Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
L'institut canadien d'astrophysique theorique
Annual Report
September 2002 - August 2003
[
People |
Research |
Publications |
Visitors |
Sackler Lectureship |
Conferences |
Facilities
]
CITA Overview
The Canadian Institute for
Theoretical Astrophysics is a nationally supported research
center for studies in theoretical astronomy and related subjects,
hosted by the University of
Toronto, and receiving research support from an
NSERC collaborative special
project grant, as well as the Canadian
Institute for Advanced Research. CITA's primary missions are to
foster interaction within the Canadian theoretical astrophysics
community and to serve as an international center of excellence for
theoretical studies in astrophysics.
CITA Researchers
CITA hosts one of the largest concentrations of theoretical
astrophysicists in the world: six faculty and
some sixteen research fellows. CITA also presently supports
five National Fellows at other Canadian
institutions.
Changes in 2002/2003
Three CITA post-docs received faculty
positions during the past academic year. (A full list of CITAzens
in permanent or tenure-stream positions can be found on the CITA
Alumni page.) Eight new people joined
the CITA research staff. Dick Bond began his tenure as Director
of the CIAR Cosmology Program, and Chris Thompson was co-awarded the
Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society.
Research 2002-2003
Research at CITA covers a broad range of fields in astrophysical theory.
During the 2002/2003 academic year, these included:
- Cosmology and CMB:
microwave background anisotropies, large-scale structure,
reionization, gravitational lensing, galaxy formation, Lyman alpha
clouds
- Early Universe:
inflation, big bang nucleosynthesis, extra dimensions
- Dynamics:
extra-solar planets, chaos, planet migration, galaxy clustering,
warps, bars, and mergers
- Interstellar Medium:
Galactic HI distribution, molecular clouds, star-forming regions,
dust physics
- High Energy Astrophysics and Stellar Physics:
accretion flows, AGN winds, supernovae, stellar pulsations,
gamma-ray bursts, magnetars, stellar winds, AGB stars
- General Relativity:
black holes, relativistic MHD, modifications of general relativity
- Computational Physics:
cosmological n-body simulations and hydrodynamics, particle-mesh
and tree-code algorithms, internal modes of rotating stars
and other topics.
Publications 2002-2003
The research carried out at CITA generated
over a hundred publications
during the 2002/2003 academic year.
Visitors
CITA has a vigorous visitors program
bringing a number of Astronomy and Physics faculty members from other
Canadian universities and from abroad for both extended stays and
shorter visits. Each year CITA also invites an internationally
distinguished scholar conducting research in theoretical astrophysics
to give two lectures at the University of Toronto in the
Raymond and Beverly Sackler Visiting
Astrophysicist Program.
Conferences Supported by CITA
CITA supports scientific workshops and meetings in Canada on subjects of
interest to theoretical astrophysics. Meetings supported by CITA between
September 2002 and August 2003 are listed here.
Facilities
CITA occupies the 12th floor of the McLennan Physical Laboratories at
the downtown campus of the University of Toronto.
Computing facilities include the state-of the art 256-node
McKenzie supercomputer, one other Beowulf cluster,
a high-performance Compaq GS320 computer, several other
multiprocessor machines, and individual workstations for each researcher.
[ Back to CITA Annual Report 2003 ]
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