NATO PST. ASI. 976393

"Astrophysical Sources of High Energy Particles & Radiation"

A NATO Advanced Study Institute

11-21 November 2000

Dedicated in the fond memory of David N. Schramm

Co - Directors of the ASI :Vladimir S. Ptuskin
                                                   vptuskin@izmiran.troitsk.ru

                           John P. Wefel
                                                 wefel@phunds.phys.lsu.edu

**NEW**  Participant Information

Researchers, Post-docs, Graduate Students are encouraged to apply for admission.  A Limited number of Senior personel will be accomodated. Scholarships are available for students, particularly from NATO Partner countries, NATO Dialogue Countries and NATO Countries.  Students from other countries will be considered for support as resources permit.

Further information about NATO maybe obtained from NATO Science Web Site -- http://www.nato.int/science 

International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics

The International school of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics holds biennial courses for graduate students and young researchers that stress the inter-relationships between various sub-disciplines in Astrophysics, and focuses upon recent results from different specialty areas.

Director of the School : Maurice M. Shapiro (shapiro@sigmanet.net)

Scientific Advisory Committee: Ginzburg, Cronin, Rees Lüst, Silberberg, Simpson, Taylor, 
                                                Van Allen, Wefel, Wolfendale

Courses are held at:   The Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture
                                 Erice, Sicily, Italy
                                
                                 Director of the Centre: Professor Antonino Zichichi

The 12th Course combined the International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics and the International School of Particle Astrophysics for a joint session focusing upon "Astrophysical Sources of High Energy Particles and Radiation."  This course was selected as a NATO Advanced Study Institute.  The organizing committee for this ASI involved:

from whom additional information can be obtained.

 Applications from graduate students and post-docs should include a brief CV and a statement that travel funds are available.  For graduate students a short note of endorsement by a senior scientist should be appended or requested.  No special application form is required.  There is no registration cost.  A local expense fee of ~$1100, payable upon arrival, covers lodging, meals, and transportation (provided by the Centre) between the Palermo airport and Erice.  Participants dine at their choice of a number of Erice restaurants.

Participants needing financial assistance should apply as soon as possible. Partial assistance with local expenses will be offered mainly (but not exclusively) to (a) students from overseas, i.e., those requiring trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific travel, (b) students from NATO Partner and Dialogue Countries,  and (c) students from less developed countries.  Qualified applicants who can defray all of their own expenses are virtually assured of admission. They should apply soon.

Senior Participants are encouraged to attend and should contact one of the directors.

Participants have the opportunity of presenting a short paper/report, if they wish.

Send Applications for Admission to: Prof. John. P. Wefel Department of Physics and Astronomy Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA  70803  USA Phone:   001-225-388-8696 fax:        001-225-388-1222 email: wefel@phunds.phys.lsu.edu

Rationale for  the ASI:

The pace of discovery continues to increase in Astrophysics and Cosmology and with it comes the need to both understand the new measurements and to synthesize them into an overall picture.  Many have seen the exquisite pictures of galaxies in collision from Hubble or Supernova remnants from Chandra and  Beppo-Sachs and have heard about the 'structure' in the universe, the revival of the cosmological constant, the observations of TeV gamma rays, the measurements of cosmic ray particles at 10 ²¹ eV, the gamma ray burst mystery and neutrinos with mass, since they have played in the press and on the www.  But, few really understand the implications of these "discoveries" or the relationship of one to the other.  This is true, as well, for young researchers, often busy with their own project/analysis.  The  ASI was designed to address that situation through a course in Erice, where participants can learn the background and details, interact with the " experts", and discover the inter-relationships between different areas.

