Dr. Esra Bulbul

scientist
high-energy astrophysics
+49 89 30000-3502
+49 89 30000-3569
X5 1.4.03

Main Focus


Brief Bio:

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.


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 was recently awarded the European Research Council's Consolidator Grant in 2020 for the project "DarkQuest: Shedding Light on the Nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy with Multi-wavelength All-Sky Surveys". The ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to outstanding researchers in Europe with a significant track record.


Publications:

https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/public-libraries/SyZPvexPSE2oOhxYds1TsA

Research Interests:

  • Cosmology
  • Large Scale Structure
  • Physics of Galaxy Groups and Clusters
  • Indirect Searches for Dark Matter
  • Large Area Multi-wavelength Surveys


Awards and Grants:
  • 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

Press:

Dr. Bulbul's research has been covered in major media outlets;


Open Positions:


Administrative Appointments:

  • Chair, eROSITA Clusters and Cosmology Group, 2019 - Present
  • Head, MPE Clusters and Cosmology Group, 2019 - Present
  • Co-chair, Athena Physics Beyond the Standard Model Topical Panel, 2020 - Present
  • Co-chair, NASA Athena Science Study Team, 2019
  • 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



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