Lucas Grosset

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Physics

I focused my research interest around nearby galaxies, especially hosts of active nuclei, with the aim of improving our understanding of the dust composition and structures surrounding the very center of galaxies. I thus specialized in the instrumental techniques such as high angular resolution and polarimetry, that both allows when combined to probe very efficiently the dust surrounding the core of the nuclei, overcoming contrast issues. My goal is to help constraining the relation between active nuclei and their host galaxies during their co-evolution.

I worked during my PhD., that I defended in 2017, at LESIA, Paris Observatory, on the hot dust in the central region of the NGC 1068 active galaxy, in the near infrared, thanks to the polarimetric capabilities of SPHERE, at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. I recently moved to KIPAC to continue my work in the far infrared, thanks to HAWC+ data, on board NASA’s SOFIA. Polarimetric observations in the far infrared gives access to information about the magnetic field orientation at scales between 100 pc and 1 kpc on nearby galaxies.