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Rico Castro, Francisco Javier
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ICREA Researcher at IFAE (Institut de Física d'Altes Energies). Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
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Degree in Theoretical Physics (1996) Univ. of Granada, Spain. In 1998, I moved to ETH-Zurich (Switzerland), where I completed my PhD in Exp. High Energy Physics (2002) in neutrino oscillations. In 2003, as a post-doctoral fellow, I moved to Barcelona to join the MAGIC gamma-ray telescope group. I have been involved in the project ever since, actively participating in the most important scientific achievements obtained with this instrument. During 2008-2009 I was the convener of MAGIC's Galactic Physics Working. I am currently member of MAGIC's Time Allocation Committee and Coordinator of MAGIC Data Center. Starting in 2008, I am also involved in the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO-2010 project "Canfranc Underground Physics" (of which I am IFAE's PI), for the research and development of light detectors suited for low-background experiments such as neutrino-less double-beta decay or dark matter direct searches in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (Huesca, Spain).
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Research Interests
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I am interested in the Very-High-Energy view of the Universe, mainly as seen by the ground-based Cherenkov telescopes, and in particular MAGIC, the largest of them. These kinds of instruments are the eyes through which we can see and understand the violent processes occurring in our universe. I am particularly interested in understanding the origin of Cosmic Rays, by studying their acceleration and interaction with interstellar matter, and in the possibility of detecting gamma-ray signals produced by Dark Matter particles annihilation in the vicinity of our Galaxy. I also contribute to the technical developments and prospect studies for the next-generation Cherenkov telescopes (CTA). I also participate in the development of a new class of light sensors, which will be able to detect the electro-luminescence produced in experiments for the study of neutrino’s nature as Dirac or Majorana particle, and also for the direct detetion of dark matter particles interactions in the detector.
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KeyWords
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Astro-particle Physics, Cosmic Rays, Dark Matter, Neutrino Physics
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