UMR Astrophysics Instrumentation Modelisation
Science and space instrument interface laboratory
Connecting astrophysics and instrumentation from conception to flying steps. Defining instruments and make sure they tie in scientific objects.
More
Astrophysical Plasma Modelling Laboratory
Understand the physical mechanisms governing the dynamics of astrophysical plasmas at every scale using numerical, analytical and experimental methods.
More
Study and development of space eletronic systems
Concepting and developping electronic equipment using analog and digital electronic systems architectures
More
Laboratory Star Formation and Interstellar Medium
Understanding the physics of star formation and the production of dust in the outer space from observations of the far-infrared to sub-millimeter.
More
High Energy Cosmic Phenomena Research Laboratory
Observe and study the extreme sources and the most violent phenomena in the Universe. The sources are often revealed by their high energy radiation.
More
Cosmology and Statistics Laboratory - CosmoStat
Cosmologists and computer scientists working together to develop new methods of statistics, signal processing, and apply them to the analysis of data for cosmology and other areas.
More
Space Systems and Architectures laboratory
Engineers and scientists working together to define the technical aspects to take into account while making space intruments.
More
Quality and space integration laboratory
Supporting space projetcs in terms of management, supervision of conception, study, development and making.
More
Spectral-imaging laboratory for space science
R&D in detectors from far infrared to gamma ray using bolometers, microcalocalorimeters or semiconductors.
More
Cosmology and Galaxy Evolution group (LCEG)
Reconstruct galactic evolutions based on observations from large spatial instruments and telescops as well as high-resolution computer simulations.
More
Laboratory Dynamics of Stars, (Exo)-planets and their Environment
Study the internal and external dynamics of the Sun , stars and their interactions with orbiting planets for a dynamic view of the stars and planets in their space environment.
More
A major space astrophysics laboratory
The Astrophysics Division (DAp - UMR AIM) is among the major space laboratories in France, in Europe and internationally. In direct collaboration with CNES, which is responsible for the space activities of French laboratories, DAp is strongly involved in space missions for ESA's Cosmic Vision scientific program and on bilateral missions supported by CNES. The development of astrophysics at the CEA began in partnership with CNES since its creation in the early 1960s. Astrophysics has since been a growing science with high potential for discoveries. Instruments, ever more numerous and more powerful, whether from the ground or on board satellites, make it possible to probe the universe with increased angular resolution and sensitivity across the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Meanwhile, modeling, particularly using computational simulations, is of increasing importance in astrophysics; astrophysical problems are mostly complex problems that involve other disciplines of physics. Astrophysics and other fields of physics enrich each other.
The Astrophysics division
The DAp-UMR AIM includes nearly 200 people, including 130 permanent staff mainly UMR AIM, a joint research unit CNRS-CEA-University Paris Cité and also of the Astroparticle and Cosmology UMR APC, CEA-CNRS -University Paris Cité-Paris Observatory -PSL-CNES . The Astrophysics Service brings together researchers, engineers and technicians from the Astrophysics Division at CEA Irfu as well as research engineers at Dedip Irfu, University Paris Cité and CNRS.
Our scientific projects
Developing instruments
Modelling the Universe
Knowledge management of data archives
![]() |
H.E.S.S. |
![]() |
---|
H.E.S.S stands for "High Energy Stereoscopic System". This telescope system been designed and built by a large international collaboration which includes the DAPNIA as a member. This instrument is dedicated to the observation of high energy gamma ray sources with energies above a few tens of GeV. The interaction of these very high energy gamma rays with the upper atmosphere creates a faint flash of blue light called "Cherenkov emission". This very fast (a few nanosecond) flash of light can be observed from the ground. Surveying the sky in the TeV energy range, which is observed by astrophysicists only since last two decades, allows the get an insight into the origin of cosmic rays and to study the acceleration of cosmic rays in various astrophysical objects such as supernovae remnants or active galactic nuclei.
The HESS experiment is located in NAMIBIA, on the Gamsberg highlands (latitude 23° 16' south, longitude 16° 30' east), at an altitude of 1800 m above sea level. It was named after a famous austrian physicist, Victor Hess (1883-1964), who was awarded the Nobel price in physics in 1936 for discovering cosmic rays.
The HESS apparatus consists in four 12 meter telescopes at the corners of a square with 120 meter sides. Each of these telescopes has a camera at his focus.The camera are large arrays of 960 photomultipliers sensitive to blue light. These photomultipliers have a very fast response time, of the order of one nanosecond.
The sensitivity of HESS (the power to detect faint sources) is 10 times better than that of previous experiments (WHIPPLE, HEGRA, CAT) with an energy threshold of 100 GeV.
Offers
JWST observations suggest that the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c may have a thin atmosphere.
MoreAuscultating a mini-Neptune: taking the temperature with JWST's MIRI instrument
MoreAnaëlle Maury receives an ERC Advanced grant for her project PEBBLES
MoreMIRIm instrument on the James Webb space telescope detects, for the first time, the thermal emission of a temperate rocky planet
MoreTowards a new scenario of magnetar formation
MoreThe 'brain' of the SVOM ECLAIRs telescope has been delivered
More4D-STAR: Taking stellar structure and evolution to higher dimensions in the era of space asteroseismology
More20 years later… Cosmological analysis of galaxy clusters detected by XMM-Newton
MoreHow to measure magnetic fields within binary systems emitting gravitational waves?
MoreSolar Orbiter confirms the existence of magnetic folds ejected by our Sun
More