Menu

Daniel Castro

astrophysicist

contact CV ADS
About Me

first... introductions

Profile Picture

I am an astrophysicist, and I work at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), where I am a member of the Chandra X-ray Center Science Operations Mission Planning Team. Since 2023, I also serve as the Deputy Chair for the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the CfA.

I am a proud alumnus of Atlantic College (UWCAC), the University of Edinburgh and Universidad Simón Bolívar, and I completed my doctoral dissertation at the CfA as a Smithsonian Predoctoral Fellow, with the support of my advisor Pat Slane.

After working at the MIT-Kavli Institute for Space Research as a Chandra/HETG Postdoctoral Associate, I moved to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where I spent time as a Visiting Scientist and NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, and joined the Fermi-LAT Collaboration.

In addition to working closely with the Fermi-LAT team at NASA-Goddard on mission monitoring, data analysis and science, I took an active role in helping develop the next generation of space-based gamma-ray observatories, as well as serving as working group member in the collaborations behind the design of the future Athena and Lynx X-ray instrument projects. I am currently involved in the concept development team for the Line Emission Mapper (LEM), a proposed Astrophysics Probe Explorer (APEX) mission, responding to NASA's AO23 NNH23ZDA021O.

CV

my job and academic timelines

... a quick and easy view of what I have been up to

appointments

Deputy Division Chair

October 2023 - Present

High Energy Astrophysics Division
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian


Astrophysicist

March 2017 - Present

Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian


NPP Postdoctoral Fellow

Nov 2016 - March 2017

NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center


Visiting Scientist
Assistant Research Professor

Nov 2015 - Nov 2016

NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center
George Mason University


Chandra-HETG Postdoctoral Scholar

Oct 2011 - Oct 2015

Massachusetts Institute of Technology


education

DPhys (Hons)

2011

Universidad Simón Bolívar, Venezuela

Doctorate in Physics with Honors
Thesis: Cosmic Ray Acceleration in Supernova Remnants
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Patrick Slane, CfA

MPhys (Hons)

2002

University of Edinburgh, UK

Master of Physics, Honours in Astrophysics

IB

1996

United World College of the Atlantic, UK

International Baccalaureate degree. Galileo Scholarship Award from the Fundación Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho

research

My research interests are in the field of high energy astrophysics, and in particular the study of supernova remnants (SNRs), pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) and pulsars. The bulk of my work is focused on X-ray and gamma ray observations of SNRs and PWNe, as well as analytical and computational approaches to the understanding of particle acceleration in these systems.

some of my work

(click on each image for more info)

