On the occasion of this ceremony the Centre Cívic Urgell shows the exhibition "Telescopi Assumpció Català" from 4th to 27th April. Francesca Figueras guided a visit around the exhibition after the ceremony.

Video of the ceremony

Catalan Version      Spanish Version

• The results of a study published in Nature Communications allow researchers to progress in the study of the distribution of gravitational waves from distant sources

Barcelona, November 27, 2017. Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the University of Jaén have described, for the first time, the structure of a Z-shaped galactic microquasar. This astronomical object is considered to be a small-scale version of a winged radio galaxy, so far considered one of the distant sources which are potential emitters of gravitational waves. In this sense, the main conclusion of the study, published in Nature Communications, says that not all winged radio galaxies would be sources of gravitational waves, unlike what was thought so far.

A microquasar is an astronomical object fed by a stellar black hole, which is smaller than the ones at the centre of radio galaxies, and produces a radio jet towards opposite directions. In the study, researchers “could determine that the Z-shaped morphology of the studied microquasar, the GRS 1758-258, can be explained with hydrodynamic interactions with the surrounding medium” says Josep M. Paredes, from ICCUB.

This result can be extrapolated, suggesting that this scenario could work in winged radio galaxies, since these objects follow the same physical laws. So far, it was thought that those radio galaxies were X or Z shaped due the merger of two black holes, a process in which gravitational waves are generated. When these waves are produced at such a long distance from us, it is not possible to distinguish them individually and a gravitational wave background noise is created.

“Our results allow us to reach the conclusion that not all winged radio galaxies would be an origin of gravitational waves, which was commonly believed so far –says Valentí Bosch Ramon, researcher from the ICCUB-, since some of them owe their structure to hydrodynamic processes that would not create these kind of waves. Considering these results, the background of gravitational waves would be weaker than what it was thought so far” concludes the researcher.

In order to determine the Z-shape of the GRS 1758-258 microquasar, several observations have been made with the Jansky Vergy Large Array in New Mexico (United States). The results have been added to all the observations of the same microquasar that were carried out in previous decades. Gathering all these data made it possible to reach the required sensitivity to describe the Z-shape of GRS 1758-258 and deduce the processes that formed it.
This study was conducted by a team of astrophysicists formed by the researchers of the University of Jaen Josep Martí and Pedro Luis Luque Escamilla and the researchers of the ICCUB Josep M. Paredes and Valentí Bosch Ramon

Picture of the GRS 1758-258 microquasar, obtained with the Jansky Very Large Array radiotelescope at 5 GHz frequency radio wave. The white line shows the Z-shape path formed by the relativistic plasma produced in the core region, where the black hole is located.

• This morning Alicante has started the 100xCiencia.2 meeting, which today and tomorrow brings together the vanguard of Spanish research: the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centers of excellence.
• The meeting was opened by Carmen Vela, Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, and she highlighted the importance of approaching science and business
• "Without transfer there is no innovation and without innovation there is no future"

"Co-creating Value in Scientific Research" is the theme of this meeting that is dedicated to the transfer of scientific knowledge to companies. As highlighted by Salvador Palazón, director of the Valencian Agency for Research and Prospective (AVAP), "Innovation is slowed down in the last stage of the process, the transfer of knowledge from research centers. Without transference there is no innovation and without innovation we are endagenring the future ".

The Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, highlighted that the resources put into entities such as the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centers of excellence, "more than an spending are an investment", and expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the extraordinary work that these cutting-edge research centers are doing.

"What we use in research is very well invested and you are doing an excellent job with the limited resources that are put at your disposal. You are 1% of the researchers of the world, but you support 3.2% of the world science and your publications represent 5% of the international scientific community", said Carmen Vela.

The Secretary of State for research noted that the transfer of knowledge between science and business should be a circular concept. "We must be able to use what everyone knows to put it in common, generate knowledge, but also take it to society. You do it very well also with transfer issues, because quality is a call for other sectors to approach", she said in reference to the Centers of Excellence.

For Carmen Vela, research and innovation have to go hand in hand. "With this idea we have tried to break down barriers. We must try to approximate these two sectors, science and business. We must break barriers of thought that still think that companies have to be outside of the University", she said. "As resources are limited, grants now only go to the academic world, and there are no resources for companies, in the private sphere. But I would like to break this, because the research should be funded regardless of where it is done, public or private centers.

Carmen Vela pointed out that in countries like Korea "more than 80% of the dedication to research comes from the business sector. And the most advanced countries science is over 70% dedicated to the private sector. In Spain we have half the doctors in the companies that the rest of the OECD countries. Not all the researchers we train can be devoted to the academic sector. We have to make a circular economy of knowledge, where our scientists also reach companies. "

Co-creation, a new way of innovating

The meeting 100xCiencia.2 consists of three lectures given by three women of recognized international relevance: Krista Keränen, Lita Nelsen and Nuria Oliver.

