# ICRANet-ISFAHAN Astronomy Meeting

Asia/Tehran
ICRANet-Isfahan, Isfahan University of Technology (IUT - Iran) - online
,
Description
• # ICRANet-ISFAHAN Astronomy Meeting

### From the Ancient Persian Astronomy to Recent Developments  in Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Astrophysics and General Relativity

Iran with the Ulugh Beg map of the "fixed stars” proposed by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) around 964 CE have been among the first countries, centuries ago, to extend the knowledge of our Universe outside our planetary system. Persian astronomers made very important contributions to the fields of astronomy with the construction of Maragheh observatory in 1259 CE and Ulugh Beg Observatory in the 1420s. Now in 2021 by the Iranian National Observatory (INO), a new generation of Iranian scientists are going to further explore the Universe.

Isfahan as a historical city in the center of Iran and as one of the world's most beautiful cities hosts the first series of ICRANet-Isfahan Astronomy meeting which will be held virtually from 3-5 November 2021. This meeting will be organized in order to provide great opportunities for discussing about astronomy from the ancient Persian astronomy to recent developments in observational astronomy, high energy astrophysical phenomena such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), Theories of Gravity, General Relativity and its Mathematical Foundation, Black Holes, Dark matter and Early Universe Cosmology.

A workshop on "Data Science in Astrophysics" will be held during the meeting on  November 4th, a certificate will be issued only if participants successfully complete the tasks.

• ## Scientific Committee

Remo Ruffini (ICRANet/ICRA-Italy)(Co-Chair), Yousef Sobouti (Co-Chair)(ISABS-Iran),  Hassan Firouzjahi (IPM,Iran), Shahram Khosravi (KHU, Iran)Habib Khosroshahi (IPM, Iran),Kourosh Nozari (UMZ, Iran),Sohrab Rahvar (SUT, Iran), Soroush Shakeri (IUT, Iran), Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh (Rutgers, USA), She-Sheng Xue (ICRANet-Italy)

• ## Organizing Committee

Soroush Shakeri (IUT,Iran)(Chair), Amin Farhang (IPM and UT.Iran), Fazlollah Hajkarim (UNIPD-Italy), Rahim Moradi (ICRANet-Italy),  Sedigheh Sajadian(IUT, Iran),Shahab Shahidi (DU, Iran),Wang Yu (ICRANet, Italy), M. H. Zhollideh Haghighi(IPM,KNTU, Iran)

Registration
Registration Form
Participants
• Aidin Momtaz
• Alexander Zakharov
• Ali Foroozmand
• Ali saffari
• Ali Saffari
• Ali Salarvand
• Amirmasoud Jannat
• Arshin Khaje Borj Sefidi
• Danial Lohrabi
• Davood Rafiei Karkevandi
• Ebrahim Hoseinkhani
• Ehsan Qoreishi
• Elahe Khalouei
• Erfan Qasemi
• Farangis Takdehghan
• Farzaneh Ostovarpour
• Fatemeh Abedini
• Golnaz Mazhari
• Hanieh Karimi
• Hassan Manshouri
• Hosein Heidarifatasmi
• Hossein Fatheddin
• Lorenzo Amati
• Maryam Hasani
• Maryam Mohebbi
• maryam sabiee
• Maryam vazirnia
• Marzieh Khani
• Masoumeh Tavakoli
• Niloofar Jokar
• Pierluca Carenza
• Remo Ruffini
• Rezvan Jalali
• Richard Kerner
• Saba Fotouhi
• Saeed Fakhry
• Saleh Al-Hossein Zorrieh
• Sara Saghafi
• Sepideh Ghaziasgar
• Setareh Moein
• Sina Etebar
• Soroush Shakeri
• Zahra Atharipour
• Zahra Mosleh
• Zeinab Zayeri
• پریساالسادات عقیلی
Contact
• Wednesday, 3 November
• 10:00 10:20
Block 0: Opening Ceremony
• 10:20 10:50
How the modern astronomy was introduced into Iranian universities 30m
Speaker: Prof. Yousef Sobouti (ISABS-Iran)
• 10:50 11:20
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of ”Introducing the Black Hole” 30m
Speaker: Prof. Remo Ruffini
• 11:20 11:50
Iranian National Observatory; status and vision 30m

