Francisco Rodríguez Candón
PhD candidate in astroparticle physics at TU Dortmund University and Universidad de Zaragoza (cotutelle).
Updated October 2026
I studied physics at the University of Salamanca, where I found my way into phenomenology: the part of the field where a theoretical idea has to survive contact with a real astrophysical object.
That took me to the Master’s in Physics of the Universe at the University of Zaragoza, with a thesis on magnetars seen through X-ray telescopes, and to CAPA, one of the strongest dark-matter groups in Spain. There I joined the IAXO group as a predoctoral researcher, analysing NuSTAR data for axion searches and building database tools for the collaboration. A short stay at DTU Space in Copenhagen took me into the NuSTAR glass optics that could fly again in IAXO’s telescopes.
Since September 2024 I have been doing a joint PhD between TU Dortmund and Zaragoza on stars and supernovae as axion laboratories, with a research stay in Padova along the way.
01
Sep 2024 – present
TU Dortmund University and Universidad de Zaragoza
Thesis: Stars and supernovae as axion laboratories: searches for feebly interacting particles with X- and gamma-ray telescopes. Supervisors: Prof. Maurizio Giannotti (Zaragoza), Prof. Julia K. Vogel (Dortmund).
Jul 2024
Universidad de Zaragoza
Thesis: Unraveling neutron stars secrets: magnetar studies using X-ray telescopes. Supervisor: Prof. J. K. Vogel.
Jul 2022
Universidad de Salamanca
02
Jun 2025 – present
Department of Physics, TU Dortmund University, Germany
Axion and ALP searches in X-ray and gamma-ray data; X-ray optics development for IAXO. Funded by the federal and state programme “Professorinnenprogramm 2030”.
6 to 25 Sep 2026
University of Padova, Italy, hosted by Dr Edoardo Vitagliano
COST short-term scientific mission on axion–photon conversion in the turbulent magnetic field of M82.
May 2023 – Jun 2025
CAPA, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
NuSTAR data analysis for axion searches; database development for the Zaragoza IAXO group. Investigo contract.
May – Jun 2023
DTU Space, Copenhagen, Denmark
Study of the NuSTAR glass-optics inventory for use in the IAXO X-ray telescopes.
Feb – Jun 2022
CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain
03
Sep 2026
COST Action CA21106 COSMIC WISPers, research stay at the University of Padova
Jan 2026
Physics School “Unifying view on cosmic interacting matter”, Bad Honnef
May 2023 – Jun 2025
Universidad de Zaragoza. Programa Investigo, funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU)
May – Jun 2023
Research stay at DTU Space, Copenhagen
04
2023 – present
Contributions to the IAXO physics case and to the X-ray optics.
2024 – present
Talks at the 3rd General Meeting, the WG3 meeting and the 4th Training School; contributor to the COSMIC WISPers white paper; STSM grant.
2026 – present
TU Dortmund University
05
2026
TU Dortmund University
Supervised and assessed students on the experiment “Characterisation of silicon strip detectors”.
2025
Universidad de Zaragoza
Designed and taught hands-on seminars on stellar-evolution modelling with MESA.
2025 – 2026
TU Dortmund University
Day-to-day mentoring of an MSc thesis on axion emission from the Antares supergiant (formal supervisor: Prof. Julia K. Vogel).
Outreach
@CAPAUnizar, Universidad de Zaragoza
Led the content team: scripts, filming and editing. More on the Outreach page.
06