Progetti per tesi di dottorato
This page contains a repository of PhD projects in different areas, available for all the open positions.
On May 20 at 11:00 AM, INAF and UNIPD staff members will meet with prospective candidates to present the main research areas currently being pursued in Padova.
The meeting will be held in a hybrid format: both in person (in Sala Jappelli) and online (via the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81367853664?pwd=EGdJKMafobtPzdkDpVfSQy7MscWDdb.1 ).
All interested students are warmly invited to attend.
Relativistic effects in galaxy surveys (Daniele Bertacca)
Maps of the Universe based on galaxy redshifts are distorted by several relativistic effects. LIGER takes a (N-body or hydrodynamic) Newtonian simulation as an input and outputs the distribution of galaxies in comoving redshift space, e.g. see Borzyszkowski, Bertacca & Porciani (2017), Elkhashab, Porciani & Bertacca (2022, 2025).
This result is achieved by making use of a coordinate transformation and simultaneously accounting for lensing magnification. The calculation includes both local corrections (i.e. peculiar velocities, dipole velocity and Sachs Wolfe effect) and terms that have been integrated along the line of sight (e.g. integrated Sachs Wolfe effect, lensing convergence, magnification and time delay).
In general, in a wide-angle survey, peculiar-velocity and dipole effects are not accurately described by the Kaiser limit at very large scales. The aim of this project is to measure the impact of redshift-space distortions, both the local and non-local terms, on the monopole of the galaxy power spectrum that will be measured in a Euclid-like survey.
Astroparticle Physics and Astrophysics (Michele Doro)
The research activities in astroparticle physics and astrophysics cover a wide variety of topics that are recently aggregating within the concept of multi-messenger astrophysics. Our research group works at the level of experimental data and emission theories. Among the experiments with high energy radiation (gamma) on which we work there are Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, CTAO, SWGO. The doctoral theses are usually related to the analysis of data from one of these experiments, in relation to a high energy astrophysical target, including blazars, radio galaxies, and in general active galactic nuclei. We also work on several fundamental physics topics such as dark matter and gamma-ray propagation. The theses seem to include a part of theoretical modeling and activity at the telescopes or development of components and methods for the instruments. For contacts heap_seniors@lists.dfa.unipd.it
Multi-messenger studies of Active Galactic Nuclei (Elisa Bernardini)
Cosmic rays are protons and nuclei reaching Earth with energies up to hundreds EeV, while their production sites remain today an unsolved mystery. Multi-messenger astrophysics aims to solve this puzzle by combining information from different ”messengers”. Among these, neutrinos play a fundamental role, being produced exclusively in astrophysical processes involving the interactions of hadrons. The identification of sources of neutrinos represents therefore a “smoking gun” of production sites of cosmic rays. Detecting neutrinos is however challenging, due to weak fluxes underneath overwhelming backgrounds, but the identification of sources of neutrinos is effectively aided by correlation studies using multi-wavelength data. This approach was proven by the discovery of the first astrophysical source of neutrinos in 2017, the blazar TXS 0506+056, found in a flaring state in gamma-rays. More recently, an astrophysical source of a different class, the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, also classified as a starburst, was associated by IceCube to the emission of cosmic neutrinos. In both cases the observed fluxes accounts for a negligible fraction of the total diffuse flux of cosmic neutrinos observed by IceCube since 2013, leaving significant room for new discoveries. This project focuses on the modelling of the spectral energy distribution of Active Galactic Nuclei using both leptonic and hadronic emission processes. The main goal is to identify global correlation features in the electromagnetic flux at different wavelengths and the associated neutrino flux and to study their temporal evolution. The ultimate goal is to aid targeted searches of neutrinos signals from selected astrophysical targets using neutrino telescopes like IceCube and KM3NeT and guide observation strategies for follow-up electromagnetic campaigns by partner astronomical instruments.
The Evolution of Globular Clusters from Birth to Dissolution (Alessandra Mastrobuono Battisti)
Globular clusters are dense stellar systems formed in the early Universe. Their survival and dynamical evolution encode critical clues about galaxy assembly, yet their full life cycle – from formation to disruption –remains unresolved.
