Intern in the Science Engagement and Oversight Office, Reverberation Mapping Simulations of AGNs

Internship Opportunity in the Science Engagement and Oversight Office: Reverberation Mapping Simulations of AGNs

Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of D/SCI, the Head of the Science Engagement and Oversight Office is responsible for overseeing the scientific content of the Programme, interfacing with the scientific community and providing scientific expertise to studies, projects and missions, also in other Directorates as needed.

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Reverberation Mapping Simulations of Active Galactic Nuclei

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are the luminous central regions of massive galaxies, powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole. Currently, it is not possible to spatially resolve AGNs in observations, due to their compact sizes at large distances. The most effective way to map out the circumnuclear environment is to use light echoes (or reverberations), produced when the AGN emission is reflected off the surrounding material. When the brightness of the central AGN varies, the reflected emission will vary in response. However, this response will be delayed with the light travel time towards the surrounding material, which can be used to map out the geometry of the unresolved environment. Current state-of-the-art radiative transfer codes do not track light travel times, and therefore they cannot study or exploit this reverberation phenomenon.

Your goal is to study the reverberation mapping technique by performing radiative transfer simulations in 3D circumnuclear media and analysing the resulting delay curves to infer geometrical information on the AGN environment. This is a computational project, focussed on running Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations and interpreting large amounts of simulated time series in Python. This project includes extending the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code SKIRT (written in C++) to record photon travel times (as needed to produce delay time series). However, no prior experience with C++ will be required.

Behavioural competencies

• Result Orientation
• Operational Efficiency
• Fostering Cooperation
• Relationship Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Forward Thinking

Education

You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

• Experience with Python programming/scripting is essential.
• Some experience with command line computing (e.g. terminal, Unix) is desired.
• Basic knowledge of C++ programming is beneficial, but not essential.
• Knowledge of extragalactic astronomy is desired, but not essential.
• Enthusiasm and curiosity for exploring large astronomical datasets.

Important Information and Disclaimer

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding internship conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).