In the line of our good practice in previous years, Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center will organize the summer student program this year in a hybrid form. That means that we will allow the students to come to CAMK instuitute's building to work on the projects. The accommodation will be available in dormitories in Warsaw if there are vacancies. The exact form of the collaboration is up to the project supervisor and is indicated in the project description, but in the case of the on-site form the project supervisor is expected to be available on-site for the student. On-line form of the program is also possible.
We invite 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year undergraduate physics or astronomy students (in exceptional circumstances we would accept younger students). The duration of an individual programme should be 4-6 weeks. Suggested topics are listed below. If you are interested in participating in the internship in the on-line only form, please contact the selected scientist directly to arrange for the details. For on-site form, please first contact the supervisor and fix the exact time and duration of the project and then send your application (the supervisor's name, date of the project, scientific CV). Applications should be submitted in PDF form to praktyki@camk.edu.pl. There is no deadline for applications and they will be considered once submitted. The successful candidates will be informed by email. Please, be aware that the on-site form is limited to EU citizens only.
Pojects
1. Supervisor: Ricardo Salinas, email: rsalinas@camk.edu.pl
Title: Celestial bachelorettes: A search for RR Lyrae companions.
Time: Four to six weeks, between the beginning of July and the first week of September Project for CAMK Summer Program July/Sep 2025, on-site form
Project description: Stars hate living alone. Most of them live in pairs, in what are called binary systems. And yet, there is a particular kind of star, called RR Lyrae (RRL), that remain stubbornly lonesome. Of the hundreds of thousands of RRL that we know, we know for sure that only *one* lives in a binary system. The formation of RRL with a high amount of metals in their atmosphere remains a puzzle, since they are next to impossible to be generated in single systems according to single stellar evolution theory. One possibility is that they are generated via mass transfer to a companion, and that these binary systems have remained uncovered. In this project we will measure pulsational velocities of number of these metal-rich RRL using spectroscopy from the newly commissioned high- resolution spectrograph GHOST at the Gemini 8-meter telescope. Measuring velocities from spectra taken over a 2-year timespan we will able to say whether these stars are indeed alone, putting more tension to the predictions of single stellar evolution; or whether they actually live in pairs. Perhaps you can be the discoverer of the second RRL in a binary system?
Requirements:
Programming skills (python) will be important. General knowledge of UNIX/Linux commands would be an asset.
2. Supervisors: Debora Lancova and Miljenko Cemeljic, email: miki@camk.edu.pl
Title: Radiative MHD simulation of thin disc
Time: 2 + 2 weeks on site, discussions in between online, weekly meetings.
First week: Intro to MHD & PLUTO.
Second week: Simulation set-up and testing.
Third week: Analysis of results.
Fourth week: Comparison to observed sources.
First: June 16th onward. Second: August 11th onward Project for CAMK Summer Program July/Sep 2025, on-site form
Project description: The project aims to simulate a radiation-pressure-supported thin accretion disk using the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code PLUTO, a state-of-the-art numerical tool for modelling astrophysical plasmas. Such disks are believed to form in high-accretion-rate systems, such as Young stellar object or binaries with white dwarfs, neutron stars andblack holes, where the pressure from radiation becomes comparable to or even dominates over gas pressure. The primary goal is to explore the stability of these disks under different physical conditions, such as varying magnetic field configurations or levels of radiation pressure. The simulations will help us understand whether these disks remain stable or develop instabilities, which can lead to turbulence, outflows, or changes in the disk structure. The student will learn how to configure and run 2D or 3D simulations using the PLUTO code, run simulations on a supercomputing cluster, gaining hands-on experience with high-performance computing, post-process the results and visualize physical quantities, compare the disk properties and stability outcomes with theoretical expectations and observational data from real astrophysical systems.
Workplan: After a fast-forward introduction to simulations with PLUTO code, student(s) will embark on setting-up the simulation and test the numerical stability. They will also learn the theoretical basis of MHD and use numerical methods. After running the simulations, student(s) will analyze the data and discuss the results.
Audience: undergrads and early-stage PhDs with interest and at least some knowledge of coding and work in Linux, C & Python.
3. Supervisors: Miljenko Cemeljic, Tanja Kaister & Sukalpa Kundu, email: miki@camk.edu.pl
Title: CAMK small radio telescope
Time: between 15.06-25.08.2025
Form: on-site, Location: CAMK, Warsaw
Project description: Two years ago we started developing CAMK small radio telescope, based on low-cost Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology. We observed the neutral hydrogen line in our Galaxy (see https://users.camk.edu.pl/miki/csrt.html), and will now extend our capabilities with the use of additional, larger parabolic antennas available in CAMK and acquiring radio signals from the Sun and Jupiter.
Audience: In addition to usual pool of participants like University students, we also accept motivated high-school students for shorter visits and hands-on experience. It is unique opportunity to gain insider experience in research environment in the prime astronomical institute in Poland!
4. Supervisors: Krzysztof Nalewajko, Wen Xuan Sia, email: knalew@camk.edu.pl
Title: GRMHD numerical simulations of BH accretion and formation of relativistic jets
Time constraints: the preferred time is Jul 14th - Aug 14th in Warsaw, with the option to continue online
Project description: We offer an introductory project to general relativistic magnetohydrodynamical (GRMHD) numerical simulations of accretion onto Kerr black holes (BH) and formation of relativistic jets. Numerical codes, analysis scripts, access to computing facilities, astrophysical background will be provided and explained. Knowledge of computing, numerical methods, fluid dynamics, magnetism or general relativity will be preferred.