This project will combine tree codes (e.g., Bonsai) and direct N-body simulations (e.g., NBSymple, phiGRAPE, Nbody6++GPU) on GPU-accelerated hardware to model globular clusters across cosmic time. We will trace their entire evolutionary journey: from their early life-phases in high-redshift environments, through their orbital decay and tidal disruption in the Milky Way’s gravitational field, to their eventual dissolution – depositing stars into the halo, disk, bulge, and Galactic center. A key focus will be understanding how their dynamical interactions shape galactic evolution, including their role in building the nuclear star cluster, feeding the central supermassive black hole, and enriching the Galaxy with distinct stellar populations.
By comparing simulations with data from Gaia, HST, the JWST, and Euclid, we will unravel their origins (distinguishing between clusters born in the primordial Milky Way and those accreted from satellite galaxies), quantify their contribution to galactic components, including the central nuclear star cluster and supermassive black hole, and constrain their impact on the Milky Way’s chemical and dynamical history. This work will bridge star cluster dynamics, galactic archaeology, and black hole growth, offering a unified picture of how galaxies assemble and evolve.
Constraining the Dust Attenuation Curves of Galaxies at 2 < z < 12 with JWST (Giulia Rodighiero, Paolo Cassata, Benedetta Vulcani, Laura Bisigello)
This PhD project aims to investigate the shape and evolution of dust attenuation curves in galaxies across cosmic time (2 < z < 12), using rest-frame UV-to-optical spectra from JWST/NIRSpec and JWST/NIRCAM-WFSS obtained through archival programs and from various surveys in which the supervisors are involved (e.g. CEERS, POPPIES). The candidate will build a homogeneous galaxy sample spanning wide ranges in stellar mass, star formation rate, and redshift. By applying and extending methods from local studies (e.g., Balmer decrements and UV slopes), the project will derive selective attenuation curves and study their dependence on galaxy properties. A key objective is to determine whether the Calzetti-like attenuation law holds at early epochs or if significant deviations emerge with redshift or galaxy environment. Statistical techniques will be used to control for stellar population age and geometry. The project offers opportunities for collaboration with JWST team members and for incorporating deep learning methods to optimize attenuation modeling. Results will provide critical constraints on galaxy SED modeling and dust evolution in the early Universe.
Revealing the Dust-Obscured Nature of High-Redshift Galaxies with MIRI-JWST (Giulia Rodighiero, Laura Bisigello, Andrea Grazian, Paolo Cassata)
This PhD project aims to characterize the physical properties of faint, dusty, high-redshift (2 < z < 12) galaxies using archival and collaboration-based JWST/MIRI observations. Building on recent dropout-based selections (e.g., F200W-dropouts from CEERS), the candidate will combine mid-IR MIRI photometry with NIRCam imaging and available NIRSpec spectroscopy to perform detailed SED fitting. The goal is to constrain stellar masses, dust attenuation, star formation histories, and AGN activity in extreme populations such as ultra-high-redshift candidates. The project will explore the prevalence and nature of dust in galaxies previously missed in UV/optical surveys and assess their contribution to the cosmic star formation rate density. Machine learning and stacking techniques may be employed. The candidate will contribute to large JWST collaborations and lead a unique effort in understanding dust-obscured galaxy evolution at early times. The candidate will be also involved in ALMA collaborations that provide direct submillimeter counterparts to the dusty candidates (e.g. the recent CHAMPS survey).
Galaxy Formation and Evolution with Euclid (Giulia Rodighiero, Paolo Cassata, Laura Bisigello, Andrea Grazian)
This PhD project will be developed within the Euclid Consortium to study galaxy formation and evolution using Euclid’s unprecedented imaging and spectroscopy over wide cosmological volumes. By combining photometric and spectroscopic data, the candidate will investigate how galaxy properties—such as mass, morphology, star formation, and quenching—are shaped by their environment, from dense clusters to cosmic voids. The project will leverage Euclid’s large-scale structure mapping and multi-wavelength synergies with ground- and space-based surveys. Depending on the candidate’s interests, the focus can range from statistical population studies to detailed modeling of galaxy physical parameters or machine learning techniques for classification. The student will become a formal member of the Euclid consortium and he/she will be actively involved in the Euclid Galaxy Evolution Science Working Group, contributing to the early science phases of the mission.
