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New basic research center: Stellar Astrophysics Center

The Danish National Research Foundation has granted a new Center of Excellence. Professor Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard has been awarded DKK 55 million for the Stellar Astrophysics Center.

Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard

Stellar Astrophysics Centre: Research on the Sun, stars and extra-solar planets
Grant from the Danish National Research Foundation: DKK 55 million

The purpose of the Stellar Astrophysics Centre is to study the stars and their planetary systems based on a comprehensive strategy that seeks to produce a complete picture of the structure, atmosphere and magnetic activity of the stars and the planets in their orbit. The centre plans to combine new observations from the Kepler space telescope and data from the so-called SONG (Stellar Observations Network Group) network of telescopes with advanced data analysis and theoretical models.

The centre will be based at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, which is headed by Professor Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard. The centre will also have six research entities around the world headed by international collaborators. The six entities will be located at the University of Sydney (Australia), the University of Birmingham (UK), the San José State University (USA), the Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics (Germany), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and the Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University (Denmark).

Collaboration between the head office and the external entities is expected to lead to a large number of new research results that will fundamentally change our understanding of the stars and their development. The research will cover areas such as the Sun and its development and stability; the physical processes occurring at the hot interior of stars; the influence of magnetic fields on conditions on the surface of stars; the stability of the magnetic fields on stars; and the properties of remote planetary systems, including the possibility of life on newly discovered planets.

 

Read the full press release: science.au.dk