More than 50 scientists from Vietnam and 12 countries and territories are participating in the 2023 SAGI astrophysics workshop on dust polarimetry and applications in astrophysics in Binh Dinh Province.

The hybrid event is being hosted by the scientific and educational organization ‘Rencontres du Vietnam’ (Meeting Vietnam) between Monday and Friday at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in the provincial capital city of Quy Nhon.

“We’re living a golden era of dust polarimetry in which dust polarization is observed by the most powerful observatories, such as ALMA, NOEMA, IRAM/Nika2-Pol, and others, spanning all scales of the universe, from the galactic scales to the interstellar medium, molecular clouds, to star-forming and planet-forming regions to debris disks, as well as envelopes of dying stars,” said Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Chi Thiem from Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in South Korea.

In this workshop, the fundamental theory underlying dust polarization plus quantitative and qualitative research methods will be applied to numerical modeling and computational simulations, so as to create synthetic polarization data that directly compare with real observational data.

The synergy of theory, computation, and observations promises to turn dust polarimetry into an accurate diagnostic of astrophysics, which can help resolve long-standing questions and potentially open new frontiers of astrophysics, Thiem added.

Dr. Nguyen Trong Hien from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who is the head of the Simons Astrophysics Group at the Institute For Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Education under the ICISE, said that the event will enable researchers at home and abroad to get involved in discussions about dust polarization as well as help young researchers and students in Vietnam meet with international astrophysicists.

The association ‘Rencontres du Vietnam,' a non-profit organization and an official partner of UNESCO, was founded in 1993 by Jean Tran Thanh Van, with the aim of promoting international exchanges between Vietnam and the international community, particularly in the areas of science and education.

As for the Simons Astrophysics Group at ICISE (SAGI), it was established last year thanks to the grant awarded by the Simons Foundation to foster collaborative research in astrophysics between international experts and local researchers and to train young researchers in astrophysics.

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