Astrophysics - Galactic dynamics - Jeans equations - Orbital anisotropy - Intracluster light - Inclusive
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Emanuele De Rubeis

PhD Student

Teaching tutor

keywords: galaxy clusters, radio galaxies, radio astronomy, high performance computing, LOFAR
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Giulia Despali

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: dark matter, cosmology, gravitational lensing, numerical simulations
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Greta Ettorre

PhD Student

keywords: Globular Clusters, Millisecond pulsar, Compact objects, Stellar populations
keywords: stellar evolution, dynamics, stellar systems, structure of the Galaxy
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Sacha Gavino

Research fellow

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Myriam Gitti

Associate Professor

keywords: clusters and groups of galaxies, intra-cluster medium, active galactic nuclei (AGN), AGN feedback, radio mini-halos,
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Eric Giunchi

Research fellow

keywords: Star formation, Globular clusters, Galaxy tails, Galaxy clusters

Camilla Giusti

PhD Student

keywords: stellar evolution, stellar dynamics, stellar systems

Massimo Guidi

Research fellow

keywords: Galaxy Clustering, Large Scale Structure, Cosmology, Higher-Order Statistics
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Barbara Lanzoni

Associate Professor

keywords: stellar systems, stellar evolution, stellar dynamics, Galaxy formation and evolution

Carmela Lardo

Associate Professor

keywords: Star Clusters, Stellar Evolution, Milky Way Formation and Evolution, Near-Field Cosmology, Local Group Dwarf Galaxies,
keywords: Observational Cosmology; Galaxy Clusters; Weak-lensing; Photometric Redshifts
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Giuseppe Levi

Assistant professor

keywords: Silicon Photomultiplier, Astroparticle physics, SiPM, ZEUS, AMS-02, Neutrino
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Martina Loriga

PhD Student

keywords: Stellar evolution, Globular Clusters, Photometry, Bulge, Stellar populations

Stefano Marchesi

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: Active galactic nuclei, Supermassive black holes, Galaxy formation and evolution, High energy astrophysics
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Federico Marinacci

Associate Professor

keywords: Numerical simulations, Cosmlogical simulations, Galaxy formation and evolution, Gas dynamics in galaxies, Feedback
keywords: Cosmology, Dark Energy, Modified theories of gravity, N-body simulations of the LSS
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Federico Marulli

Associate Professor

keywords: cosmology, astroinformatics, large-scale structure of the Universe, dark energy, dark matter, machine learning
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Massimiliano Matteuzzi

Research fellow

Teaching tutor

keywords: asteroseismology, stellar models, theoretical astrophysics, galaxies formation and evolution

Alessandro Mazzi

Research fellow

keywords: Stellar populations, Solar neighborhood, Aterosismology, Milky Way, Local Group, Software develpment
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Robert Benton Metcalf

Associate Professor

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Andrea Miglio

Full Professor

keywords: stellar structure and evolution, asteroseismology, stellar populations, formation and evolution of the Milky Way
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Michele Ennio Maria Moresco

Associate Professor

keywords: observational cosmology, gravitational waves, cosmic chronometers, large scale structure of the Universe, galaxy
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Lauro Moscardini

Full Professor

keywords: cosmology, gravitational lensing, galaxy clusters, early universe, numerical cosmological simulations
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Alessio Mucciarelli

Associate Professor

keywords: resolved stellar populations, chemical abundances, dwarf and irregular galaxies, globular clusters, stellar
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Carlo Nipoti

Associate Professor

keywords: galaxies, clusters of galaxies, globular clusters, dark matter, stellar dynamics, astrophysical fluid dynamics,
keywords: magnetic fields, galaxy clusters, proto-clusters, non-thermal emission, polarisation
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Cristina Pallanca

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: Globular clusters, Millisecond pulsars, Intermediate massive black holes
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Giulia Papini

PhD Student

keywords: galaxy formation and evolution, galaxy environment, dark matter, Euclid, MUSE spectroscopy
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Silvia Pellegrini

Associate Professor

keywords: structure, formation and evolution of galaxies, interstellar medium, nuclear activity in galaxies, X-ray observations
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Francesca Pozzi

Associate Professor

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Salvatore Quai

Research fellow

keywords: Galaxy evolution, Optical-NIR spectroscopy and observations, Galaxy Interactions and Mergers
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Veronica Roccatagliata

Junior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: star formation, planet formation, formation and dynamical evolution of young clusters, protoplanetary disks, debris
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Massimiliano Romanello

Research fellow

keywords: Observational cosmology, large-scale structures, galaxy clusters, clustering, alternative cosmologies, Reionization
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Anton Rudakovskyi

Research fellow

keywords: Galaxies, galaxy clusters, dark matter, galaxy formation

Matteo Sapori

PhD Student

keywords: Galaxy formation and evolution. Optical and Near Infrared observations. High redshift

Letizia Scaloni

PhD Student

keywords: Gravitational Waves, Cosmology
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Margherita Talia

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: spectroscopy, high-redshift, galaxy evolution, multi-wavelength suvey
keywords: Eclipsing binaries, Asteroseismology, Red giant stars
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Elena Tomasetti

PhD Student

keywords: observational cosmology, cosmic chronometers, galaxy evolution, globular clusters

Greta Toni

PhD Student

keywords: galaxy clusters, galaxy evolution, photometric surveys, galaxy groups
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Rachele Toniolo

PhD Student

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Francesco Ubertosi

Research fellow

Teaching tutor

keywords: Galaxy clusters - thermal X-ray emission - intracluster medium - feeding and feedback of active supermassive black
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Franco Vazza

Associate Professor

keywords: cosmological simulations, extragalactic magnetic fields, non-thermal phenomena, galaxy clusters, cosmic web
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Cristian Vignali

Associate Professor

keywords: Numerical astrophysics, galaxy formation, cosmology, N-body simulations
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Yipeng Zou

PhD Student