The inaugural conference was given by Krista Keranen, director of innovation at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland and an expert in co-creation. Why co-create? Karenen asked himself: "Because the world is constantly changing. And the worst in times of turbulence like this is to continue acting with the logic of past times", said Keranen.

The 'Severo Ochoa' and 'María de Maeztu' accreditations are the highest official recognition of the scientific research granted in Spain. To achieve this accreditation, the centers are selected by an international evaluation committee. These centers and units cover practically all areas of knowledge, from physics and mathematics to the environment and biomedicine.

Recently the 25 centers and the 16 research units accredited with the distinctions "Excellence Severo Ochoa" and "excellence María de Maeztu" have formalized the creation of the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu Alliance (SOMMa).

ICCUB Participation at 100xCiencia.2

The ICCUB became a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence in 2015, after being awarded in the first call of this modality of the award. Devoted to research on cosmology, the ICCUB has also played an important role in the development of technology for space missions and particle physics experiments, such as Gaia, CTA and LHCb. At present, ICCUB expertise in instrumentation, electronics and data processing is also being applied to other fields such as medical imaging and nanosatellites, including services for the private sector.

During the event, ICCUB researcher Ricardo Graciani presented the research and technological development carried out at the institute, along with its strategy for technology transfer to attract interest of companies

• The Secretary of State for R&D+i, Carmen Vela, chaired the kickoff meeting of the new Severo Ochoa and Maria Maeztu Alliance of Excellence.
• The alliance’s target is to internationally promote and strengthen the centres and units accredited with this distinction, to give their research a higher profile.

The 25 centres and 16 research units accredited with the “Severo Ochoa” and “María de Maeztu” excellence distinctions formally established this afternoon the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu Alliance (SOMMa) in their first official meeting. Chaired by the Secretary of State for R&D+i, Carmen Vela, the gathering was attended by directors and representatives of all centres and units that have approved creation of the Alliance and defined the strategic and working plan for the coming months.

The Spanish “Severo Ochoa Centres” and “María de Maeztu Units” Excellence Program promotes excellence in scientific research. Their goal is to promote Spanish science through the recognition of research efforts at the forefront of their fields, help them increase their impact, and international scientific leadership and competitiveness.

“Excellence attracts excellence, and therefore this alliance is another step toward generating synergies and strengthening the quality of the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu centres and research units,” states Carmen Vela, Secretary of State for R&D+i. “The future of impactful research and innovation in Spain and Europe lies in the convergence of technologies, methodologies and disciplines, capable of carrying out ambitious projects performed in cooperation among centres, units and teams from different organisations. This alliance is a major step forward in this direction, as it will let us strengthen the links of cooperation among existing research centres and units that we have in Spain,” says Vela.

The excellence program is one result of the consolidation. The Severo Ochoa centres and María de Maeztu units propose reaching new lines of cooperation with the creation of the Alliance of Severo Ochoa and Maria de Maeztu Centres of Excellence (SOMMa). Luis Serrano, director of the Centre for Genomic Regulation, will head the alliance over the next two years, while Teresa Garcia-Milà, director of the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics will be its vice-president.

“In science, alliances are always positive. Joining forces at all levels enriches the R&D+i ecosystem,” explains Luis Serrano, director of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and president of the new SOMM Excellence Alliance. According to Serrano, “We hope that this union of centres and units of excellence in Spain will generate a long-term synergetic effect, and will have an exponential impact on talent recruitment and the advancement of research in Spain and beyond our borders. Such projects are fundamental to guarantee stimulating, creative environments of excellence.”

SOMMa aims to raise the national and international profile of science in Spain; promote the exchange of knowledge, technology and best practices among its members, the international scientific community and the main stakeholders; cooperating with other research centres in Spain to strengthen the R&D+i system; and having a voice in Spanish and European science policy.

Ready for first actions

SOMMa will have a number of working groups to achieve its goals. Among them are raising the profile, increasing cooperation, furthering scientific policy, results dissemination or project sustainability, among others.

Soon, the www.somma-excellence.es web platform will bring together all of the information on SOMMa. This website, in addition to being a window into the world of the science of excellence being conducted in Spain, will also be a unique resource for the scientific community, policy makers, journalists and the general public.

Another of SOMMa’s activities is the organization of future runnings of the 100xCiencia conferences, thus continuing the series that began in 2015 in La Palma, the second running of which will be held in Alicante on November 2 and 3. The SOMMa centres and units will meet again in this second running of 100xCiencia which, under the title “Co-creating Value in Scientific Research”, will be focused on the transfer of knowledge generated in the centres and research units, and facilitating society’s appreciation of its value.

