Erasmus Mundus PhD Scholarships

IRAP PhD
International Relativistic Astrophysics Doctorate Program
Duration: 3 years
Programme description:
Following the successful scientific space missions by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, as well as the high-energy particle activities at CERN in Genève, IRAP is a Ph.D. program dedicated to the formation of scientists in the field of relativistic astrophysics. The students of such a program will lead the theoretical developments of one of the most active fields of research, based on the above observational and experimental facilities. This program needs expertise in the
most advanced topics of mathematical and theoretical physics, and in relativistic field theories. It requires the ability to model the observational data received from the above facilities, as well as all the basic knowledge
in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. This activity is necessarily international, no single university can cover the broad expertises.
This has resulted in the programme offered by IRAP PhD in one of the youngest and most dynamic French universities, pole of research and teaching in the Euro-Mediterranean region (PRES): the University of Nice.
It benefits from the presence of the astrophysics research institute of Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur involved in relativistic and non-photonic astrophysics as well as of the Center of ICRANet at Villa Ratti, where the
coordination of the Doctorate will take place. The participation of the Freie Universität Berlin and of the Einstein Institute in Potsdam offers the possibility of teaching in relativistic field theories at the highest level.
The University of Savoie offers the link to the particle physics at CERN. The activities at the University of Rome, at Stockholm University and at ICRA and ICRANet offer teaching programs in all the fields of relativistic astrophysics, including cosmology, the physics of gravitational collapse, gamma-ray bursts, and black hole physics. The University of Ferrara will be present with lectures and researches in the topics they have pioneered such as the development of space missions in X and gamma ray astrophysics and observational cosmology. Through ICRANet the extra-European connections with Brazil, China and India will be guaranteed: in China, with the Shanghai Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Science, studying the formation and evolution of large-scale structure and galaxies; in India, with the Indian Centre for Space
Physics (ICSP), renowned for its research on compact objects as well as on solar physics and astrochemistry; in Brazil, with ICRA-BR at CBPF, where a successful program of research and teaching in relativistic astrophysics has been established in recent years.
Website: http://www.irap-phd.org
Partners:
UNIVERSITE DE NICE - SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, France (Co-ordinating institution)
SHANGHAI ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY, China
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN, Germany
AEI - POTSDAM, Germany
TARTU OBSERVATORY, Estonia
STOCKHOLM UNIVERSTIY, Sweden
UNIVERSITY OF FERRARA, Italy
UNIVERSITY OF ROME - LA SAPIENZA, Italy
BRAZILIAN CENTRE FOR PHYSICS RESEARCH, Brazil
OBSERVATORY OF THE CÔTE D'AZUR, France
INDIAN CENTRE FOR SPACE PHYSICS, India
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR RELATIVISTIC ASTROPHYSICS NETWORK, Italy
UNIVERSITY OF SAVOIE, France
Contact:
Pascal Chardonnet
LAPTH - Université de Savoie
9 Chemin de Bellevue
BP 110
74941 Annecy-le-Vieux Cedex - France
chardonnet@lapp.in2p3.fr