Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • I am an experimental astrophysicist with a strong passion for developing new instruments that will enable ground-breaking discoveries. My specialities are X-ray and gamma-ray polarimetry and spectroscopy, and applications to the observation of mass-accreting neutron stars and black holes. These objects are not only the brightest X-ray sources in our Galaxy, but also provide us with an opportunity to study the most extreme environments in the Universe.

    I am the the PI of the SCOTTI project (Superconducting Titanium Imager), whose goal it is to build a balloon-borne hard X-ray telescope utilizing novel gamma-ray detectors using transition edge sensors. These cryogenic detectors will allow an unprecedented spectral resolution for soft gamma-rays. My dream is to one day build a hard X-ray space telescope with this kind of detector.

    X-ray polarimetry promises insights into the geometry of astrophysical objects that are too small to be imaged by any telescope at any wavelength. I am the instrument scientist of the balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimeter X-Calibur. This instrument will measure the X-ray polarization of several Southern Hemisphere sources during its first long-duration balloon flight. A follow-up mission called XL-Calibur will make much more detailed measurements of several sources during multiple Southern and Northern hemisphere flights. I am also part of the science team of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, a NASA satellite mission that will explore the polarization of X-rays in the 2-8keV energy band, scheduled for launch in early 2021.

    Finally, I like to use astrophysical observations to test fundamental laws of Physics. For example, I have written several papers using time-of-flight measurements of gamma-rays and various polarization measurements in the optical band to constrain violations of Lorentz invariance, the fundamental symmetry of Einstein's theory of Special Relativity.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2024 Systematic effects on a Compton polarimeter at the focus of an X-ray mirrorAstroparticle Physics.  158:102944-102944. 2024
    2022 Lorentz Tests with Astrophysical Photons 2022
    2021 New Constraints on Lorentz Invariance Violation from Combined Linear and Circular Optical Polarimetry of Extragalactic SourcesSymmetry.  13:880-880. 2021
    2021 Cadmium Zinc Telluride detectors for a next-generation hard X-ray telescopeAstroparticle Physics.  128:102563-102563. 2021
    2021 XL-Calibur - a second-generation balloon-borne hard X-ray polarimetry missionAstroparticle Physics.  126:102529-102529. 2021
    2020 Improved constraints on anisotropic birefringent Lorentz invariance and CPT violation from broadband optical polarimetry of high redshift galaxiesPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  102:043008. 2020
    2020 Observations of a GX 301-2 Apastron Flare with the X-Calibur Hard X-Ray Polarimeter Supported by NICER, the Swift XRT and BAT, and Fermi GBMThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  891:70-70. 2020
    2019 The X-ray Polarization Probe mission conceptArXiv e-prints.  arXiv:1907.10190-arXiv:1907.10190. 2019
    2019 All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory: Exploring the Extreme Multimessenger Universe 2019
    2019 Searches for Lorentz-Violating Signals with Astrophysical Polarization Measurements 2019
    2019 Astro2020 Science White Paper: Using X-Ray Polarimetry to Probe the Physics of Black Holes and Neutron StarsArXiv e-prints.  arXiv:1904.09313-arXiv:1904.09313. 2019
    2019 High-Energy Polarimetry - a new window to probe extreme physics in AGN jets 2019
    2019 The Effect of Microlensing on the Observed X-Ray Energy Spectra of Gravitationally Lensed QuasarsThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  870:125-125. 2019
    2018 Constraints on Lorentz Invariance Violation from Optical Polarimetry of Astrophysical ObjectsSymmetry.  10:596-596. 2018
    2018 Optimization of the design of X-Calibur for a long-duration balloon flight and results from a one-day test flightJournal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems.  4:1-1. 2018
    2018 Predicting the X-ray polarization of type 2 Seyfert galaxiesMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.  473:1286-1316. 2018
    2017 Design of the Telescope Truss and Gondola for the Balloon-Borne X-ray Polarimeter X-CaliburJournal of Astronomical Instrumentation.  6:1740003. 2017
    2017 Planck-scale constraints on anisotropic Lorentz and CPT invariance violations from optical polarization measurementsPhysical Review D.  95:083013. 2017
    2017 Searches for Anisotropic Lorentz-Invariance Violation in the Photon SectorPROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MEETING ON CPT AND LORENTZ SYMMETRY.  113-116. 2017
    2016 X-ray polarimetry with the Polarization Spectroscopic Telescope Array (PolSTAR)Astroparticle Physics.  75:8-28. 2016
    2015 Search for anisotropic Lorentz invariance violation with gamma-raysPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  92:045016. 2015
    2015 Analyzing the data from X-ray polarimeters with Stokes parametersAstroparticle Physics.  68:45-51. 2015
    2015 An unfolding method for X-ray spectro-polarimetryAstroparticle Physics.  64:40-48. 2015
    2014 Design and Performance of the X-ray polarimeter X-Calibur 2014
