Department of Astroparticle Physics

Two Cherenkov telescopes help us understand extreme cosmic phenomena through very high-energy gamma rays; they are currently the most sensitive devices of their kind in the world. The prototypes, which were developed by an international team involving Czech scientists, are now in Ondřejov. This is an exceptional opportunity for Czech astrophysicists, as the telescopes may be moved abroad in the future.   

An international team led by Jakub Vícha from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has proposed a revolutionary "heavy metal" scenario that may change the view on the composition of the most energetic particles arriving from space. The theory, which the physicist built together with his team based on the analysis of unique data from the Pierre Auger Observatory, will contribute to answering the question of what these particles are made of and where they originate. A crucial role might be played by iron. 

Update 1. 1. 2025 A new comet was spotted on the night of 24–25 December 2024 by scientist Martin Mašek from the Institute of Physics over the western horizon in Argentina. He operated the telescope online from Liberec (city in the Czech Republic). This is the first Czech discovery of a comet where the observer was not physically present in the observatory, and the first Czech discovery from the southern hemisphere. The comet will not appear above our horizon until late February or early March. 

On (not only) open questions in physics with David Hlaváček

In the "Open Questions in Physics" interview series we introduce you to different research areas and personalities of the Institute of Physics. At the Department of Astroparticle Physics, David Hlaváček is involved in the design of one of the control modules of the upcoming LISA space mission, which aims to capture gravitational waves possibly dating back to the very beginning of the universe. In addition, he is also involved in the outreach and philosophy of science. Where does he see physics going, what will LISA tell us about the cosmos and why is it important to inspire new generations of scientists?

On open questions in astroparticle physics with Jakub Vícha

Where do high-energy cosmic ray particles come from and how can we even learn what they are? Can they open up an opportunity for us to discover completely new physical processes? And can cosmic rays influence the weather? These questions have not been answered yet, but research by Jakub Vícha from the Department of Astroparticle Physics at FZU is bringing us closer to unravelling these mysteries.

The sensitivity of the SST-1M pair of Cherenkov telescopes at very high energies exceeds that of any existing Cherenkov imaging telescope in the world. This surprising news was presented at a conference in Milan by Jakub Jurýšek. At the Institute of Physics, together with his team, he is developing software that allows stereoscopic reconstruction of observed cosmic gamma-ray showers and subsequent imaging of the sources of these gamma photons in space. 

The first ground-based wide-field observatory designed to detect very high to ultra-high energy gamma rays in the Southern Hemisphere will be built in the Atacama Astronomical Park in Chile. The observatory will study radiation from space that is emitted by the most extreme objects in the universe, such as black holes and neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts and supernovae.

The highest energy cosmic ray particles are likely to penetrate much deeper into the atmosphere than previously thought. The incoming particles are therefore likely to be much heavier. New and fundamental insights emerge from a method that generalises the approach to predicting models of cosmic particle collisions with the Earth's atmosphere. The accuracy of Jakub Vícha's method has been confirmed by hundreds of international scientists at the Pierre Auger Observatory, as shown in a study published these days in Physical Review D.

On Friday, March 8, scientists from the Institute of Physics explained the secrets of cosmic rays and how to measure them at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina to nearly thirty high school students.

The European Space Agency has approved the so-called adoption of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission with a budget of €1.75 billion. A mission adoption is an important milestone in the development of space projects, where the European Space Agency takes a project from the assessment phase to the actual implementation of concepts and technologies.

Dr. Eva Maria Martins dos Santos of the FZU received the Auger Impact Award 2023 on November 17 in recognition of the outstanding efforts on Monte-Carlo simulation coordination, which has a tremendous impact on the results published by the Pierre Auger Observatory but is not necessarily visible, and for her extremely responsive and service oriented attitude.

On October 28, 2023, President Petr Pavel awarded astrophysicist Jiří Grygar of the Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, the Medal of Merit 1st class for services to the state in the field of science.