Lighthouse
Salad
Beetle
Clouds
Liberty
Shutterbug




full refeered publication list

ADS LIBRARY

  1. "First flight performance of the Micro-X microcalorimeter X-ray sounding rocket"
    Micro-X Collaboration, 2023, Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, 9, 034001
  2. "Resolving the Bow Shock and Tail of the Cannonball Pulsar PSR J0002+6216"
    Kumar, Schinzel, Taylor, Kerr, Castro, Rau, and Bhatnagar, 2023, The Astrophysical Journal, 945, 129
  3. "Fermi-LAT Gamma-Ray Emission Discovered from the Composite Supernova Remnant B0453-685 in the Large Magellanic Cloud"
    Eagle, Castro, Mahhov, Gelfand, Kerr, Slane, Ballet, Acero, Straal, and Ajello, 2023, The Astrophysical Journal, 945, 4
  4. "MeV-GeV Gamma-Ray Emission from SNR G327.1-1.1 Discovered by the Fermi-LAT"
    Eagle, Castro, Temim, Ballet, Slane, Gelfand, Kerr, and Ajello, 2022, The Astrophysical Journal, 940, 143
  5. "Search for New Cosmic-Ray Acceleration Sites within the 4FGL Catalog Galactic Plane Sources"
    Abdollahi, Acero, Ackermann, Baldini, Ballet, Barbiellini, Bastieri, Bellazzini, Berenji, Berretta, Bissaldi, Blandford, Bonino, Bruel, Buson, Cameron, Caputo, Caraveo, Castro, et al., 2022, The Astrophysical Journal, 933, 204
  6. "Incremental Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog"
    Abdollahi, Acero, Baldini, Ballet, Bastieri, Bellazzini, Berenji, Berretta, Bissaldi, Blandford, Bloom, Bonino, Brill, Britto, Bruel, Burnett, Buson, Cameron, Caputo, Caraveo, Castro, et al., 2022, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 260, 53
  7. "The Forward and Reverse Shock Dynamics of Cassiopeia A"
    Vink, Patnaude, and Castro, 2022, The Astrophysical Journal, 929, 57
  8. "Gamma-Ray Emission Revealed at the Western Edge of SNR G344.7-0.1"
    Eagle, Marchesi, Castro, Ajello, and Vendrasco, 2020, The Astrophysical Journal, 904, 123
  9. "High-energy gamma-ray study of the dynamically young SNR G150.3+4.5"
    Devin, Lemoine-Goumard, Grondin, Castro, Ballet, Cohen, and Hewitt, 2020, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 643, A28
  10. "Evidence of Particle Acceleration in the Superbubble 30 Doradus C with NuSTAR"
    Lopez, Grefenstette, Auchettl, Madsen, and Castro, 2020, The Astrophysical Journal, 893, 144
  11. "Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog"
    Abdollahi, Acero, Ackermann, Ajello, Atwood, Axelsson, Baldini, Ballet, Barbiellini, Bastieri, Becerra Gonzalez, Bellazzini, Berretta, Bissaldi, Blandford, Bloom, Bonino, Bottacini, Brandt, Bregeon, Bruel, Buehler, Burnett, Buson, Cameron, Caputo, Caraveo, Casandjian, Castro, et al., 2020, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 247, 33
  12. "Micro-X Sounding Rocket: Transitioning from First Flight to a Dark Matter Configuration"
    Adams, Anderson, Baker, Bandler, Bastidon, Castro, Danowski, Doriese, Eckart, Figueroa-Feliciano, Goldfinger, Heine, Hilton, Hubbard, Kelley, Kilbourne, Manzagol-Harwood, McCammon, Okajima, Porter, Reintsema, Serlemitsos, Smith, and Wikus, 2020, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 199, 1072
  13. "MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray results on unassociated HAWC sources"
    MAGIC Collaboration, HAWC Collaboration, and Fermi-Lat Collaboration, 2019, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 485, 356
  14. "2FHL J0826.1-4500: Discovery of a Possible Shock-Cloud Interaction on the Western Edge of the Vela Supernova Remnant"
    Eagle, Marchesi, Castro, Ajello, Duvidovich, and Tibaldo, 2019, The Astrophysical Journal, 870, 35
  15. "Evidence for Rapid Adiabatic Cooling as an Origin of the Recombining Plasma in the Supernova Remnant W49B Revealed by NuSTAR Observations"
    Yamaguchi, Tanaka, Wik, Rho, Bamba, Castro, Smith, Foster, Uchida, Petre, and Williams, 2018, The Astrophysical Journal, 868, L35