Probing Atomic Gas in Galaxies in the local Universe and Beyond with HI Surveys (Giulia Rodighiero, Isabella Prandoni, Francesco Sinigaglia)
This PhD project aims to investigate the evolution of atomic hydrogen (HI) in galaxies in the Local Universe or beyond (z ≳ 0.2) using spectral stacking techniques and deep HI surveys such as MeerKAT/MIGHTEE, uGMRT, and VLA. The candidate will construct statistically significant galaxy samples by combining spectroscopic redshifts and multi-wavelength photometry to derive HI–stellar mass scaling relations. A key goal is to study how HI content varies with galaxy properties (e.g., stellar mass, SFR, morphology) and environment (e.g., groups, filaments). The student will use and further develop stacking pipelines to recover average HI masses where direct detections are not feasible. The project also involves reduction and analysis of proprietary HI data in the Euclid Deep Field South. Depending on interest, the project may include machine learning tools or simulations to interpret the gas dynamics and baryon cycle. This work will contribute to our understanding of cold gas evolution leading up to the SKA era.
Probing Cosmic Microwave Background anomalies (Nicola Bartolo)
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation is a privileged laboratory to study the initial conditions of the universe, its composition and evolution. At present there are several hints of statistical anomalies in the properties of the CMB fluctuations w.r.t to the standard model of Cosmology, especially on the largest angular scales. Even though their statistical significance is not high, such anomalies are interesting in that they might reveal new physics beyond the standard cosmological model. Systematics might be a possibility, still up to now all the explanations in this sense have not been satisfactory, and moreover such anomalies have been reported independently both by the WMAP and the Planck satellite, two instruments with different systematics. The aim of this PhD project is twofold. On the one hand an investigation of possible (cosmological) effects able to explain such anomalies will be developed. Possible scenarios to be analyzed include both early universe conditions and low redshift evolution. On the other hand, we aim at investigating alternative observables able to better characterize the nature of these anomalies (e.g., fully exploiting the CMB polarization information, also in view of future CMB experiments) or observables related to future galaxy, radio, and gravitational-wave datasets, such as Euclid, SKA, Lisa and ET.
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) birefringence: theory and observations (Nicola Bartolo)
In the last 5 years there has been an increasing evidence of what is called CMB birefringence, namely a rotation of the linear polarization of CMB photons while they propagate, from their emission (at the last scattering surface) up to observation. Such a non-vanishing polarization rotation angle is at present detected at the level of up to 3.6 sigma. Such an effect can be the tracer of new physics, e.g. parity-violating extensions of standard electromagnetism and could probe the existence of a new cosmological field acting as dark matter or dark energy. It has become customary to employ Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarised data to probe such a phenomenon. Future CMB surveys (like the next CMB satellite LitBIRD, devoted to CMB polarization) will have the capacity to dramatically improve the sensitivity to such an effect. The PhD project thesis will deal with both theoretical and phenomenological/observational aspects of such a phenomenon.
Investigating the primordial stochastic gravitational wave background (Nicola Bartolo)
Two years ago various international collaborations, exploiting pulsar timing arrays, have measured for the first time a stochastic gravitational wave background. Its origin is still to be precisely defined and besides supermassive black holes, a cosmological origin is at present compatible with data. The PhD thesis will focus on both theoretical and phenomenological aspects that can further open the way to distinguish between different types of stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves, focusing in particular on their primordial origin. Various observables can be investigated, as well their specific imprints over an enormous range of frequencies, from their possible imprints on Cosmic Microwave Background polarization, to Pular Timing Arrays, and direct future interferometric measurements (Einstein Telescope and LISA).
