Germany

The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), Germany’s most successful research organization, is represented by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS). The research activities of MPS cover all aspects of solar physics: from the study of the solar interior using the tools of helioseismology over the physics of all layers of the solar atmosphere to the connection of the corona to the heliosphere. Of special interest is the magnetism of the solar atmosphere, one of the key research topics in high resolution solar physics. The work at MPS is highly interdisciplinary and is based on the following pillars: (1) the theoretical modeling of the solar interior, atmosphere and corona, (3) the measurement of the conditions in the solar atmosphere using ground-based, balloon-borne and space-based observatories, (3) the development of instrumentation for these measurements, (4) the analysis of the retrieved data by using and developing sophisticated software tools (data reduction, reconstruction of images and spectra, inversion programs), (5) and the education of young researchers (PhDs, PostDocs, hosting of independent research groups). Many of these activities focus on or involve the acquisition and analysis of high-resolution solar observations, putting MPS not only in an excellent position to participate in new developments in this area, drawing from extensive experience, but also to maximize the scientific return of those developments.

Within the mobility program we offer early-stage researchers the possibility to work on a variety of fields related to the European Solar Telescope: We are developing prototype instrumentation for EST, allowing for a collaboration based on state-of-the-art instrument development and data analysis. Such instruments are already in operation at the solar observatories on the Canary Islands and have already delivered data of unprecedented quality, especially the hyperspectral imager MiHI developed at MPS.
The same data will also be made available for experienced researchers, who can build up their expertise towards the expected EST data in short-term visits and focus events. The early-stage and the senior researchers will find an active solar group with expertise in nearly all aspects of modern solar physics. The focus of the research activity can be of instrumental, observational, and theoretical nature, and will be accompanied by one or more experts in the relevant fields available at MPS. Regular seminars and group meetings will allow the guest researchers to effectively advance in their research projects. They will have access to the high-quality infrastructure of the institute, including the high-performance computing facilities.

visit the website of Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research (MPS)

Contact:

Dr. Hans-Peter Doerr
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung
Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3
37077 Göttingen
Email: doerr@mps.mpg.de