    2014 Observation of the cosmic-ray shadow of the Moon with IceCubePhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  89:102004. 2014
    2014 IceCube sensitivity for low-energy neutrinos from nearby supernovae (vol 535, pg A109, 2011)Astronomy and Astrophysics: a European journal.  563:C1-C1. 2014
    2014 Optimization of <= 200 mu m pitch CZT detectors for future high-resolution X-ray instrumentation in astrophysicsProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.  9213:921308-921308. 2014
    2013 Measurement of atmospheric neutrino oscillations with IceCube.Physical Review Letters.  111:081801. 2013
    2013 Tests of the Lorentz and CPT Symmetries at the Planck Energy Scale with X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Observations 2013
    2013 First observation of PeV-energy neutrinos with IceCube.Physical Review Letters.  111:021103. 2013
    2013 Measurement of South Pole ice transparency with the IceCube LED calibration systemNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment.  711:73-89. 2013
    2013 Measurement of the atmospheric νe flux in IceCube.Physical Review Letters.  110:151105. 2013
    2013 All-particle cosmic ray energy spectrum measured with 26 IceTop stationsAstroparticle Physics.  44:40-58. 2013
    2013 Search for dark matter annihilations in the sun with the 79-string IceCube detector.Physical Review Letters.  110:131302. 2013
    2013 Search for Galactic PeV gamma rays with the IceCube Neutrino ObservatoryPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  87:062002. 2013
    2013 An improved method for measuring muon energy using the truncated mean of dE/dxNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment.  703:190-198. 2013
    2013 OBSERVATION OF COSMIC-RAY ANISOTROPY WITH THE ICETOP AIR SHOWER ARRAYThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  765:55-55. 2013
    2013 Cosmic ray composition and energy spectrum from 1-30 PeV using the 40-string configuration of IceTop and IceCubeAstroparticle Physics.  42:15-32. 2013
    2013 IceTop: The surface component of IceCubeNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment.  700:188-220. 2013
    2013 SEARCHES FOR HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINO EMISSION IN THE GALAXY WITH THE COMBINED ICECUBE-AMANDA DETECTORThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  763:33-33. 2013
    2013 Search for relativistic magnetic monopoles with IceCubePhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  87:022001. 2013
    2013 Lateral distribution of muons in IceCube cosmic ray eventsPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  87:012005. 2013
    2013 Optimization of the design of the hard X-ray polarimeter X-CaliburAstroparticle Physics.  41:63-72. 2013
    2013 South Pole glacial climate reconstruction from multi-borehole laser particulate stratigraphyJournal of Glaciology.  59:1117-1128. 2013
    2012 Use of event-level neutrino telescope data in global fits for theories of new physicsJournal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.  2012:057-057. 2012
    2012 Search for Neutrinos from Annihilating Dark Matter in the Direction of the Galactic Center with the 40-String IceCube Neutrino Observatory 2012
    2012 Search for ultrahigh-energy tau neutrinos with IceCubePhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  86:022005. 2012
    2012 The design and performance of IceCube DeepCoreAstroparticle Physics.  35:615-624. 2012
    2012 An absence of neutrinos associated with cosmic-ray acceleration in γ-ray bursts.Nature.  484:351-354. 2012
    2012 SEARCHES FOR PERIODIC NEUTRINO EMISSION FROM BINARY SYSTEMS WITH 22 AND 40 STRINGS OF ICECUBEThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  748:118-118. 2012
    2012 Searching for soft relativistic jets in core-collapse supernovae with the IceCube optical follow-up programAstronomy and Astrophysics: a European journal.  539:A60-A60. 2012
    2012 Multiyear search for dark matter annihilations in the Sun with the AMANDA-II and IceCube detectorsPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  85:042002. 2012
    2012 OBSERVATION OF ANISOTROPY IN THE GALACTIC COSMIC-RAY ARRIVAL DIRECTIONS AT 400 TeV WITH ICECUBEThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  746:33-33. 2012
    2012 NEUTRINO ANALYSIS OF THE 2010 SEPTEMBER CRAB NEBULA FLARE AND TIME-INTEGRATED CONSTRAINTS ON NEUTRINO EMISSION FROM THE CRAB USING ICECUBEThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  745:45-45. 2012
    2012 Background studies for acoustic neutrino detection at the South PoleAstroparticle Physics.  35:312-324. 2012
    2012 STATUS OF THE ICETOP AIR SHOWER ARRAY AT THE SOUTH POLEASTROPARTICLE, PARTICLE, SPACE PHYSICS AND DETECTORS FOR PHYSICS APPLICATIONS.  7:82-86. 2012
    2012 TIME-DEPENDENT SEARCHES FOR POINT SOURCES OF NEUTRINOS WITH THE 40-STRING AND 22-STRING CONFIGURATIONS OF ICECUBEThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  744:1-1. 2012
    2011 IceCube sensitivity for low-energy neutrinos from nearby supernovaeAstronomy and Astrophysics: a European journal.  535:A109-A109. 2011
    2011 Constraints on the extremely-high energy cosmic neutrino flux with the IceCube 2008-2009 data (vol 83, 092003, 2011)Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  84:079902. 2011
    2011 OBSERVATION OF ANISOTROPY IN THE ARRIVAL DIRECTIONS OF GALACTIC COSMIC RAYS AT MULTIPLE ANGULAR SCALES WITH IceCubeThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  740:16-16. 2011
