Katarina Simkova obtained the FWO fellowship to conduct a PhD research in astroparticle physics.
Katarina will try to advance the research on one of the main questions in astroparticle physics:
where do the most energetic particles in the Universe come from?
She will do so using the data of the Pierre Auger Observatory (https://www.auger.org) covering 3000 km² in La Pampa Amarilla, Argentina.
By employing the newly deployed detectors (AugerPrime, completed in 2023) which enhance the resolution of the Observatory and by applying modern analysis techniques, she will try to understand if Centaurus A is the main acceleration site in the Southern sky.
Centaurus A is the most powerful close by active galactic nucleus seen from the Southern hemisphere.
The PhD research will be conducted in collaboration with prof. Stijn Buitink from VUB and prof.Ioana Maris from ULB and will strengthen the ULB-VUB collaboration at our institute.
This is the first funding by the FWO in the research field of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in the context of the Pierre Auger Observatory.
