IFAE

The Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) is a consortium of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), founded in 1991. Its multidisciplinary efforts cover high-energy particle and astroparticle physics, cosmology, and the development of technologies for the benefit of society. IFAE plays a key role in major international collaborations, including: the ATLAS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for particle physics; the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) and the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. The astrophysical portfolio of the institute is completed by a cosmology (DES, Euclid) and a gravitational wave (Virgo, Euclid) groups. The theory department of IFAE conducts world-class research in high-energy theoretical physics, addressing fundamental questions in particle physics, quantum field theory, astrophysics, and cosmology. Besides its efforts in fundamental physics, IFAE also hosts a quantum technology group and spin-off companies developing cutting-edge instrumentation for industrial and medical applications.

Main contact for TNA call: Cosimo Nigro

Available expertise

The gamma-ray astrophysics group at IFAE has led the design, construction, technical operation, and scientific activity of the latest generations of ground-based Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACT). The group is one of the founding members of the Collaboration operating the MAGIC Telescopes, for which it provided several key hardware, software, and data management resources. It is also leading the construction and commissioning of the Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) of the next-generation CTAO. IFAE’s gamma-ray group has been consistently involved in the development of reconstruction and analysis software for IACTS, and a contributor, in synergy with the Port D’informaciò Cientifica (PIC), to the processing and management of both MAGIC and LSTs data.

IFAE participates in the Astrophysics Centre for Multimessenger studies in Europe (ACME) as one of the nodes of the expertise center in high-energy and very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy (JCE-GaHE/VHE). Within the framework of ACME, IFAE is committed to providing transnational and virtual access (TNA and VA) to VHE (E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray data from the MAGIC telescopes. In addition to the access to the MAGIC data, IFAE offers – through tutorials, hands-on sessions, and mentoring – the tools necessary for their analysis and interpretation. More specifically, our institute offers:

access to over two decades of MAGIC observational data. These will be provided in a high-level standardized data format compatible with open-source analysis tools such as Gammapy, thus facilitating seamless integration into multi-messenger workflows;
guidance in preparing observational proposals to gather new MAGIC gamma-ray data;
tutorials and hands-on sessions for analyzing high-level standardized gamma-ray data using the open-source software Gammapy;
support on multi-wavelength and multi-messenger interpretation with tools such as agnpy and lightcurves;
expertise in fundamental physics and transient analysis.

TNA and VA access will be provided to proprietary MAGIC data. Two decades of archival data may be complemented by new data collected through observational proposals that the institute will help prepare. The data will be provided in a standardized high-level format ready for scientific analysis.

Financial support for scientists to visit IFAE, typically for up to 10 working days, to engage presentially in the previous activities can be requested through the TNA calls, that become periodically available at the folowing link. Requirements and instructions for participation are specified in the calls’ description.
Ongoing calls

Material for the first MAGIC Open Data-Analysis School sponsored by ACME is available at https://acme-magic-odas.sciencesconf.org/.

It is possible to interact remotely with IFAE’s experts via the ACME support platform.

Available tools and software

lightcurves

lightcurves is an open-source Python package for streamlined time-series analysis for astrophysical light curve data. It provides various variability metrics, flare detection methods, power-spectral-density tools, correlation studies, and links to stochastic-process...

agnpy

agnpy is an open-source Python package for modeling the non-thermal emission from relativistically-moving plasma in astrophysical sources, such as jets of active galactic nuclei (AGN). It provides routines to compute the non-thermal emission from relativistic protons...

Gammapy

Open-source Python package for analysing very-high-energy gamma-ray data.…

Cosimo Nigro has been involved since his Ph.D. in the technical development of a standardized format for gamma-ray astronomical data. He is the main contributor to the effort of making the MAGIC data public through the MAGIC data legacy. He has contributed to Gammapy and to other software for data analysis in high-energy astrophysics. He is an expert in the analysis and interpretation of the highest-energy emission of active galaxies and is the creator of the modeling software agnpy.

Oscar Blanch has been an Associate Research Professor at IFAE since 2015. He has developed most of his career in gamma-ray astrophysics, with international recognition on instrumentation, exploitation, and management. He has been MAGIC Spokesperson and led the construction of the LST cameras for CTAO. In terms of scientific exploitation, he has worked in a wide range of fields including gamma-ray binaries, electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves, LIV, pulsar,s and cosmological parameters. He has also been involved with other astrophysical messengers: cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gravitational waves.

Sarah Wagner joined IFAE as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2025. Her research revolves around high-energy blazar variability, ranging from simulations of particle acceleration to time series analysis of gamma-ray observations. She is the creator of the open-source Python package lightcurves, which streamlines variability studies and implements novel techniques for analyzing astrophysical light curves. She has worked extensively on the analysis of unresolved gravitationally lensed blazars through advanced autocorrelation studies, and she is a member of the Fermi-LAT Collaboration. Sarah also contributes to making the MAGIC data public.

Giacomo D’Amico is a postdoctoral researcher at IFAE working in gamma-ray astrophysics and fundamental physics. His research focuses on dark-matter searches, tests of Lorentz Invariance Violation, and the development of statistical tools for high-energy data analysis. He is a member of the MAGIC, LST, and CTAO collaborations, where he serves as coordinator of the fundamental-physics working group. His work includes software development of open-source tools used in the community and student supervision.

Udai Sharma is a PhD student at IFAE working on characterising the high-energy x-ray and gamma-ray emissions from low luminosity active galaxies in efforts to understand the particle acceleration processes taking place in the dimmest jets. He is also involved in the development of the modelling software agnpy.

Mathilde Croisonnier is a PhD student at IFAE since 2024. She has previously worked on dark matter particles’ indirect detection around intermediate mass black holes using both ground and space-based gamma-ray telescopes. At IFAE, she is now focusing on the measurement of the intergalactic magnetic field using the Cherenkov telescopes at La Palma, and be involved on the commissioning of the telescopes.

Benjamin Nobre Hauptmann has been involved since his M.Sc in both data analysis and instrumentation for space research. He has worked on the analysis and characterization of both the plastic scintillator FIT instrument, as well as drift-strip detectors for the detection of gamma-rays and cosmic rays. He has done circuit design and flight modelling for unmanned aerial vehicles. At the Nordic Optical Telescope, he has worked as an astronomer for observation nights, as well as done circuit design for the telescope control system.

Juan Jimenez Quiles is a PhD researcher within the gamma-ray group at IFAE, where his research is focused on the study of transients, specifically gravitational-wave events in combination with gamma-ray observations. As a member of the MAGIC and CTAO LST Collaborations, he contributed to the construction and commissioning of the LST cameras. His work also includes involvement in data analysis for CTAO analysis pipeline, together with studies of systematics and the development of atmospheric data-correction methodologies for Cherenkov telescopes.