Towards fully simulating the variability of stellar populations (Michele Trabucchi, Leo Girardi, Diego Bossini)
Stellar variability, either due to stellar oscillations or binary processes, is an extremely valuable tool to study the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies. Measuring the period of pulsating stars allows a determination of their intrinsic brightness, thereby providing a way of characterising the distance and age of the stellar population they belong to. Solar-type and red giant stars, as well as some compact stellar remnants, display rich spectra of low-amplitude radial and non-radial oscillations that can be exploited to probe their interior structure. The variability of binary stars can provide information on the history formation, evolution and mass transfer in multiple stellar systems. Many distinct theoretical and empirical models exist to describe the variety of stellar variability phenomena that we observe, but a tool homogeneously incorporating their predictions does not currently exist. It will be the PhD student’s task to gather such models from the literature, complementing them with new calculations through state-of-the-art public software for the simulation of stellar oscillations. Then, the student will implement these models into the TRILEGAL code developed within the Stellar Physics group, a tool for the simulation of stellar populations in galaxies and clusters. Finally, the student will compute such simulations and compare and constrain the novel results against observations from the most recent time-domain astronomical surveys, such as OGLE, Gaia, ZTF, LSST, Kepler, TESS.
The role of stellar rotation on stellar population models (Guglielmo Costa, Leo Girardi, Alessandro Mazzi)
Hubble Space Telescope data for star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds made crystal clear that rapidly rotating stars are much more common than previously thought. However, most interpretative tools of stellar populations (e.g. age estimates based on the HR diagram or on the integrated spectra of galaxies) completely ignore the presence of rotating stars. To fix this situation, our team has started a deep revision of the PARSEC database of stellar models, with the consideration of rotation on the stellar evolution, on the stellar spectra, and in the surface chemical abundances. In this PhD project, we will complete the transition to stellar population models that fully include the impact of rotation, hence providing an extremely useful database to the astrophysical community. There is plenty of public and proprietary data on which our models can be calibrated, including HST imaging and spectra of Magellanic Cloud star clusters, Keck spectroscopy of giants in nearby galaxies, and the broadening of spectral lines from Gaia. Moreover, new data from JWST and EUCLID will possibly be available soon as well as asteroseismic inferences on the internal rotation from the Kepler and TESS satellites.
Constraining Asymptotic Giant Branch models at solar and super-solar metallicity with resolved stellar populations in M33 and M31 (Michele Trabucchi, Leo Girardi, Giada Pastorelli)
The thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) is one of the most challenging evolutionary phases to model due to the complexity of physical processes such
as internal mixing episodes, mass loss, variability, and dust formation. To constrain stellar models, comparing predictions with observational data is necessary. Resolved stellar populations data has proven successful in providing critical constraints to the models. The Triangulum Galaxy (M33) and Andromeda Galaxy (M31) are ideal candidates to put stringent constraints to models at solar- and super-solar metallicity, with high-quality data from the Hubble Space Telescope already available (in the surveys PHAT, PHATTER, PHAST and their extensions). The project aims to perform accurate stellar population synthesis simulations of M31 and M33 using the TRILEGAL code, which incorporates state-of-the-art AGB models. The data-model comparison will inform the computation of new AGB models at solar- and super-solar metallicity able to reproduce the target galaxies. This project is part of an ongoing effort to provide the astronomical community with calibrated and well-tested stellar evolutionary tracks and stellar isochrones, used in many astrophysical applications (distance scale determination, interpretation of integrated light of high-redshift galaxies, chemical evolution of galaxies). The PhD student will be supported by members of the Padova research group, experts in stellar evolution and stellar populations modelling, and encouraged to work with and visit our collaborators in the USA (at STScI - Baltimore, CCA Flatiron - New York, University of Washington - Seattle).
Refreshing stellar evolution in the light of new opacities (Guglielmo Costa, Leo Girardi, Diego Bossini)
Rosseland mean opacities are a fundamental ingredient of stellar models and stellar evolutionary codes. Several recent developments reveal that presently-available opacity tables and interpolation codes are not exactly “well established” and accurate. Even for the Sun, there is a long-standing discrepancy between solar models and the speed of sound revealed by helioseismology, which is possibly associated with inaccurate opacity tables. The situation becomes even more uncertain for stars that have significant changes in the chemical composition of their envelopes, like for instance fast-rotating stars and the products of close binary evolution. In this project, we will leverage the available tools for the fast computation of opacity tables, including our code AESOPUS at low temperatures, and TOPS tools at high temperatures, to explore the uncertainties associated with the opacity tables and their interpolation. The PhD student will make extensive use of the PARSEC stellar evolution code, aiming at a significant revision and extension of our present databases of stellar evolutionary tracks and isochrones.
Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe: Physics and Rapid Cosmological Evolution (Eugenio Bottacini)
Constraining the physics of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the early Universe and understanding their rapid cosmological evolution to masses of the order of 10^9 Msun remains a major challenge. However, blazars that are galaxies with jets oriented toward the observer, offer valuable insight. Simulating the physical processes responsible for emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays, enables constraints on SMBH physics. This, in turn, allows for modeling their cosmological evolution with updated physical parameters. The aim of this project is to constrain the physics of SMBHs in the early Universe and model their growth from a seed mass of M = 10^6 Msun at z = 30 to M = 10^9 Msun at z = 3–4. The ideal PhD candidate is expected to learn to use simulation software and contribute to a larger research project in SMBH science.
Globular Clusters as Windows on Near-Field Cosmology (Antonino MIlone, Anna Marino)
Globular clusters are among the oldest stellar systems and serve as fossil records of the early Universe. Understanding their origin is key to major cosmological questions: How did they form? What role did they play in building the Galactic halo? Did they contribute to cosmic reionization?
This PhD project tackles these topics by investigating multiple stellar populations in globular clusters. Our group has developed powerful tools combining spectroscopy and multi-band photometry, which have transformed the field.
The candidate will apply these methods to analyze UV, optical, and IR data from space telescopes and wide-field ground-based facilities. A key focus will be on new deep observations from James Webb Space Telescope Cycle 4 and 6 (Proposal ID #8960, PI: Milone), targeting low-mass stars to probe the origin of multiple populations.
This research will shed light on star formation at high redshift, the assembly of the Milky Way, and the role of globular clusters in early cosmic evolution—advancing our understanding of near-field cosmology with cutting-edge data. The project offers a unique opportunity to work at the frontier of near-field cosmology using the most advanced observational datasets available.
Binaries, Extended Turn-Offs, UV-Dim Stars, and Other Exotic Phenomena in Star Clusters (Antonino Milone)
In recent years, a series of groundbreaking discoveries has revolutionized our understanding of the formation and evolution of stars and stellar populations. These include the detection of split main sequences and extended main sequence turn-offs in young star clusters, as well as the identification of UV-dim stars, blue plumes, zig-zag patterns along the main sequence, and other exotic phenomena that challenge the predictions of standard stellar evolution models.
The candidate will investigate these phenomena using data from our extensive surveys of globular and open star clusters in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds, complemented by additional imaging datasets. The project will involve applying state-of-the-art data reduction and analysis techniques and will include collaboration with leading experts in the field. A central component of the research will focus on new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, obtained through the Cycle 4 program "The Missing Link for Understanding Multiple Populations in Star Clusters" (ID #9012, PI: Milone).
Dynamics of Milky Way Satellites and Their Stellar Populations (Antonino Milone)
This project aims to investigate the dynamics of star clusters and dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way by exploiting high-precision stellar astrometry from Gaia, the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes, and wide-field facilities from both ground-based and space-based observatories.
The candidate will develop expertise in advanced techniques of image analysis and data reduction, focusing on the measurement of stellar proper motions. This includes both relative motions within individual stellar systems and absolute motions of Galactic satellites. By combining astrometric data from multiple observatories and applying innovative analysis methods, the candidate will constrain the orbits of Milky Way satellites as well as the motions of stellar populations and peculiar stars within clusters.
Key goals of the project include:
– Investigating the internal kinematics of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters to gain insights into their origin, evolution, and role in Galactic assembly and cosmic reionization.
– Studying the velocity distribution of stars in Milky Way satellites to understand their dynamical evolution. Proper motion data will also be used to search for signatures of dark compact objects, including stellar-mass and intermediate-mass black holes.