 

To illustrate, understanding the origin of TeV gamma rays, e.g. from Mkn-501, involves knowledge of particle acceleration processes and details of the infra-red background radiation field; unraveling the origin of gamma-ray bursts necessitated near simultaneous observations of x-rays.  The existence of cosmic rays beyond the GZK cut-off brings into question the nature of particle transport through the various radiation fields in extra-galactic space plus the acceleration mechanism -- unless these particles are cosmological "relics".  Using supernovae as "standard candles" to measure cosmological distances (and infer a cosmological constant) requires understanding the details of these stellar explosions; studies of supernovae remnants and pulsars in our own galaxy provide a vital source of information.  In most of these examples, "High Energy Particles and Radiation" are at the center, providing the driving mechanism.

 

Many discoveries are relatively new, being only ideas several years ago, or have resulted from new generations of instruments or extended observations plus detailed analyses.  It is, therefore, an ideal time for an  ASI on this subject.  Astrophysics research remains an important training ground for young researchers and it is necessary to periodically nurture the vitality of the field and maintain the community working in different areas.

 

We do indeed live in a "high energy universe" as we are discovering year-by-year.  High Energy Particles play a fundamental, causal role in much of what we see/measure.  Understanding these basic processes and how they tie different areas together is one of the major tasks facing astrophysical researchers today and well into the next century.

Erice and Surroundings

According to legend, Erice, son of Venus and Neptune, founded a small town on top of a mountain (750 meters above sea level) more than three thousand years ago.  The great historian Thucydides (~500 B. C.) said that the Elymi - founders of Erice - were survivors of the destruction of Troy.  Ancient historians agreed that  Erice was the oldest city in Europe.

 

Homer (~1000 B. C.), Theocritus (~300 B. C.), Polybius (~200 B. C.), Virgil (~50 B. C.), Horace (~20 B. C.), and others have celebrated this magnificent spot in Sicily in their poems.  In  Erice you can admire the Castle of Venus, the Cyclopean Walls (~800 B. C.) and the Gothic Cathedral (~1300 A. D.).  Erice is at present a mixture of ancient and medieval architecture.

 

Other masterpieces of ancient civilization are to be found in the  neighbourhood:  at Motya (Phoenician), Segesta (Elymian), and Selinunte (Greek).  On the Aegadian Islands - theater of the decisive battle of the first Punic War (264-241 B. C.) - suggestive neolithic and paleolithic vestiges are still visible:  the grottoes of Favignana, the carvings and murals of  Levanzo.

 

Splendid beaches are at San Vito Lo Capo, Scopello, and Cornino, and a wild and rocky coast around Monte Cofano:  all at less than one hour's drive from  Erice.

 

General Information and Applications:

 

Persons wishing to attend the course should apply to:

 

Prof. John P. Wefel

Dept. of Physics and Astronomy Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001, USA

wefel@phunds.phys.lsu.edu

Phone: (225) 388-8696

Fax: (225) 388-1222

They should specify: 

i) Date and place of birth and  gender
ii) Nationality
iii) Present position and Place of work
iv) Degree and other academic qualifications, plus list of publications
v) Contact information: Full mailing address, e-mail address and fax number.

Young persons with only a few year's experience should enclose a letter of  recommendation from their research group leader or a senior scientist.

The total fee, which includes full board and lodging and transport to/from Palermo airport (arranged by the school) is  ~US$1100, payable upon arrival in Erice.

Thanks to the generosity of NATO and other sponsors, support is available for deserving students who need financial help.  Requests for such financial aid must be included, and justified, in the application.

Applications may be made by e-mail. No special form is required.

Deadline for Application: 10 October 2000, but the earlier the better.

Successful applicants will be notified by e-mail or fax.  A formal Letter of Invitation will be provided upon request.

Participants should plan to arrive at Palermo airport on 11 November 2000.  More detailed information will be sent to the successful applicants.  NOTE: All applicants are responsible for their own insurance and for obtaining any necessary VISAs to enter Italy.  

START EARLY!


--- A NATO Advanced Study Institute ---

NATO countries: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

NATO Partner countries:  Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

Mediterranean Dialogue countries:  Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia

APPLY NOW!