Jim Hinton How Are High-Energy Particles Accelerated and What Is Their Impact?
Jim Hinton is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. Before this current position, he held the Chair in Observational Astronomy at the University of Leicester. In addition, he is also the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Project Scientist and an editor of the New Astronomy Reviews. His current research interests include experimental and observational astroparticle physics and high-energy astrophysics with a particular interest in the impact of relativistic particles on astrophysical systems.
Area of Research
Astrophysics
since 2014
2010-2015
Chair in Observational Astronomy
University of Leicester
Department of Physics & Astronomy
2006-2010
STFC Advanced Fellow
University of Leeds
School of Physics & Astronomy
2002-2006
2000-2002
Research Associate
University of Chicago
Enrico Fermi Institute
1998-2000
Research Associate
University of Leeds
School of Physics & Astronomy
1998
PhD in Astrophysics
University of Leeds
School of Physics & Astronomy
1995
BSc
University of Leeds
Physics with Astrophysics
Prizes
- Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award (2013)
- Philip Leverhulme Prize (2009)
- (UK) Institute of Physics Nuclear and Particle Physics Division Prize (2007)
- Descartes Prize of the European Union (to the HESS collaboration) (2007)
- Duggal Award of Commission C4 of International Union of Pure & Applied Physics (2005)
© Maximilian Dörrbecker
Max Planck Society
"The Max Planck Society is Germany's most successful research organization. Since its establishment in 1948, no fewer than 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists, putting it on a par with the best and most prestigious research institutions worldwide. The more than 15,000 publications each year in internationally renowned scientific journals are proof of the outstanding research work conducted at Max Planck Institutes – and many of those articles are among the most-cited publications in the relevant field." (Source)
Institute
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
The Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK) is one out of 83 institutes and research establishments of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften (MPG) (Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science). The MPG was founded in 1948 as successor to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (established in 1911) and is committed to basic research.
The MPIK has been founded in 1958 under the leadership of Wolfgang Gentner. Its precursor was the Institute for Physics at the MPI for Medical Research led by Walther Bothe from 1934 to 1957. The initial scientific goals were basic research in nuclear physics and the application of nuclear-physics methods to questions concerning in the physics and chemistry of the cosmos. Since 1966 the MPIK is led by a board of directors. Today, the activities concentrate on the two interdisciplinary research fields quantum dynamics and astroparticle physics. (Source)
Map
Galaxies are filled with particles traveling very close to the speed of light; these are so-called ultra-relativistic particles. Until recently, it was very difficult to investigate these particles because of a lack of good observational data and they have been rather neglected in the study of astrophysics. As JIM HINTON explains in this video, his research group is interested in understanding how these particles influence astrophysical processes. For this, they need to find out how and where these particles are accelerated and what their impact is. Focusing on high-energy gamma rays and exploring the morphology and spectrum of the gamma ray emission from their sources, they found – in contrast to what was previously assumed – that the acceleration of particles to such high energies is rather common in nature. The impact of these non-thermal relativistic particles on astrophysical processes cannot be ignored anymore. Thus, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (https://www.cta-observatory.org/) has been initiated; this multinational project will be the world's largest and most sensitive high-energy gamma ray observatory.
LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10441
Science with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
- B.S. Acharya, I. Aguldo, I. Al Samarai, J. Alfaro, R. Alfaro, C. Alispach, R. Alves Batista, J.-P. Amans, E. Amato, G. Ambrosi, J. Hinton and et. al
- International Journal of Modern Physics D
- Published in 2017