5. Supervisor: Sergen Özdemir, John Eduard Martínez Fernández & RodolfoSmiljanic, email:sergen@camk.edu.pl
Title: Investigation of globular cluster stars in spectroscopic surveys
Time: Starting at early or mid-August (4 weeks)
Project description: The chemistry of Galactic globular clusters is really important to understand the formation of our Galaxy. Recent spectroscopic surveys have published unprecedented catalogs of parameters and abundances of stars belonging to Galactic globular clusters. However, globular clusters are still full of unknowns and exhibit interesting features like multiple populations. In this study, we will dive into survey catalogs to investigate the chemistry of globular clusters (e.g., Gaia-ESO Survey, GALAH). The student will have a chance to get familiar with and use different unsupervised machine learning algorithms (e.g., hierarchical clustering, K-means, etc.) to identify stars that have different chemical signatures than other cluster stars. We will discuss potential explanations for the formation of those stars.
Work Plan: First week, the student will be given a basic introduction to stellar evolution and globular clusters. Second week, different spectroscopic surveys and machine learning algorithms will be introduced to the student. Third and fourth weeks, the student will apply different machine learning algorithms to the survey data and perform further tasks that will include the interpretation of the findings. At the student's request to continue the project, we may extend the duration of the internship. Outcomes of the project: The student will learn how to use and interpret catalog data and useful tools in data analysis and processing (e.g., TOPCAT, different Python packages). The student will have knowledge about stellar evolution, globular clusters, and their chemical properties.
Requirements: Basics of Python and knowledge of statistics.
6. Supervisor: Marek Abramowicz marek.abramowicz@physics.gu.se
Title: Do the primordial black holes exist?
Time: July 1 — September 15, 2025,
Supervision by Marek Abramowicz on-site in Warsaw, consultation with Dr Przemek Mróz from the OGLE team on-site in Warsaw, for a successful student two additional weeks working with Dr Maciek Wielgus at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Granada, Spain, paid by Dr Wielgus’ grant.
Project description: Research on answering the question of fundamental importance for physics: do the primordial black holes exist? Our approach is based on the argument that if they do, they must collide with neutron stars, resulting in the formation of light black holes LBH, with masses of the order of 1 M_Sun, which are detect the OGLE program. The population synthesis code described in reference [4] needs to be slightly changed and improved.
The student's work will concern on two problems:
1. Theory: calculation of the expected number of LBHs using the improved code.
2. Observations: number of LBH detected by OGLE
The program will start with my intense introductory course on the subject, which would
explain to the student in detils important issues from the literature of the subject (theory):
Literature:
Theory
[1] No observational constraints from hypothetical collisions
Hypothetical primordial black holes with dark haloes with galactic objects
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009ApJ...705..659A/abstract
[2] Dynamical friction in a gas medium
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999ApJ...513..252O/abstract
[3] Primordial black holes captured by neutron stars: Simulations
in general relativity
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024PhRvD.110b3021B/abstract
[4] Robust test of primordial black holes in galactic dark matter halos
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022ApJ...935L..28A/abstract
Observations
[5] Constraints on planetary-mass primordial black holes from OGLE
High-through put survey of the Magellanic Clouds
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...976L..19M/abstract
[6] No massive black holes in the Milky Way halo
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024Natur.632..749M/abstract
Requirements: some knowledge of programming, enthusiasm for scientific work
7. Supervisor: Krzysztof Hełminiak, xysiek@ncac.torun.pl
Title: Direct imaging of companions to accelerating detached eclipsing binaries
Form: Preferred on-site, on-line possible
Time: July-September
Project description: The idea of the project is to characterize companion candidates (CCs) detected around known and well-studied detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). The observations were taken with extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) systems on the VLT and Subaru telescopes, with integral field (IF) detectors SPHERE-IFS (VLT) and CHARIS (Subaru). The student will learn the basics of (extreme) adaptive optics and stellar coronagraphy, work on characterization of the detected companion candidates, by extracting their IF spectra and performing relative photometric measurements. Confirmed and characterized companions will be subjects of dedicated publications.
8. Supervisor: Grzegorz Pietrzyński, pietrzyn@camk.edu.pl
Title: Measuring Cosmic Distances
Supervisors: Grzegorz Pietrzynski, Piotr Wielgórski, Gergely Hajdu
Time: July/Sep 2025
Project description: Modern physics is unable to explain independent determinations of the expansion of the Universe. This problem called the Hubble tension provide a strong evidence for new physics. In order to solve the Hubble tension and eventually pave a road for new physics one has to measure cosmic distances with much better precision and accuracy. Cosmic distances are one of the most challenging and fascinating fields of modern astrophysics. The international team called the Araucaria works on this topic since 2020 (https://araucaria.camk.edu.pl/).
We offer an introduction to the topic and a possibility to join one of the projects, which include pulsating stars (Cepheids, RR Lyrae, ect), eclisping binaries, TRGB, JAGB, and other distance indicators. This project may include observations in our dedicated observatory in Chile.
Requirements: basic knowledge of astrophysics, programming and computer skills