    2011 First search for atmospheric and extraterrestrial neutrino-induced cascades with the IceCube detectorPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  84:072001. 2011
    2011 Search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical muon neutrinos with the IceCube 40-string detectorPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  84:082001. 2011
    2011 Search for dark matter from the Galactic halo with the IceCube Neutrino TelescopePhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  84:022004. 2011
    2011 Constraints on the extremely-high energy cosmic neutrino flux with the IceCube 2008-2009 dataPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  83:092003. 2011
    2011 TIME-INTEGRATED SEARCHES FOR POINT-LIKE SOURCES OF NEUTRINOS WITH THE 40-STRING IceCube DETECTORThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  732:18-18. 2011
    2011 Limits on neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts with the 40 string IceCube detector.Physical Review Letters.  106:141101. 2011
    2011 Constraints on high-energy neutrino emission from SN 2008DAstronomy and Astrophysics: a European journal.  527:A28-A28. 2011
    2011 Measurement of the atmospheric neutrino energy spectrum from 100 GeV to 400 TeV with IceCubePhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  83:012001. 2011
    2011 Measurement of acoustic attenuation in South Pole iceAstroparticle Physics.  34:382-393. 2011
    2011 Search for neutrino-induced cascades with five years of AMANDA dataAstroparticle Physics.  34:420-430. 2011
    2010 Search for a Lorentz-violating sidereal signal with atmospheric neutrinos in IceCubePhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  82:112003. 2010
    2010 First search for extremely high energy cosmogenic neutrinos with the IceCube Neutrino ObservatoryPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  82:072003. 2010
    2010 Search for relativistic magnetic monopoles with the AMANDA-II neutrino telescopeEuropean Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields.  69:361-378. 2010
    2010 MEASUREMENT OF THE ANISOTROPY OF COSMIC-RAY ARRIVAL DIRECTIONS WITH ICECUBELetters of the Astrophysical Journal.  718:L194-L198. 2010
    2010 The energy spectrum of atmospheric neutrinos between 2 and 200 TeV with the AMANDA-II detectorAstroparticle Physics.  34:48-58. 2010
    2010 Calibration and characterization of the IceCube photomultiplier tubeNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment.  618:139-152. 2010
    2010 IceCube Collaboration Contributions to the 2009 International Cosmic Ray Conference 2010
    2010 Limits on a muon flux from Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilations in the Sun from the IceCube 22-string detectorPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  81:057101. 2010
    2010 SEARCH FOR MUON NEUTRINOS FROM GAMMA-RAY BURSTS WITH THE IceCube NEUTRINO TELESCOPEThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  710:346-359. 2010
    2010 Measurement of sound speed vs. depth in South Pole ice for neutrino astronomyAstroparticle Physics.  33:277-286. 2010
    2010 SEARCH FOR HIGH-ENERGY MUON NEUTRINOS FROM THE "NAKED-EYE" GRB 080319B WITH THE ICECUBE NEUTRINO TELESCOPE (vol 701, pg 1721, 2009)The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  708:911-912. 2010
    2009 Extending the search for neutrino point sources with IceCube above the horizon.Physical Review Letters.  103:221102. 2009
    2009 SEARCH FOR HIGH-ENERGY MUON NEUTRINOS FROM THE "NAKED-EYE" GRB 080319B WITH THE IceCube NEUTRINO TELESCOPEThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  701:1721-1731. 2009
    2009 FIRST NEUTRINO POINT-SOURCE RESULTS FROM THE 22 STRING ICECUBE DETECTORThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  701:L47-L51. 2009
    2009 Limits on a muon flux from neutralino annihilations in the sun with the IceCube 22-string detector.Physical Review Letters.  102:201302. 2009
    2009 Determination of the atmospheric neutrino flux and searches for new physics with AMANDA-IIPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  79:102005. 2009
    2009 The IceCube data acquisition system: Signal capture, digitization, and timestampingNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment.  601:294-316. 2009
    2009 Search for point sources of high energy neutrinos with final data from AMANDA-IIPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  79:062001. 2009
    2008 SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE SPECTRUM ON 2006 DECEMBER 13 DETERMINED BY IceTopLetters of the Astrophysical Journal.  689:L65-L68. 2008
    2008 Multiyear search for a diffuse flux of muon neutrinos with AMANDA-II (vol 76, artn 042008, 2007)Physical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  77:089904. 2008
    2008 Search for ultra-high-energy neutrinos with amanda-IIThe Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics.  675:1014-1024. 2008
    2007 Multiyear search for a diffuse flux of muon neutrinos with AMANDA-IIPhysical Review D: Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology.  76:042008. 2007
    2007 Detection of atmospheric muon neutrinos with the IceCube 9-string detectorPhysical Review D.  76:027101. 2007
    Considerations on Possible Directions for a Wide Band Polarimetry X-ray MissionGalaxies.  12:47-47.