  16. "NuSTAR Detection of Nonthermal Bremsstrahlung from the Supernova Remnant W49B"
    Tanaka, Yamaguchi, Wik, Aharonian, Bamba, Castro, Foster, Petre, Rho, Smith, Uchida, Uchiyama, and Williams, 2018, The Astrophysical Journal, 866, L26
  17. "VERITAS and Fermi-LAT Observations of TeV Gamma-Ray Sources Discovered by HAWC in the 2HWC Catalog"
    VERITAS Collaboration, Fermi-LAT Collaboration, and HAWC Collaboration, 2018, The Astrophysical Journal, 866, 24
  18. "The Search for Spatial Extension in High-latitude Sources Detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope"
    Ackermann, Ajello, Baldini, Ballet, Barbiellini, Bastieri, Bellazzini, Bissaldi, Blandford, Bloom, Bonino, Bottacini, Brandt, Bregeon, Bruel, Buehler, Cameron, Caputo, Caraveo, Castro, et al., 2018, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 237, 32
  19. "Proper Motion of the High-velocity Pulsar in SNR MSH 15-56"
    Temim, Slane, Plucinsky, Gelfand, Castro, and Kolb, 2017, The Astrophysical Journal, 851, 128
  20. "Search for Extended Sources in the Galactic Plane Using Six Years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope Pass 8 Data above 10 GeV"
    Ackermann, Ajello, Baldini, Ballet, Barbiellini, Bastieri, Bellazzini, Bissaldi, Bloom, Bonino, Bottacini, Brandt, Bregeon, Bruel, Buehler, Cameron, Caragiulo, Caraveo, Castro,et al., 2017, The Astrophysical Journal, 843, 139
  21. "Cosmic-ray electron-positron spectrum from 7 GeV to 2 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope"
    Abdollahi, Ackermann, Ajello, Atwood, Baldini, Barbiellini, Bastieri, Bellazzini, Bloom, Bonino, Brandt, Bregeon, Bruel, Buehler, Cameron, Caputo, Caragiulo, Castro, et al., Zimmer, and Fermi-LAT Collaboration, 2017, Physical Review D, 95, 082007
  22. "The Refined Shock Velocity of the X-Ray Filaments in the RCW 86 Northeast Rim"
    Yamaguchi, Katsuda, Castro, Williams, Lopez, Slane, Smith, and Petre, 2016, The Astrophysical Journal, 820, L3
  23. "Fermi-LAT Observations of Supernova Remnant G5.7-0.1, Believed to be Interacting with Molecular Clouds"
    Joubert, Castro, Slane, and Gelfand, 2016, The Astrophysical Journal, 816, 63
  24. "Searching for keV Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter with X-Ray Microcalorimeter Sounding Rockets"
    Figueroa-Feliciano, Anderson, Castro, Goldfinger, Rutherford, Eckart, Kelley, Kilbourne, McCammon, Morgan, Porter, Szymkowiak, and XQC Collaboration, 2015, The Astrophysical Journal, 814, 82
  25. "Multi-wavelength Analysis of the Galactic Supernova Remnant MSH 11-61A"
    Auchettl, Slane, Castro, Foster, and Smith, 2015, The Astrophysical Journal, 810, 43
  26. "Supernova Remnants Interacting with Molecular Clouds: X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Signatures"
    Slane, Bykov, Ellison, Dubner, and Castro, 2015, Space Science Reviews, 188, 187
  27. "The Role of Stellar Feedback in the Dynamics of H II Regions"
    Lopez, Krumholz, Bolatto, Prochaska, Ramirez-Ruiz, and Castro, 2014, The Astrophysical Journal, 795, 121
  28. "Identification of a Jet-driven Supernova Remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud: Possible Evidence for the Enhancement of Bipolar Explosions at Low Metallicity"
    Lopez, Castro, Slane, Ramirez-Ruiz, and Badenes, 2014, The Astrophysical Journal, 788, 5
  29. "Discriminating the Progenitor Type of Supernova Remnants with Iron K-shell Emission"
    Yamaguchi, Badenes, Petre, Nakano, Castro, Enoto, Hiraga, Hughes, Maeda, Nobukawa, Safi-Harb, Slane, Smith, and Uchida, 2014, The Astrophysical Journal, 785, L27
  30. "Fermi-LAT Observations of Supernova Remnants Kesteven 79"
    Auchettl, Slane, and Castro, 2014, The Astrophysical Journal, 783, 32
