भारतीय खगोलभौतिकी संस्थान
Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Exploring the Universe since 1786
An Autonomous Institute under the
Department of Science & Technology
Government of India
Research Highlights
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS | IIA
An accreting supermassive black hole buried in a faint dwarf galaxy
MOUSUMI DAS | Sep 10, 2024
In the last decade, there have been several discoveries of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in dwarf galaxies including an AGN in an ultracompact dwarf galaxy with a black hole mass >106 Me. However, finding a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in a dwarf low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy is rare. We report the discovery of a Seyfert type 2 class AGN that is associated with a nuclear SMBH of mass ∼6.5 × 106 Me in a dwarf LSB galaxy (μ0,r > 23.8 mag arcsec−2) that we denote by MJ0818+2257. The galaxy was previously thought to be an outlying emission blob around the large spiral galaxy LEDA 1678924. In our current analysis, which includes the detection of the optical counterpart of MJ0818+2257, we study its ionized gas kinematics and find that the dynamical mass within the ionized gas disk is ∼5.3 × 109 Me. This is comparable to its stellar mass, which is ∼3 × 109 Me, and suggests that MJ0818+2257 is moderately dark matter dominated within the stellar disk. The SMBH-mass-togalaxy-stellar-mass ratio is MBH/M(*) > 0.022, which is high compared to disk galaxies. Our detection of an SMBH in a bulgeless LSB dwarf galaxy raises questions about the growth of SMBHs in low-luminosity galaxies and suggests the possibility of detecting heavy seed black holes from early epochs in LSB dwarf galaxies in the low-redshift Universe.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS | IIA
Unravelling the asphericities in the explosion and multifaceted circumstellar matter of SN 2023ixf
RISHABH SINGH TEJA | Nov 01, 2024
We present a detailed investigation of photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric observations of the Type II SN 2023ixf. Earlier studies have provided compelling evidence for a delayed shock breakout from a confined dense circumstellar matter (CSM) enveloping the progenitor star. The temporal evolution of polarization in the SN 2023ixf phase revealed three distinct peaks in polarization evolution at 1.4 days, 6.4 days, and 79.2 days, indicating an asymmetric dense CSM, an aspherical shock front and clumpiness in the low-density extended CSM, and an aspherical inner ejecta/He-core. SN 2023ixf displayed two dominant axes, one along the CSM-outer ejecta and the other along the inner ejecta/He-core, showcasing the independent origin of asymmetry in the early and late evolution. The argument for an aspherical shock front is further strengthened by the presence of a high-velocity broad absorption feature in the blue wing of the Balmer features in addition to the P-Cygni absorption post-16 days. Hydrodynamical light-curve modeling indicated a progenitor mass of 10 M⊙ with a radius of 470 R⊙ and explosion energy of 2 × 1051 erg, along with 0.06 M⊙ of 56 Ni, though these properties are not unique due to modeling degeneracies. The modeling also indicated a two-zone CSM: a confined dense CSM extending up to 5 × 1014 cm with a mass-loss rate of 10−2M⊙ yr−1 and an extended CSM spanning from 5 × 1014 to at least 1016 cm with a mass-loss rate of 10−4M⊙ yr−1, both assuming a wind-velocity of 10 km s−1. The early-nebular phase observations display an axisymmetric line profile of [O i], redward attenuation of the emission of Hα post 125 days, and flattening in the Ks-band, marking the onset of dust formation.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS | IIA
Discovery of ubiquitous lithium production in low-mass stars
ESWAR REDDY | Jul 06, 2020
The vast majority of Sun like stars are expected to destroy lithium (Li) over the course of their lives. An international team led by Dr. Bharat Kumar Yerra (currently a post-doctoral fellow at NAOC, Beijing) along with Prof. Eswar Reddy (IIA) carried out a large-scale investigation into the Li content of stars in the red clump phase of stellar evolution. They found that all these stars have very high levels of Li for their evolutionary stage, with an increase of a factor of around 40 over the end of the red giant branch phase (the previous stage of their evolution). This suggests that all low-mass stars undergo an Li production phase between the red giant and the red clump stages, when they undergo the helium flash. The new finding is not predicted by the existing theories of stellar evolution, revealing a stark tension between observations and models.
Press Releases
PRESS RELEASES | SCOPE
A new method to reliably estimate Helium abundance in the Sun
SCOPE | Apr 24, 2025
Since Helium does not produce any observable spectral lines from the visible surface, or the photosphere, of the Sun, its abundance has usually been estimated through indirect means. In a recent study, the abundance of Helium in our Sun has been estimated accurately using the Magnesium and Carbon features in the observed high-resolution spectrum of the Sun.
This is based on the paper titled "Helium Abundance of the Sun: A Spectroscopic Analysis", by Satyajeet Moharana, B. P. Hema, and Gajendra Pandey, 2024, Astrophysical Journal, 974, 2.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.
PRESS RELEASES | SCOPE
Scientists Chart the Sun's Subsurface Weather Patterns Tied to Its 11-Year Activity Cycle
SCOPE | Apr 29, 2025
An international team of solar physicists has unveiled new insights into the dynamic "inner weather" of the Sun—plasma currents just beneath its surface that pulse in step with its 11-year sunspot cycle. In a study published on the 22nd of April 2025, in the The Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Stanford University (USA), and the National Solar Observatory (NSO, USA) have traced how these hidden flows shift over time, potentially reshaping our understanding of how the Sun's interior connects to its outer magnetic behavior, which has far-reaching influence on space weather and Earth.
This is based on the paper titled "Solar Cycle Variations in Meridional Flows and Rotational Shear within the Sun's Near-surface Shear Layer", by Anisha Sen, S. P. Rajaguru, Abhinav Govindan Iyer, Ruizhu Chen, Junwei Zhao, and Shukur Kholikov, 2025, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 984, 1.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.
PRESS RELEASES | SCOPE
IIA Bengaluru scientists discover a new kind of Stellar Chemistry
SCOPE | Jun 19, 2025
Far away in the Ophiuchus Constellation, a peculiar star named A980, 25800 light years away, is rewriting what we know about stellar chemistry. Researchers have uncovered a cosmic twist -- this mysterious star that belongs to a rare class called Extreme Helium (EHe) stars, carries surprisingly high amount of germanium—a metallic element never before observed in this type of star.
This is based on the paper titled "Detection of Enhanced Germanium in a New Cool Extreme Helium Star A980: Insights and Implications", by Ajay Kumar Saini and Gajendra Pandey, 2025, The Astrophysical Journal, 979, 239.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
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IIA offers a vigorous programme of graduate studies that forms a vital component of research & training. The programme is overseen by the board of graduate studies. The Institute is also a major partner in the Joint Astronomy Programme (JAP), organized by the Indian Institute of Science.
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PhD applications may be submitted through the IIA PhD online applications portal in May. After the initial screening, shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in June. The final list of selected candidates will be announced in July, followed by the commencement of the programme in August. .
Research Fields
Solar Studies
Studies of the Sun and solar system have been the longest pursued discipline at IIA. Members of the group conduct theoretical, numerical modeling, and observational studies in solar physics.
Stars & Galaxies
Research interests of the group members range from exoplanets, star formation, stellar evolution, end states of stars, Interstellar medium, the milky way Galaxy, nearby galaxies, active galaxies and time domain astronomy.
Theory
Members of the theoretical Astrophysics group work on a broad range of topics such as black hole astrophysics, pulsars, exoplanets, astrophysical turbulence & magnetic fields, MHD, cosmology and early universe.
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