The internal composition of Earth-like planets and the architecture of their planetary systems (Luca Malavolta)
The TESS satellite has already discovered hundreds of Earth-size planets transiting bright, nearby stars. Still, only a spectroscopic follow-up from the ground can ultimately constrain their mass and internal composition. Such measurements can be severely hampered by the appearance of spots and faculae on the stellar surface, to a point when planetary signals become undetectable. Thus, understanding the stellar activity is key to accurately characterising the transiting planets and identifying the complete architecture of the system, as other non-transiting planets may exist.
In this context, the PhD candidate will complement state-of-the-art statistical tools with the most recent and experimental techniques to model stellar activity in photometric and spectroscopic datasets simultaneously with planetary signals. After validating the tools on synthetic and Solar data, the student will use them to characterise Earth-sized candidate planets in multi-planet systems identified by TESS using public data and private observations from the HARPS-N Collaboration and the GAPS project. The student will join a vibrant international collaboration, with the possibility of performing observations at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo.
Validation and ranking of exoplanetary candidates from space-based missions (Giampaolo Piotto, Giacomo Mantovan, Domenico Nardiello)
The advent of photometric, large-scale, space-based surveys like TESS and the upcoming PLATO is dramatically increasing the number of known exoplanets and exoplanetary systems, as well as planet candidates and false positives.
To efficiently prioritize candidates for follow-ups and further characterization, we need to validate and rank them using statistical analyses that compare their properties with known exoplanets. Validation is an essential tool that allows us to
identify the most promising candidates and optimizes the use of observing time. The student will analyze planetary candidates with state-of-the-art software and develop algorithms based on AI capable of untangling planetary signals from false positives.
The student will apply these software tools to TESS and PLATO data, including additional information from different sources (e.g., Gaia). The student will also be actively involved in the follow-up activities our group promotes, including
observations at the telescope.
Exoplanet search using TESS in preparation of the PLATO mission (Domenico Nardiello, Valerio Nascimbeni (INAF), Giampaolo Piotto)
This is a thesis to exploit TESS data to search for transiting exoplanets and variable stars. The space mission TESS has discovered thousands of candidate exoplanets by surveying over 95% of the sky and many other discoveries are expected.
In this context, the student will develop tools for photometric extraction, correction, and analysis of TESS stellar light curves, particularly for PLATO targets within the LOPS2 field. These tools will also make use of AI routines, to optimize the required results. Key tasks of the project include identifying planetary transit signals and variable stars, vetting high-confidence planetary candidates, and determining accurate parameters of TESS planetary candidates and their star hosts. Most promising newly-discovered planets would be also proposed for observations with CHEOPS (an operating ESA mission in which our group is deeply involved), and for radial velocity follow-ups with HARPS-N. This research is crucial for the preparation of the PLATO mission (launch end-2026), which will search for habitable rocky planets and in which our group is deeply involved. The thesis will contribute to the detailed characterization of PLATO targets and the detection of TESS long-period mono-transit candidates that will be confirmed by PLATO.
Exoplanets around young stars (Domenico Nardiello, Luca Malavolta, Giacomo Mantovan)
The accurate knowledge of the ages of stars hosting planets allows us to know in detail how planetary systems form and evolve. Accurate and precise age estimates of the stars in the Milky Way can be only possible for (coeval) members of stellar systems like open clusters, associations and co-moving groups. Looking for exoplanets around stellar cluster members has two advantages: (i) the stellar (and consequently the planet) parameters are well constrained (ii) looking to exoplanets around stars with different ages (from few Myr up to some Gyr) allows us to follow the evolution of the exoplanetary systems in different environments.
The PhD project aims to identify, validate, and characterize exoplanetary systems around young stars (<1 Gyr) using over seven years of TESS data and complementary datasets. The student will identify young stars using updated
astrophotometric catalogues (e.g., Gaia), analyse light curves, detrend stellar activity, and discover new transiting exoplanets by using machine learning techniques. The goal is to analyze young planetary systems, compare them to older systems, and develop tools for the PLATO mission. The student will join an international collaboration with significant involvement in PLATO and ground-based follow-up facilities.