About the Severo Ochoa Centres María de Maeztu Units of Excellence

The centres and units of the alliance cover a broad range of scientific disciplines, from biology and medicine, to mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering, economics and social sciences.

According to their classifications by scientific area, the accredited organizations participating in the alliance are:

Life Sciences

• Centres
  • Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) - www.cnic.es
  • Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) - www.cnio.es
  • Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) - www.irbbarcelona.org
  • Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) - www.crg.eu
  • Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics (CBGP) - www.cbgp.upm.es/
  • National Center for Biotechnology (CNB) - www.cnb.csic.es/
  • Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante (IN) - in.umh.es/
  • Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) - www.ibecbarcelona.eu
  • Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) - www.cragenomica.es/es
  • Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE) - www.cicbiogune.es/
• Units
  • Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (DCEXS) - www.upf.edu/cexs/
  • Structural Biology Unit (SBU) - www.sbu.csic.es/
  • Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) - ictaweb.uab.cat
  • Departamento de Regulación Génica y Morfogénesis (GEM) - www.gem.es/

• Centres
  • Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) - www.bsc.es
  • Institute of Mathematical Sciences - www.icmat.es
  • Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) - www.bcamath.org/es/
  • Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) - www.iac.es
  • Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) - www.icfo.es
  • Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT) www.ift.uam.es
  • Institute for High Energy Physics (IFAE) - www.ifae.es
  • Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) - http://webific.ific.uv.es
  • Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ) itq.upv-csic.es
  • Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) - www.iciq.es
  • Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) - www.icn.cat
  • Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB) - www.icmab.es
  • Nanoscience Institute (IMDEA) – http://nanoscience.imdea.org
• Units
  • Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (BGSMath) - www.bgsmath.cat/
  • Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) - www.uam.es/ifimac/
  • Particle Physics- www.ciemat.es
  • Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB) - http://icc.ub.edu/
  • Institute of Molecular Science (ICMOL) - www.icmol.es
  • Information and Communication Technologies Engineering Department (DTIC-UPF) - portal.upf.edu/web/etic/inici
  • Institute of Robotics and Industrial Informatics (IRI, CSIC-UPC) - http://www.iri.upc.edu/
  • Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE) (IGFAE) - www.usc.gal/es/institutos/fisica_ae/index.html
  • Signal Theory and Communications Department (COMMSENSLAB) - www.upc.edu/
  • CIC nanoGUNE Association - www.nanogune.eu

Social Sciences and Humanities

• Centres
  • Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE) - www.barcelonagse.eu
  • Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language (BCBL) - www.bcbl.eu
• Units
  • Department of Economy - www.eco.uc3m.es/
  • Center for Monetary and Financial Sid (CEMFI) http://www.cemfi.es/

Press release (Catalan)

The measurements have been coordinated by technicians of the Direcció General de Qualitat Ambiental i Canvi Climàtic of the Catalan Government, in collaboration with the Montsec Astronomical Park and the Regional Council of La Noguera, and with the participation of members of the IEEC University of Barcelona (Dept. FQA & ICCUB).

Read more

• Generalitat de Catalunya, Press (Catalan)
  
• University of Barcelona, Press (Catalan)
  

Links

• Article reference: Fergus Simpson. ‘Bayesian evidence for the prevalence of waterworlds’. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, April 2017. Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx516
• Press release by the University of Barcelona
• Press release by the Royal Astronomical Society

Watch an animation on Youtube!

International Masterclasses

The International Masterclasses at ICCUB

At the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) this activity has been held since 2005 under the name of Taller de Física de Partícules. Over 1400 students from all over Catalonia have attended so far. This year, 152 students from 150 high school instituteswill attend one of the sessions, which will be held on February 9^th and March 3^rd at the Physics Faculty of the UB, headquarters of the ICCUB. The program will include several talks about particle physics, exercices with real data from the LHCb experiment, in which ICCUB researchers participate, and an international video conference with other institutes to share results. The students will also have the opportunity to visit the laboratories of the Faculty of Physics.

Taller de Física de Partícules: www.lhc.cat/taller.php
International Masterclasses: www.physicsmasterclasses.org

Licia Verde, ICREA researcher at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (IEEC-UB) will launch this new edition

Barcelona 8 November 2016. The Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB, IEEC-UB) begins a new series of ICCUB Colloquia with a talk by Licia Verde, ICREA researcher at ICCUB, on the development that Cosmology has experienced in the last few years, as well as the challenges and new opportunities that have opened up for the future.

Throughout the last twenty years, Cosmology has experienced a dramatic progress. Several independent observations have allowed the definition of a model for the Big Bang which, complemented with an initial inflation period, describes the evolution of our Universe during the last 13,772 million years based on a few parameters and in a very accurate way.

