Astroparticle Physics Summer School

APSS 2025

Summary

The APSS Astro-Particle Summer School was inaugurated in 2019. The school was initially designed as an exchange program for students from the United States and French students from the Lycée Descartes in Tours, France. Since 2024, the exchange partnership is now with Lycee Dessaignes, Blois. The goal was to give students a chance to exchange scientific ideas, set up potential scientific collaborations, and engage in cultural immersion. The school is coordinated by Professor Reshmi Mukherjee (member of the CTAO/SCT and VERITAS Collaborations, USA) and Dr. Christian Mariaud (originally member of the H.E.S.S. Collaboration, France). The intention is to introduce students to astroparticle physics and very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. Unlike most other “summer” schools that are designed for graduate or advanced undergraduate levels, this school is aimed at first and second-year undergraduates with a passion for science. In that sense, this school is conceptualized for the “novice” with the goal of potentially recruiting students for a STEM career pathway. Since the inaugural program, the school has evolved, and students participating from Barnard College are expected to have at least three semesters of introductory physics classes.

In 2025, the dates are as follows:

Dates

1-week at Blois, Lycee Dessaignes, June 18-25, 2025
1-week at Barnard College and Nevis Labs, New York: June 26-July 3, 2025

Activities and lectures will include carrying out cosmic ray experiments such as measuring the lifetime of the muon, attending talks about particle astrophysics during a week-long stay in New York City. Topics discussed will cover cosmic rays, dark matter, compact objects, gravitational waves, binary systems, gamma-ray astronomy and multi-messenger astronomy. Visiting students will tour laboratories, as well as explore the local area's history in science and astrophysics.

About the Program

This program brings together students from the United States and students from the Lycee Dessaignes, Blois, France, to exchange scientific ideas, set up potential scientific collaborations, and engage in cultural immersion. The goal of this program is to introduce students to astroparticle physics and gamma-ray astronomy at very high energies using ground-based telescopes. The school is aimed at first and second-year undergraduates and advanced high school students with a passion in science. Students will have hand-on experience with cosmic ray experiments and will attend talks about particle astrophysics during a week long stay in Blois, France or New York City. Topics discussed will be cosmic rays, dark matter, compact objects, gravitational waves, binary systems, and gamma-ray astronomy. Visiting students will tour laboratories, as well as explore the local area's history in science and astrophysics.

Institutions

Nevis Labs

Columbia Nevis Labs

Lycee Dessaignes, Blois

2025 Program Details - Blois

Lecturers

Dr. Christian Mariaud, Blois
Dr. Loïc Villain, Institut Denis Poisson, Tours
Dr. Samy Caroff, LAPP, Annecy
Dr. Jonathan Biteau, IUF Univ. Paris Saclay
Dr. Claire Guépin, LUPM, Montpellier

Weekly Program and Seminars

18 June: Fly out of New York/ Arrival in Paris & Blois
19 June: Day 1
- Morning session
  - Welcome from the mayor of Blois City - Blois Castle
  - Blois Castle
  - Lunch at Blois
- Afternoon session
  - Lecture: Gamma-ray binaries: Dr. Christian Mariaud
  - Python activity: PSR B1259 geometry (orbit, circumstellar disk position, inferior and superior conjunction) Dr. Christian Mariaud
20 June: Day 2
- Morning session
  - Breakfast in Dessaignes High School
  - Black holes: from initial intuition to recent observations…: Lecture by Loïc Villain (Institut Denis Poisson, Tours)
  - A Window to the Fundamental Laws of Our Universe: Lecture by Sami Caroff (LAPP, Annecy)
- Afternoon session
  - Visit to Chambord Castle
21 June: Day 3 (Host Families)
22 June: Day 4 (Sunday - Day off)
23 June: Day 5
- Morning session
  - Travel to Paris
  - 10 am - 12pm : Visit to LPNHE (XeLab facility, LSST, server room)
  - 12PM: Lunch in Paris
- Afternoon session
  - Four messengers in the Universe: Dr. J. Biteau (Univ. Paris Saclay, IUF)
  - Grand Telescope: Claire Guépin (LUPM, Montpellier)
  - Dinner on your own in Paris
  - Stay the night in Paris
24 June: Day 6
- Morning session
  - Visit to LLR (Ecole Polytechnique School) Mathieu de Naurois (Laboratory presentation + gamma-ray astronomy, Mechanical service tour, Electronics service tour, IT service tour)
  - Afternoon session
    - Visit Paris (afternoon)
    - Free time in Paris
    - Dinner on your own in Paris
    - Stay the night in Paris
25 June: Day 7 - Departure from Paris to New York

