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
    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. 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

    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. 990515-990515-20. 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. 2012

    Teaching Activities

  • 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