The Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) is a research institute located in Garching, just north of

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. It is one of many scientific research institutes belonging to the Max Planck Society. The MPA is widely considered to be one of the leading institutions in the world for theoretical astrophysics research. According to

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corp ...

, from 1999-2009 the Max Planck Society as a whole published more papers and accumulated more citations in the fields of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

and space science than any other research organization in the world.

History

The Max Planck Society was founded on 26 February 1948. It effectively replaced the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science, which was dissolved after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The society is named after Max Planck, one of the founders of quantum theory. The MPA was founded as the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in 1958 and split into the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the

Max Planck Institute for Physics The Max Planck Institute for Physics (MPP) is a physics institute in Munich, Germany that specializes in high energy physics and astroparticle physics. It is part of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and is also known as the Werner Heisenberg Inst ...

in 1991. In 1995, the numerical relativity group moved to the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics.

Organization

The MPA is one of several Max Planck Institutes that specialize in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

. Others are the

Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics is a Max Planck Institute, located in Garching, near Munich, Germany. In 1991 the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics split up into the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial P ...

in Garching (located next-door to the MPA), the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (a.k.a. Albert Einstein Institute) in Golm. The institute is located next-door to the MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, as well as the headquarters of the European Southern Observatory. It also enjoys close working relationships with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Technical University Munich. At any given time, the institute employs approximately 50 scientists, instructs over 30

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students, and hosts about 20 visiting scientists (some 60 visitors stay for longer than 2 weeks in any given year). As of 2021, the four directors of the MPA are

Selma de Mink Selma de Mink is a Dutch astrophysicist specializing in evolution of stars, stellar binary systems and compact objects, including black holes. She is a scientific director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching near Munich, G ...

, Guinevere Kauffmann, Eiichiro Komatsu, and Volker Springel. Previous directors include Ludwig Biermann (1958 – 75), Rudolf Kippenhahn (1975 – 91), Simon White (1994 – 2019), Rashid Sunyaev (1995 – 2018), Wolfgang Hillebrandt (1997 – 2009) and Martin Asplund (2007 – 2011).

Science

Focusing on theoretical investigations, the MPA covers a wide range of topics in

. These include: *

Cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

, in particular galaxy formation and evolution, reionization, and the

cosmic microwave background In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all spac ...

; * High-energy astronomy and astrophysics, including supermassive black holes,

galaxy clusters A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. They are the second- ...

, active galactic nuclei and quasars,

X-ray binaries X-ray binaries are a class of binary stars that are luminous in X-rays. The X-rays are produced by matter falling from one component, called the ''donor'' (usually a relatively normal star), to the other component, called the ''accretor'', which ...

, and accretion discs; *

Stellar physics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, including

stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is cons ...

and stellar explosions such as supernovae and

gamma-ray bursts In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten millis ...

Public outreach

The MPA works to explain astrophysical concepts and disseminate its findings to the public. These activities include popular science articles written by MPA scientists, events hosting school groups, events open to the general public, and monthly research highlights written for a general audience.

Graduate program

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astrophysics is a graduate program offering a PhD in

. The school is a cooperation with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Technical University Munich.

External links

Homepage of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

Homepage of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astrophysics

References

{{Authority control

Astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

Astrophysics institutes 1958 establishments in West Germany Garching bei München