  31. "A CR-hydro-NEI Model of the Structure and Broadband Emission from Tycho's Supernova Remnant"
    Slane, Lee, Ellison, Patnaude, Hughes, Eriksen, Castro, and Nagataki, 2014, The Astrophysical Journal, 783, 33
  32. "A Chandra View of Non-thermal Emission in the Northwestern Region of Supernova Remnant RCW 86: Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Fields"
    Castro, Lopez, Slane, Yamaguchi, Ramirez-Ruiz, and Figueroa-Feliciano, 2013, The Astrophysical Journal, 779, 49
  33. "Unraveling the Origin of Overionized Plasma in the Galactic Supernova Remnant W49B"
    Lopez, Pearson, Ramirez-Ruiz, Castro, Yamaguchi, Slane, and Smith, 2013, The Astrophysical Journal, 777, 145
  34. "Supernova Remnant Kes 17: An Efficient Cosmic Ray Accelerator inside a Molecular Cloud"
    Gelfand, Castro, Slane, Temim, Hughes, and Rakowski, 2013, The Astrophysical Journal, 777, 148
  35. "Fermi-LAT Observations of Supernova Remnants Interacting with Molecular Clouds: W41, MSH 17-39, and G337.7-0.1"
    Castro, Slane, Carlton, and Figueroa-Feliciano, 2013, The Astrophysical Journal, 774, 36
  36. "High-energy Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant MSH 15-56"
    Temim, Slane, Castro, Plucinsky, Gelfand, and Dickel, 2013, The Astrophysical Journal, 768, 61
  37. "The Galactic Supernova Remnant W49B Likely Originates from a Jet-driven, Core-collapse Explosion"
    Lopez, Ramirez-Ruiz, Castro, and Pearson, 2013, The Astrophysical Journal, 764, 50
  38. "Fermi-LAT Observations and a Broadband Study of Supernova Remnant CTB 109"
    Castro, Slane, Ellison, and Patnaude, 2012, The Astrophysical Journal, 756, 88
  39. "A Broadband Study of the Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant MSH 11-62"
    Slane, Hughes, Temim, Rousseau, Castro, Foight, Gaensler, Funk, Lemoine-Goumard, Gelfand, Moffett, Dodson, and Bernstein, 2012, The Astrophysical Journal, 749, 131
  40. "An XMM-Newton Study of the Bright, Nearby Supernova Remnant G296.1-0.5"
    Castro, Slane, Gaensler, Hughes, and Patnaude, 2011, The Astrophysical Journal, 734, 86
  41. "The Impact of Efficient Particle Acceleration on the Evolution of Supernova Remnants in the Sedov-Taylor Phase"
    Castro, Slane, Patnaude, and Ellison, 2011, The Astrophysical Journal, 734, 85
  42. "Fermi Detection of the Pulsar Wind Nebula HESS J1640-465"
    Slane, Castro, Funk, Uchiyama, Lemiere, Gelfand, and Lemoine-Goumard, 2010, The Astrophysical Journal, 720, 266
  43. "Fermi Large Area Telescope Observations of Supernova Remnants Interacting with Molecular Clouds"
    Castro and Slane, 2010, The Astrophysical Journal, 717, 372



UWC

the united world colleges and avemundo...

A very important aspect of my background is my connection with the United World College (UWC) movement, since I graduated from the United World College of the Atlantic (aka Atlantic College, AC) in Wales. The UWCs are a set of IB-granting schools spread around the globe focused on community service, multicultural and multisocietal experiences, as well as academics. My time at AC was fantastic, and the cultural, ethnical and social diversity of the school had a great impact on how I understand the world, and our role within our communities.

Profile Picture

After finishing at University of Edinburgh, I returned to Venezuela where I became part of the AVEMUNDO (aka UWC Venezuela) , from 2004 to 2009, acting as President in 2005-2006.

In 2016 I co-founded UWC-Venezuela-DC in Washington, DC. This non-profit organization aims at raising funds on behalf of AVEMUNDO to make scholarships available to Venezuelan students to attend UWCs. Keep tuned for links on how to contribute!

Contact
mail

60 Garden Street, MS 02
Cambridge, MA 02138

Email

daniel.castro at cfa.harvard.edu

Phone

(617) 495-8273