Iranian National Observatory (INO) is located on Mt Gargash at 3600m covering a gap in the longitude distribution of modern mid-size telescopes. The INO project is now in its final stage of completion and is approaching the first light. Major milestones including the civil construction, installation of the dome, manufacturing of the 3.4m optical telescope and installation of the telescope at the site have been completed. The telescope is going through engineering tests aimed at the commissioning of the pointing and tracking. A suite of instruments has been planned, taking advantage of a sub-arcsecond seeing and the longitude, including a high-resolution imaging camera and a spectrograph with the ability to switch between the instruments in response to transient events. INO offers a platform for regional and international collaborations in astronomy and cosmology.

Speaker: Prof. Habib Khosroshahi (IPM, Iran)
• 11:50 12:20
Huntsman Telescope 30m
Speaker: Prof. Lee Spitler (Macquarie University, Australia)
• 12:20 12:40
Break 20m
• 12:40 13:10
Supenovea (SN) - Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) Connection 30m
Speaker: Prof. Massimo Della Valle ( (apodimonte Astronomical Observatory - INAF, Naples, Italy))
• 13:10 13:40
TBD 30m
Speaker: Prof. Luca Izzo (University of copenhagen, Demark)
• 15:30 16:00
Extremely high energy particle accelerators in our Galaxy 30m

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory is a new-generation multi-component instrument for TeV-PeV gamma rays and TeV-EeV cosmic rays. Recently, LHAASO has published its first result on the discovery of 12 ultrahigh-energy (E>100TeV) gamma-ray sources at more than 7 sigma confidence level. Among them, there are famous sources like the Crab Nebula, the Cygnus Cocoon, as well as new sources without TeV counterpart. The discovery indicates the prevalence of PeV particle accelerators in our Galaxy.

Speaker: Prof. Ruoyu Liu (Nanjing University | NJU, China)
• 16:00 16:30
Multiwavelength and Multimessenger view of blazars 30m

I will discuss the recent progress in multiwavelength and multimessenger observations of blazars and the current status of the theoretical models applied to model their emission. Blazars, the most extreme subclass of AGN having jets that move relativistically towards the observer, are characterized by highly variable non-thermal emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio up to very high energy gamma-ray bands. The emission properties of blazars in the spectral and time domains will be presented and discussed using the data collected from their observations in optical/UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands. In addition, the recent progress in the observations of very high-energy neutrinos from blazars will be discussed.

Speaker: Prof. Narek Sahakyan (ICRANet-Armenia)
• 16:30 17:00
Cosmology with Gamma-Ray Burst 30m
Speaker: Prof. Lorenzo Amati
• 17:00 17:20
Break 20m
• 17:20 17:50
Black hole hyperaccretion disks and gamma-ray bursts 30m

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous explosions in the Universe, and their origin and mechanism are the focus of intense research and debate. Black hole hyperaccretion model is one of the plausible candidates for the central engine of gamma-ray bursts and their activity is supposed to result in the complicated explosion phenomena including gamma-ray bursts, gravitational waves, and their electromagnetic counterparts. In the inner regions of such disks, photons are totally trapped due to high density and temperature. Getting cool through neutrinos and antineutrinos efficiently, these accretion disks are also called Neutrino Dominated Accretion Flows (NDAFs). Moreover, the high magnetic field (∼ 10^15−16G) and large density (∼ 10^10g cm−3) can be considered as the two important physical features of these disks, and as a result, self-gravity and gravitational instability might be of a crucial role in these dense hyperaccretion flows. As well, the magnetic field is proposed to be of considerable importance via both large and small scale impacts. After providing an introduction to the GRB’s and the candidates of their central engines, we focus on these two factors (self-gravity and magnetic field) to probe their potential effects on the hyperaccretion disk’s structure, in addition to their subsequent impacts on the GRB’s spectral features. In other words, we apply these two features to provide an explanation for the prompt Gamma-ray emission with its highly variable structure in the early time, and the electromagnetic afterglow emission associated with the late time activity of the GRB’s central engine.

