New Junior Professor at TTK: Philipp Mertsch
We are happy to announce that Philipp Mertsch has arrived at TTK as a new Junior Professor in Theoretical Physics.
What is the particle nature of dark matter? Did the infant Universe undergo a phase of cosmological inflation?
Questions like these can be answered by astrophysical observations of charged particles, gamma-rays or microwaves. However, astrophysical processes also produce emission in these channels, in most cases outshining possible signs of dark matter annihilation or inflation. Uncovering new physics therefore requires an exquisite understanding of the astrophysical backgrounds. In addition, a better modelling will also help in answering the century-old question of the origin of high-energy cosmic rays that are pervading the Universe.
Philipp is working on a wide range of topics in astroparticle physics like the acceleration and transport of cosmic rays, the origin of diffuse emission and the question of how such emission (e.g. in microwaves) contaminates searches for new physics (e.g. inflationary gravitational waves). The models that Philipp proposes are sometimes motivated by and always have to be tested against experimental data. To this end, he is also looking forward to collaborating with colleagues within TTK (from Planck) and beyond (AMS-02 and IceCube). Philipp is also looking forward to offer lectures in astroparticle physics and beyond starting in winter semester 2017/18 and he is seeking students to work with on a variety of interesting research projects.