Related papers: Astro2020 Project White Paper: The Cosmic Accelero…
Mini-EUSO (Extreme Universe Space Observatory) is a small-scale prototype cosmic-ray detector that will measure Earth`s UV emission and other atmospheric phenomena from space. It will be placed in the International Space Station (ISS)…
Even though it was not designed as an exoplanetary research mission, the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) has been opportunistically used for a novel experiment, in which Earth serves as a proxy exoplanet. More than two years of…
The paper presents the design and qualification tests of an airborne experimental setup to determine cosmic ray-flux in the lower stratospheric regions of the earth's atmosphere. The concept of coincidence is implemented to preferentially…
This thesis discusses two different approaches for the measurement of cosmic-ray antiparticles in the GeV to TeV energy range. The first part of this thesis discusses the prospects of antiparticle flux measurements with the proposed PEBS…
This paper introduces a novel Monte Carlo (MC) method to simulate the evolution of the low-earth orbit environment, enhancing the MIT Orbital Capacity Analysis Tool (MOCAT). In recent decades, numerous space environment models have been…
Many recent discoveries in astrophysics involve phenomena that are highly complex. Carefully designed experiments, together with sophisticated computer simulations, are required to gain insights into the underlying physics. We show that…
The Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) is one of two candidate mission concepts selected for Phase-A study for the new NASA Astrophysics Probe Explorer (APEX) mission class, with a planned launch in 2032. The X-ray camera for AXIS is…
The most successful method used so far to search for extrasolar planets is the radial velocity technique, where periodical shifts on the measured emission from a star provide evidence for an orbiting planet. This method has been used on…
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will search for planets transiting bright stars with Ic<13. TESS has been selected by NASA for launch in 2018 as an Astrophysics Explorer mission, and is expected to discover a thousand or…
[Abridged] The study of disc kinematics has recently opened up as a promising method to detect unseen planets. However, a systematic, statistically meaningful analysis of such an approach remains missing. The aim of this work is to devise…
We present our search program for substellar companions using high-precision relative astronomy. Due to its orbital motion around the star, an unseen substellar companion would produce a periodic "wobble" of the host star, which is the…
A moderate investment of observing time with the International X-ray Observatory to study high-redshift galaxy clusters detected in future large-scale surveys, will provide cosmological measurements of fundamental importance. IXO…
In recent years the possibility of measuring the temporal change of radial and transverse position of sources in the sky in real time have become conceivable thanks to the thoroughly improved technique applied to new astrometric and…
The K2 mission will make use of the Kepler spacecraft and its assets to expand upon Kepler's groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of exoplanets and astrophysics through new and exciting observations. K2 will use an innovative way of…
We examine the cosmological constraints that can be achieved with a galaxy cluster survey with the future CORE space mission. Using realistic simulations of the millimeter sky, produced with the latest version of the Planck Sky Model, we…
Next-generation tests of fundamental physics and cosmology using large scale structure require measurements over large volumes of the Universe, including high redshifts inaccessible to present-day surveys. Line intensity mapping, an…
ASTROD I is the first planned space mission in a series of ASTROD missions for testing relativity in space using optical devices. The main aims are: (i) to test General Relativity with an improvement of three orders of magnitude compared to…
The 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics endorsed space-based high contrast imaging for the detection and characterization of habitable exoplanets as a key priority for the upcoming decade. To advance the maturity of starlight…
Detection of weak radial velocity shifts of host stars induced by orbiting planets is an important technique for discovering and characterizing planets beyond our solar system. Optical frequency combs enable calibration of stellar radial…
Space-based projects are providing a wealth of high-quality asteroseismic data, including frequencies for a large number of stars showing solar-like oscillations. These data open the prospect for precise determinations of key stellar…