Visit to Laboratories

LPNHE (Sorbonne University) Laboratoire de physique nucléaire et des hautes énergies (LPNHE) - CNRS - Sorbonne Université/Université Paris Cite
- Server room (one of the European GRID node
- The assembly hall with LSST carousel
- The XeLab facility
- Cloud chamber
LLR (Polytechnic School) Laboratoire Leprince Ringuet

2025 Program Details - New York

Lecturers

Dr. Olivier Hervet, Assistant Project Scientist in high energy astrophysics, UCSC, USA
Dr. Christian Mariaud, Professor, Lycée Dessaignes, Blois, France
Prof. Reshmi Mukherjee, Barnard College, Columbia University, USA
Dr. Ruo Yu Shang, Barnard College, Columbia University, USA
Svanik Tandon, Columbia University (Muon Lab & Cosmic-ray experiments)

Weekly Program and Seminars

26 June: Arrival at Nevis Labs
27 June: Day 1
- 8:30 Breakfast
- 9:00 Aqueduct walk
- Morning Session 10:00 - 12:00: Lectures (Science Building)
  - Introductions and goals
  - Greetings & Introductions
  - Lecture 1: Introduction to Gamma-Ray Astronomy: Prof. Reshmi Mukherjee
  - Lecture 2: Cosmology with gamma-rays: Dr. Olivier Hervet
  - Discussions and planning of student presentations
- 12:00 Lunch
- Afternoon Session 14:00 - 16:00 Hands-on Laboratory work
  - Lecture 3: Cosmic ray muons & muon lifetime: Dr. Christian Mariaud
  - Muon Lifetime Experiment
  - Hands-on work in the lab: Svanik Tandon
  - 15:00 PM Lab Tour: RARAF
28 June: Day 2
- 9:00 Breakfast
- Morning Session 10:00 - 12:00: Lectures (Science Building)
  - Lecture 4: Introduction to gamma-ray studies with Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes: Dr. Ruo-Yu Shang
  - Lecture 5: Blazars and emission processes: Dr. Olivier Hervet
- 12:00 Lunch
- Afternoon Session 14:00 - 16:00 Hands-on Laboratory work
  - Muon Lifetime Experiment
  - Hands-on work in the lab: Svanik Tandon
  - Lecture 6: Numerical methods in astrophysics (MCMC): Dr. Olivier Hervet
  - Free time to work on research presentations
29 June: Day 3 Sunday - Free day
30 June: Day 4
- 9:00 Breakfast
- Morning Session 10:00 - 12:00: Lectures (Science Building)
  - Hands-on Blazar modeling: Python tutorial 1: Dr. Olivier Hervet
- 12:00 Lunch
- Afternoon Session 14:00 Travel to New York City
  - Visit to campus (Tours of Columbia and Barnard)
  - Visit to the American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center (To be confirmed)
  - Dinner in NYC
1 July: Day 5
- 9:00 Breakfast
- Morning Session 10:00 - 12:00: Lectures (Science Building)
  - Lecture 7: Gamma-ray binaries: Dr. Christian Mariaud
  - Hands-on python session: Dr. Christian Mariaud
  - Time to work on research presentations
- 12:00 Lunch
- Afternoon Session 14:00 - 15:00 Hands-on Laboratory work
  - Muon Lifetime Experiment
  - Hands-on work in the lab: Svanik Tandon
  - 15:00 Astrochemistry talk
  - Visit to Astrochemistry Lab
2 July: Day 6
- Morning Session 9:00 - 12:00: Lectures (Science Building)
  - Breakfast and lectures
  - Lecture 8: Frontiers of Astrophysics
  - Student presentations
- 12:00 Lunch Dobbs Ferry restaurant
- 14:00 Wrap up and End of Summer Program
- Free afternoon
3 July: Day 7 Depart for Paris

Visits to Laboratories

Visit with scientists at Columbia University, Columbia Astrophysics Lab
Nevis Laboratories

Student Presentations

Students participating in this program will give research presentations on Friday, June 7th.

Experiments

Muon Lifetime

Muons are stopped in a large block of scintillator, where they subsequently decay into an electron (or positron) and two neutrinos. A short light pulse is produced by the stopping muon, and a subsequent short light pulse is produced by the electron (or positron), both of which are detected and amplified by a photomultiplier tube. By measuring the relative delay between these two light pulses from many muons, we can measure their lifetime.

Particle Astro Research

Members of the particle astrophysics group at Barnard College and Columbia University are involved in the development of a prototype Schwarzchild-Couder telescope (SCT) under construction at the Fred Lawerence Whipple Observatory, Arizona. Find a press release on the SCT inauguration here

The development of the prototype SCT has been made possible by funding provided through the NSF-MRI program. The pSCT Collaboration consists of members from several institutions. Find a complete list of institutions here