Speaker: Prof. Shahram Abbassi (Ferdowsi University of Mashhad)
• 17:50 18:20
TBD 30m
Speaker: Prof. Brian Punsly
• 18:20 18:50
Az Zarreh Taa Aaftaab: The Role of General Relativity in the Structure of Elementary Particles of Matter 30m

It was a largely unfulfilled dream of Einstein to arrive at a quantum theory of atomistic matter that included electrodynamic phenomena, and one in which the principles of general relativity would reign supreme. Even though he is generally considered to have failed in this quest, his unifying vision remains a powerful one to this date. In this talk we explore some of the ways in which Einstein's dream may one day be realized, including (1) a general-relativity-based formulation of the joint evolution of classical fields together with point-particles that are sources of those fields, (2) a well-motivated deformation of classical nonlinear theories to quantum theories in which the motion of particles is guided by linear waves on particle configuration space, and (3) ring-like particles inspired by general relativity and a possible resolution of the dark matter puzzle.

• Thursday, 4 November
• 10:00 10:30
The Elephant in the Room. Kerr is its own Maximal Extension. 30m

Last year I showed that the Kerr metric, either ingoing or outgoing, contains light rays whose affine lengths are finite and yet they do not end at some singularity. This destroys all the singularity theorems as they assume this cannot happen. I was then told that the “singularity” exists in the maximal extension, say in Kruskal. I checked the derivation of these and found that the determinant of the alleged metric tensor is zero on all the horizons in Kruskal. Not only that but the protagonists all seem to think that this is OK! It isn't. Kerr and Eddington-Finkelstein are their own maximal extensions. If time permits I will also show why "soft hair" is fool's gold and why the Kerr-Schild approximation method gives the Ligo curves in its first step.

Speaker: Prof. Roy Patrick Kerr (University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand and ICRANet, Italy)
• 10:30 11:00
Angular Momentum to a Distant Observer 30m

The notion of angular momentum in general relativity has been a subtle issue since the 1960's, due to the discovery of supertranslation ambiguity": the angular momentums recorded by two distant observers of the same system may not be the same. In this talk, I shall show how mathematical theory identifies a correction term, and leads to a new definition of angular momentum that is free of any supertranslation ambiguity. This is based on joint work with Po-Ning Chen, Jordan Keller, Mu-Tao Wang, and Ye-Kai Wang

Speaker: Prof. Shing-Tung Yau (Harward-USA)
• 11:00 11:30
Gravitomagnetic interaction of a Kerr black hole with a magnetic field as the source of the high-energy radiation of gamma-ray bursts 30m

It is shown how the gravitomagnetic interaction of a Kerr black hole (BH) with a surrounding magnetic field induces an electric field able to accelerate surrounding charged particles to ultra-relativistic energies. Along the BH rotation axis, electrons/protons can reach even thousands of PeV leading to ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) from stellar-mass BHs in long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and from supermassive BHs in active galactic nuclei (AGN). At off-axis latitudes around the BH vicinity, particles are accelerated to hundreds of GeV, and by synchrotron radiation emit high-energy GeV photons. Such a process occurs at all latitudes within 60 degrees of the polar axis. The theoretical framework describing these acceleration and radiation processes, how they extract the rotational energy of the Kerr BH, as well as the consequences for the astrophysics of GRBs are outlined.

