Dr. Esra Bulbul
Main Focus
https://www.ercdarkquest.com/
Dr. Esra Bulbul is the lead scientist for SRG/eROSITA cluster science and cosmology. She holds a group leader position at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. She received her Ph.D. in physics from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. She has held a staff scientist position at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and postdoctoral fellowships at CfA, MIT, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center prior to her arrival at MPE. She currently chairs the clusters and cosmology team of the SRG/eROSITA team and co-chairs Athena's (ESA's X-ray Space Telescope) Physics Beyond Standard Model Topical Panel.
Dr. Bulbul's research interests are focused on understanding the growth of structure and the fundamental physics of the universe, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy, by utilizing observations of clusters of galaxies detected in large area multi-wavelength surveys. Dr. Bulbul has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, with her being the first or second author on 32 of them. She has given more than 60 invited talks at international meetings and colloquia in the leading universities and institutes, as well as public outreach talks. Her work received comprehensive media coverage from Nature News, Scientific American, MIT News, Science News, Phys.org, Astronomy Magazine, and other media sources. Dr. Bulbul's work on dark matter searches was selected among the top ten research highlights of the decade by the American Physical Society.
Publications:
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/public-libraries/SyZPvexPSE2oOhxYds1TsAResearch Interests:
- Cosmology
- Large Scale Structure
- Physics of Galaxy Groups and Clusters
- Indirect Searches for Dark Matter
- Large Area Multi-wavelength Surveys
- 2020, European Research Council Consolidator Award, 2M Euros Research Funding
- 2013-2020, PI of NASA ADAP, Chandra, XMM-Newton Awards, >1M Dollars Research Funding
- 2018, American Physical Society, Top Ten Research Highlights of the Decade, Research Highlight of 2014
- 2014, American Physical Society, One of the Top Ten Research Highlights of 2014
- 2010, Univ. Alabama in Huntsville, Outstanding Research Award
Dr. Bulbul's research has been covered in major media outlets;
- NASA News, X-ray Satellite XMM-Newton Sees Space Clover in a New Light
- Astronomy Magazine, Mysterious Cloverleaf ‘odd radio circle’ could be a merger of a dozen galaxies
- MPE News, Cosmic Dance of the "Space Clover"
- Science News, X-ray survey bolsters prevailing theory of universe’s expansion
- MPE News, eROSITA relaxes cosmological tension
- Nature News, This new map of the Universe suggests dark matter shaped the cosmos
- Quanta, Fresh X-Rays Reveal a Universe as Clumpy as Cosmology Predicts
- American Physical Society, Top Ten Highlights of the Decade
- Scientific American, New X-Ray Map of Cosmic Megastructures Unravels Subatomic Mysteries
- BBC News, Galactic X-ray could Point to Dark matter Proof
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American Physical Society, Number #1 Research Highlight of the Year 2014
- ESA News, Puzzling X-rays point to dark matter
- Science News, X-rays From Other Galaxies Could Emanate From Particles of Dark Matter
- NASA News, Mysterious X-ray Signal Intrigues Astronomers
- New Scientist, Fresh hint of dark matter seen in neutrino search
Open Positions:
- Ph.D. position on cosmology and large scale structure with multi-wavelength surveys
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Postdoc Positions in Observational Cosmology, please contact Esra Bulbul at ebulbul@mpe.mpg.de for more infromation
Administrative Appointments:
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Chair, eROSITA Clusters and Cosmology Group, 2019 - Present
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Head, MPE Clusters and Cosmology Group, 2019 - Present
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Co-chair, Athena Physics Beyond the Standard Model Topical Panel, 2020 - Present
- Co-chair, NASA Athena Science Study Team, 2019
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NASA Representative, Athena XIFU Science Advisory Team, 2016 - 2019
Collaboration Memberships:
SRG/eROSITA, Euclid, Arcus, Athena, Hitomi X-ray Observatories, Rubin Observatory, SDSS-V, 4MOST Spectroscopic Telescope, South Pole Telescope, BabyIAXO
Current Group Members:
Dr. Emmanuel Artis, postdoc (2022 - present)
Dr. Matthias Kluge, postdoc (2022- present)
Dr. Ang Liu, postdoc (2020 - present)
Dr. Nicola Malavasi, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow (2023-present)
Dr. Xiaoyuan Zhang, postdoc (2022 - present)
Emre Bahar, Ph.D. Student (2020 - present)
Fabian Balzer, Ph.D. Student (2022 - present)
Ziyu Ding, Ph.D. Student, CSC Fellow (2025 - present)
Silas Zelmer, Ph.D. Student (2023 - present)
Fillippo Guestella, Masters Student
Jan Strunk, Masters Student
Gioacomo Tonelli, Masters Student