    Article

    Year Title
    2023 ASCENT - A balloon-borne hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy telescope using transition edge sensor microcalorimeter detectors 2023

    Conference Paper

    Year Title
    2016 XIPE the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry ExplorerProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 38-38. 2016
    2015 First flight of the X-ray polarimeter X-Calibur2015 IEEE AEROSPACE CONFERENCE. 2015
    2014 Design and tests of the hard X-ray polarimeter X-CaliburProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 85071d-85071d-11. 2014
    2014 The X-Ray Scattering Polarimeter X-Calibur2014 IEEE NUCLEAR SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM AND MEDICAL IMAGING CONFERENCE (NSS/MIC). 2014
    2013 The Hard X-Ray Polarimeter X-CaliburIEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record. 2013
    2012 Design and tests of the hard X-ray polarimeter X-CaliburProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 85071D-85071D. 2012

    Teaching Activities

  • Doctoral Research Taught course
  • Doctoral Research Taught course
  • Electromagnetic Theory II Taught course
  • General Physics I Taught course
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2024
  • Experimental Physics II Taught course 2024
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2023
  • Electromagnetic Theory I Taught course 2023
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2022
  • Electricity and Magnetism II Taught course 2022
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2022
  • General Physics I Taught course 2022
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2022
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2021
  • Electromagnetic Theory II Taught course 2021
  • General Physics I Taught course 2021
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2021
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2021
  • Electricity and Magnetism II Taught course 2020
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2020
  • Astrophysics II Taught course 2020
  • Rsrch Exp/Physics Taught course 2020
  • Senior Design Project Taught course 2020
  • Electricity and Magnetism II Taught course 2019
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2019
  • Electricity and Magnetism I Taught course 2019
  • Electricity and Magnetism I Taught course 2019
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2019
  • Full Name

  • Fabian Kislat
  • Mailing Address

  • University of New Hampshire

    Space Science Center

    8 College Road

    Durham, NH  03824

    United States