| The aim of this group is to study aspects of the physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). It consists of three undergraduate students of the Department of Physics and two post graduate students of the Computational Physics Master's Program. AGN are galaxies that have a supermassive accreting Black Hole in their center and they emit strongly in the whole electromagnetic spectrum (from the radio to the gamma-ray wavebands). Their optical spectra contain strong emission lines, which usually show flux variations. The classification of AGN into different subgroups is based on the broadness of their Balmer emission lines but also on the different emission line ratios. According to the Unification paradigm, the various classes of AGN are supposed to be a single type of object, manifesting themselves differently due to the inclination of their dust torus with respect to the observer's line of sight. The study of AGN is important because they constitute the most powerfully emitting objects in the Universe, having produced 10% of its total luminosity since the Big Bang. | |
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Anastasia
Efthymiadou (MSc student, graduated 2016)
(Group Coordinator)  |
I was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. In
2014 I graduated from the Physics Department of the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki and I got admitted to the Computational
Physics M.Sc. Program. In the fourth year of my undergraduate
studies I chose the specialization field of Astronomy. The
investigation of the origin and evolution of the Universe, the large
scale structures, the cosmic dynamics, the physics of the extraordinary
objects manifesting themselves by different astronomical phenomena, which are often
beyond the boundaries of our fantasy, fill me with excitement. I am
currently working on my Master Thesis, entitled “The optical environment of
different types of AGN”, which requires the analysis of several galaxy samples
and sky surveys in order to study the
distribution of optical galaxies around Seyfert I and II AGN. My
goal is to examine different models of the triggering mechanism of AGN
by investigating the activity of their neighbours. Currently pursuing a PhD with full scholarship at the University of Bath, UK
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Chatzigiannakis
Dimitris (BSc student)  |
I was born in Kozani. I study at the Physics Department of
the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and currently I am in my
final year of my undergraduate studies. My research interest focuses
on X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN). My
diploma thesis' objective is to search for correlations between the type of
an X-ray AGN and its local galaxy density. In particular, I am
using the 3XMM catalog, for the AGN type identification based on their
X-ray fluxes, and the SDSS-DR10 catalog, for the density determination and
the morphological classification of their nearby galaxies.
My aim is to investigate whether the type of an AGN depends on the
galaxy density of its environment, or even on its morphological
characteristics.
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Drigga Eleftheria (BSc student)
 |
I was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. I am an undergraduate student at the Physics Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and I intend to complete my studies in 2016. My ambition is to conduct research in cosmology and astrophysics. I am currently in the process of searching what attracts me the most in these grand topics. Presently I am involved in 2 projects. The first one is my Thesis entitled "Correlation between sources emitting radiowaves and the position of local AGN ". The second one being my participation in the setup of our new 3m radiotelescope at the Observatory of the Aristotle University. At the moment, we are focusing on calibrating the radio-telescope using mainly the Sun as a source. Finally, I wish to continue my academic studies with a Master and I hope that one day I will become an Astrophysicist. |
Kostas Kouroubatzakis (MSc 2016)
 |
Graduate of the MSc program: "Numerical Physics" at the AUTH (2015).
MSc thesis:
"The infrared properties of the BPT
missing population of galaxies". Thesis supervisor: Manolis
Plionis.
Publication:
Kouroubatzakis, Kalfoutzou,
Plionis & Trichas, 2016 (in preparation): "The Infrared Properties
of the Population of Galaxies missing from the BPT Diagrams"
Currently
studying for a PhD at the University of Crete with
full scholarship.
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Traianou Thalia (BSc student, graduated 2016)
 |
I was born in Florina. I am currently an undergraduate
student at the
School of Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and I
intend to complete my studies in 2016. My research interest mainly focuses on active galaxies and the phenomena associated with them. The title of my diploma thesis is “CCD photometric observations of active galactic nuclei and their neighbors in order to detect elements of physical interaction”. For the purposes of this research, I am using the largest optical telescope in Greece (the 2.3m Aristarchos telescope) to observe a selected sample of nearby AGN galaxies and their neighbours using Ha and O[III] narrow band filters, as well as B and R broad band filters. The objective of my diploma thesis is to attempt to identify, through the analysis of these primary data using the IRAF and GAIA software, star forming regions between pairs resulting from their gravitational interactions. My aim is to make an active contribution to the understanding of the universe through research in the field of astrophysics. Accepted directly for a PhD with full
scholarship at the University of Bonn
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