Artificial Intelligence to discover new exoplanets (Tiziano Zingales, Luca Malavolta, Giampaolo Piotto)
Around 7500 exoplanets have been discovered in the Milky Way, and this number continues to grow. The rapid expansion of astronomical data in recent decades has driven the exoplanetary community to develop increasingly efficient analysis tools.
With the PLATO space mission set to launch in 2026, tens of thousands of new exoplanets are expected to be found, many within the habitable zone. To fully exploit the scientific potential of this mission, the development of an advanced artificial intelligence algorithm is proposed. This AI will simulate realistic transit light curves using the PLATOsim tool, process and clean the resulting data, and be trained to detect planetary signals buried in noise and stellar variability. Using state-of-the-art machine learning and deep learning techniques inspired by computer vision, the algorithm will be optimized for accuracy and efficiency. Designed for scalability and minimal human intervention, the final product will automate the exoplanet discovery process. Once validated on PLATO data, the tool can be extended to other missions
such as Kepler, TESS, and CHEOPS, broadening its impact across the field.
Population study on exoplanetary atmospheres - Towards a deeper understanding of planetary existence (Tiziano Zingales, Valerio Nascimbeni -INAF-)
Atmospheric characterisation of exoplanets is key to understanding their composition and formation history. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), with its cutting-edge capabilities, is revolutionising this field through numerous successful transit observations, with many more expected. This project aims to deepen our understanding of atmospheric diversity, crucial to refining planetary formation models, and explore habitability. During this project, the candidate will extract and standardise all available JWST transmission spectra to ensure a uniform dataset free
from instrumental biases. Next, atmospheric retrievals will be performed using the TauREx code, applying varied models to identify key gases such as water vapour, CO₂, and methane. Finally, a comparative population analysis will reveal patterns and shared features across planetary atmospheres. The results will offer crucial insights into atmospheric processes and help constrain theories of planetary evolution.
Exoplanet search and characterization using the TTV method (Valerio Nascimbeni -INAF-, Luca Borsato -INAF-, Giampaolo Piotto)
The transit time variation (TTV) technique probes planetary masses and orbits through gravitational interactions in multi-planet systems. We lead an ongoing program combining data from TESS, CHEOPS, and ground-based telescopes, supported by dedicated software for TTV modeling. The PhD project will build on this framework, focusing on the analysis of TTV signals from CHEOPS and TESS, in preparation for PLATO and Ariel. The student will gain hands-on experience with observations and join an international team leading TTV efforts for several space missions.
Super-Eddington Accretion onto Supermassive Black Holes (Mauro D'Onofrio, Paola Marziani)
In recent years, a growing body of observational evidence suggests that supermassive black holes may undergo phases of super-Eddington accretion which seems necessary to explain their rapid growth at early cosmic times. A first goal of the thesis is therefore to define multi-frequency selection criteria (involving spectral energy distributions, emission line properties, and variability patterns) to make it ossible the reliable identification of super-Eddington candidates in large surveys such as SDSS and DESI. The student will afterwards focus on three key aspects of super-Eddington accretion: (1) the accurate estimation of accretion parameters — refining black hole mass and Eddington ratio estimates through multi-component spectral fitting and empirical correlations, with particular attention at viewing angle effects; (2) the dynamics of the wind — using velocity shifts and profiles of optical and UV emission lines to characterize outflows driven by radiation pressure; (3) the chemical composition of the line-emitting gas — investigating metallicity-sensitive diagnostics to infer enrichment and evolutionary status, in connection with recent scenarios proposing nuclear star formation in the outskirts of an advection dominated accretion flow. The student will work on a gold sample of several tens of super-Eddington candidates for which proprietary, dedicated observations were obtained (VLA, ESO/VLT XSHOOTER, GTC/Osiris) as well as on survey data. Depending on the student background and interest, the analysis might be purely observational or more oriented toward dynamical and photoionization modeling, or modelization of accretion-modified stars. The student will benefit from a steady collaboration of the supervisors with astronomers at Gemini/NoirLab, Belgrade Observatory and University, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, the Instituto de Astronomía of UNAM, among others.