Licia Verde (Venice, 1971), ICREA researcher at ICCUB (IEEC-UB), is one of the most highly cited authors according to the Highly Cited Researchers list published by Thompson Reuters in 2015. She has worked at the University of Princeton and at the University of Pennsylvania, and has been visitor researcher at the University of Harvard, the Imperial College London and CERN, among others. Among other recognitions, she has been awarded the Gruber Prize of Cosmology 2012 and an ERC starting grant (2009).

Since the beginnings of her career, Licia Verde has contributed to the development of present-day Cosmology in a very relevant way thanks to her participation in some of the most important space surveys, among them the NASA project Wilkinson Microwave AnisotropyProbe (WMAP, 2001-2012) and the SDSS-III Collaboration project Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS, 2000-2016), recently finished. WMAP measured the whole sky temperature of the microwave background with an unprecedented precision, which allowed the definition of the current Standard Model of Cosmology. BOSS has determined the three-dimensional distribution of galaxies and quasars by measuring distances on a cosmological scale covering half the history of the Universe since the Big Bang, and it has established the relationship between these distances and the expansion of the Universe.

About the ICCUB Colloquia series

The ICCUB Colloquia series is a program of talks given by internationally renowned scientists about cutting-edge topics in the fields of cosmology, astrophysics, and particle and nuclear physics. Throughout the academic year 2016-2017 several conferences are planned, by speakers such as Licia Verde (Institut de Ciències del Cosmos, ICCUB, IEEC-UB), Lisa Randall (Harvard University), Romain Quidant (Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, ICFO) and Guilllem Anglada-Escudé (Queen Mary University of London). They will take place one Thursday a month at the Physics Faculty of the University of Barcelona, the headquarters of the ICCUB, and will be addressed to both physics students and researchers, and those in related fields. The colloquia are also followed by an afternoon meeting between students and postdoctoral fellows and the speaker.

About the Institute of Cosmos Sciences (ICCUB)

The ICCUB is an institute belonging to the University of Barcelona. It was created in 2006 and has been awarded the certification of Unity of Excellence María de Maeztu. The center is devoted to fundamental research in the fields of Cosmology, Astrophysics, and Particle and Nuclear Physics, and collaborates in several international projects at both scientific and techonological levels. The ICCUB brings together numerous professors and reseachers of the Department of Quantum Physicsand Astrophysics, appointed to the Physics Faculty, besides ten ICREA researchers and research staff from other departments and faculties. The ICCUB is also one of the four units which constitute the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC).

The ICCUB has an important role in international projects such as the Gaia Mission of the European Space Agency, the LHCb Experiment of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located in CERN, the international collaboration Sloan DigitalSky Survey (SDSS-III), or the gamma ray telescope projects MAGIC and CTA.

Colloquim by Licia Verde: Thursday 10 November, Physics Faculty, University of Barcelona. More information.

Our planet, the Earth, is not a fair representation of other life-bearing planets, while mankind is not a fair reflection of intelligent species, concludes a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and authored by Fergus Simpson, researcher at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB, IEEC-UB).

Using a statistical calculation, Simpson estimates that most sentient extra-terrestrial species exceed 300 kg, similar to the mass of an adult polar bear. This result is based solely on the premise that, on average, physically larger organisms possess smaller populations. Following a similar line of reasoning, Simpson also finds that the majority of planets which host life are smaller than the Earth. These results represent the first tangible insights into the nature of alien life.

“This result arises for the same reason that you are likely to be living in a country with over six million people, despite most countries possessing a lower population”, says the University of Barcelona researcher. “When it comes to groups —argues Simpson—, we should expect to be in a highly populated one, not an ordinary one. Larger planets are capable of hosting bigger populations, so this suggests that the Earth is abnormally large”. In much the same vein, smaller species are able to sustain larger populations, since each individual requires less energy and less space. “This indicates that we are likely to be the ants among intelligent species”, points out Simpson. In reaching this conclusion the researcher does not make any assumptions about the way evolution progressed on other planets, or whether there is any correlation between body size and intelligence.

The implications extend beyond the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Primitive forms of life are a pre-requisite for the development of sentient species, so our expectation of their habitats are also shifted. This could help decide which exoplanets are selected to look for chemical signatures of life in their atmospheres.

To calculate the expected size of a sentient alien, the author exploits the fact that on average, bigger organisms need more energy to survive. This striking trend, known as Kleiber’s law, can be seen across all forms of life, from bacteria to whales. A fundamental limitation on a species’ population size is imposed by its energy requirement, in accordance with the laws of thermodynamics. This suggests that the tendency for larger species to possess lower population densities is a universal one, and not a unique feature of life on our planet.

Article reference:

F. Simpson. ‘The Size Distribution of Inhabited Planets'. MNRAS Letters, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press. Doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slv170

More information

http://www.facebook.com/Phys.Cosm/