Speaker: Prof. Jorge Rueda (ICRANet)
• 11:30 11:50
Break 20m
• 11:50 12:20
New high precision tests of General Relativity 30m
Speaker: Prof. Claus Lämmerzahl (ZARM, University of Bremen)
• 12:20 12:50
BepiColombo: ESA Cornerstone Mission to Mercury 30m
Speaker: Prof. Roberto Peron (National Institute of Astrophysics (INA), Italy)
• 12:50 13:20
The role of campfires in the heating of solar coronal plasma observed by Solar Orbiter and Solar Dynamics Observatory 30m
Speaker: Prof. Hossein Safari
• 13:20 13:50
Speaker: Prof. Fatemeh Tabatabaei (IPM)
• 15:30 16:30
Data Science in Relativistic Astrophysics (Hands On Workshop) 1h
Speaker: Prof. M. H. Zhollideh Haghighi (IPM and KNTU, Iran)
• 16:30 17:30
Data Science in Relativistic Astrophysics (Hands On Workshop) 1h
Speaker: Prof. Wang Yu (ICRANet, Italy)
• 17:30 18:30
Data Science in Relativistic Astrophysics (Hands On Workshop) 1h
• 18:30 18:50
TBD 20m
Speaker: Dr Becerra Laura
• Friday, 5 November
• 10:00 10:30
Ancient Persian Astronomy 30m
Speaker: Prof. Hossein Masoumi Hamedani (Iranian Institute of Philosophy, Iran)
• 10:30 11:00
Astronomy in Islamic World - a European perspective 30m

Arab and Islamic Civilization emerged at the crossroads in a double sense, as a bridge between the Greco-Roman Antiquity and European Modernity in time, and as the junction between the declining Roman Empire and the still vigorous Indian and Persian civilizations in space. In this talk, we shall highlight the most important contributions of Islamic Polymaths to Mathematics and Astronomy, paving the way to the next stage of the development of science which occurred in the late Middle Ages in Europe.

Speaker: Prof. Richard Kerner (Sorbonne Université, France)
• 11:00 11:20
Break 20m
• 11:20 11:50
Dark matter fermions: from linear to non-linear structure formation 30m

Relaxation mechanisms of collisionless self-gravitating systems of fermions in cosmology, can lead to equilibrium states which are stable, long-lived, and able to explain the dark matter (DM) halos in galaxies. The most general fermionic DM profile out of such a mechanism, develops a degenerate compact core which is surrounded by an extended halo. When applied to the Milky Way, it is demonstrated that the outer halo can explain the rotation curve of our Galaxy, while the central DM-core explains the dynamics of all the best resolved S-cluster stars orbiting SgrA *, without assuming a central black hole (BH). When such novel core-halo DM profiles are applied to larger galaxies, the dense DM core can reach the critical mass for gravitational collapse into a BH of ∼ 10^8 Mo. This result provides a new mechanism for supermassive BH formation in active galaxies directly from DM, leading to a paradigm shift in the understanding of galactic cores.

Speaker: Prof. Carlos Arguelles (ICRANet, Italy)
• 11:50 12:20
MOND and MOG 30m
Speaker: Prof. Hosein Haghi (ISABS-Iran )
• 12:20 12:50
Early Universe Cosmology 30m
Speaker: Prof. Clement Stahl (Strasbourg U., France)
• 14:30 15:00
TBD 30m
Speaker: Prof. Yerkan Amiratove
• 15:00 15:30
TBD 30m
Speaker: Prof. Liang Li (ICRANet)
• 15:30 15:50
Break 20m
• 15:50 16:20
TBD 30m
Speaker: Prof. Kuantay Boshkaev
• 16:20 16:50
Axion in Astrophysics 30m

This is a review of the latest developments on axion astrophysics, with particular attention to the axion production in stellar environments and to the phenomenology of the axion-photon mixing on astrophysical scales.

Speaker: Prof. Pierluca Carenza (Stockholm U., OKC, Sweden)
• 16:50 17:20
Production of Thermal QCD Axions in the Early Universe 30m

We study the thermal production of axions over different scales especially around the QCD and electroweak phase transitions in the early universe. We focus on the most motivated axion models (KSVZ and DFSZ) and investigate how the thermal history can influence on the production rate of hot axion as dark radiation. This can lead to predictions for the future measurements of the cosmic microwave background by experiments like CMB-S4.

Speaker: Prof. Fazlollah Hajkarim (UNIPD-Italy)
• 17:20 17:50
Concluding remarks
Convener: Prof. Soroush Shakeri (Isfahan University of Technology (IUT) & ICRANet-Isfahan)