The environment and the morphology of Active Galactic Nuclei Hosts along the Eigenvector 1 sequence (Mauro D'Onofrio, Paola Marziani)
This thesis will explore the host galaxy morphology and environment of a spectroscopically selected sample of AGN organized along the Eigenvector 1 (E1) sequence. The project focuses on the physical link between the nuclear properties of quasars — such as Eddington ratio, occurrece and power of relativistic ejections, chemical enrichment and the large-scale features of their host galaxies and surroundings. A particular emphasis will be placed on the interaction between radio jets and the ambient interstellar medium (ISM). The student will examine how radio morphology, jet orientation, and feedback signatures appear in special classes of type-1 AGN, and correlate with position along E1, using archival radio maps (e.g., VLA FIRST) and spectroscopic indicators of outflows or shocks, part of them already available from SOAR dedicated observations. In parallel, the host galaxy morphology and color will be investigated across the E1 sequence using multi-band imaging data (e.g., SDSS, Pan-STARRS). Tricolor composite maps will be used to trace dust lanes, star-forming regions, and structural asymmetries, helping to infer merger signatures, tidal features, or gradients in stellar population. A dedicated survey might be planned as part of the Ph.D. project. The project is oriented toward image analysis and classification, as well as toward interpreting physical correlations across the AGN parameter space. The thesis will contribute to understanding how AGN activity — especially radio-mode feedback, due to weakly active supermassive black holes — is shaped by and shapes its galactic environment.
Exploring the low-surface brightness universe with new generation all-sky surveys (Enrico Maria Corsini, Enrichetta Iodice - INAF-)
The new generation of all-sky surveys provided by Euclid and Vera C. Rubin Observatory will explore the structures in the Universe down to the faintest surface brightness levels, where the relics of the galaxy mass assembly reside and allow to constrain their build up within the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) paradigm. Present deep imaging and spectroscopic surveys have largely enhanced the detection and characterization of the galaxy outskirts, intra-cluster light (ICL) and low-surface brightness (LSB) galaxies. The similarities between the present and planned surveys has valuable advantages: existing data provide a preview of the science that will soon be delivered by the new surveys and represent test beds for building up the knowledge required for managing the upcoming massive data-sets, also with the aid of tailored numerical simulations. Our main science goal is to study the galaxy mass assembly in different environments, by extensive analyses of the light and color distributions of the stellar halos, ICL and LSB galaxies. This PhD project is part of larger scientific program, named VST-Early-type Galaxy Surveys (VEGAS, https://sites.google.com/inaf.it/vegas/home), which aims at studying the mass assembly of galaxies in groups and clusters using the deep imaging surveys at VST. The acquired know-how, tools, and scientific developments will be immediately transferred to explore the data of the new generation all-sky surveys boosting the study of galactic structures down to the LSB regime.
Multi-phase galaxies in the primordial Universe (Cassata, Rodighiero)
Understanding the multiphase nature of galaxies in the early Universe is key to unveiling the processes that govern galaxy formation and evolution. In this PhD project, the candidate will combine high-resolution near-infrared imaging from JWST/NIRCam, spatially resolved spectroscopy from JWST/NIRSpec IFU, and submillimeter observations of the [C II] 158 μm line with ALMA to investigate the complex interplay between stars, ionized gas, molecular gas, and dust in galaxies at high redshift (z ≳ 4). NIRCam imaging provides detailed rest-frame optical morphologies and stellar mass distributions, while NIRSpec IFU data trace the ionized gas and nebular emission properties, allowing for independent estimates of recent star-formation activity. Complementary ALMA observations of [C II] allow us to probe the cool interstellar medium at sub-kiloparsec scales, offering crucial insight into the distribution and dynamics of the cold gas and its relation to star-forming regions. By integrating these multi-wavelength, multi-phase diagnostics, this work aims to constrain the physical mechanisms driving star formation, feedback, dust growth, and structural assembly in the first few billion years of cosmic history.
Students can also choose a project from those listed here: PhD_projects_INAF_all
