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Research facility · Garching · Germany

Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

In research, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics stands highest in Astronomy and Astrophysics (#31 of 443 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#1,983 of 12,888 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#543 of 1,646 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Instrumentation, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics and Astronomy — Instrumentation is 151.1× its share of world research.

mpa-garching.mpg.deROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#3,561
of 28,054 · #955 all time
Rank in Germany
#170
of 1,178
Research works
5k
▼ 6% vs 2013–17
Citations
263k
53.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
42.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
53%
world 28%

What is Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #31 of 443 46.2%175 #16
Physical SciencesDomain #1,983 of 12,888 43.5%272 #649
Physics and AstronomyField #543 of 1,646 45.4%241 #239

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Astronomy and Astrophysics#16 #31
  2. Physical Sciences#649 #1,983
  3. Physics and Astronomy#239 #543
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Instrumentation takes 151.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. InstrumentationSubfield · 21.1 works151×
  2. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 175.0 works121×
  3. Physics and AstronomyField · 241.2 works39×
  4. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 33.8 works38×
  5. Physical SciencesDomain · 272.0 works2.5×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceChemical Engineering: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.29× its world share, 6 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.24× its world share, 6 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.33× its world share, 14 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.75× its world share, 2 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 38.82× its world share, 241 worksPhysics and AstronomyMedicine: 0.01× its world share, 1 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksArts and HumanitiesDecision Sciences: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 3 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 38.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics?

Ranked on the composite score, Eiichiro Komatsu, Volker Springel and Simon D. M. White lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

  1. 1 Eiichiro Komatsu Germany · #1,113 worldwide 6.6k citations · 88 works
  2. 2 Volker Springel Germany · #1,320 worldwide 5.2k citations · 188 works
  3. 3 Simon D. M. White Germany · #2,111 worldwide 3.6k citations · 148 works
  4. 4 Guinevere Kauffmann Germany · #4,593 worldwide 1.9k citations · 83 works
  5. 5 T. A. Enßlin Germany · #8,485 worldwide 2.5k citations · 163 works
  6. 6 Thorsten Naab Germany · #23,932 worldwide 1.3k citations · 101 works
  7. 7 Ashley J. Ruiter Germany · #34,704 worldwide 505 citations · 43 works
  8. 8 B. Ciardi Germany · #36,032 worldwide 863 citations · 86 works
  9. 9 P. A. Mazzali Germany · #43,000 worldwide 1.3k citations · 126 works
  10. 10 S. D. M. White Germany · #44,220 worldwide 684 citations · 31 works
All ranked researchers at Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics

Which keywords describe research at Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Black Holes, Star Formation, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Supernovae, Gravitational Waves, Galaxies and Stellar Populations.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Black Holes61▲ 232×3 topics
  2. Star Formation56▲ 381×2 topics
  3. Dark Matter50▲ 155×3 topics
  4. Cosmology47▲ 255×3 topics
  5. Supernovae43▲ 186×2 topics
  6. Gravitational Waves41▲ 264×2 topics
  7. Galaxies40▲ 519×1 topic
  8. Stellar Populations40▲ 519×1 topic
  9. Accretion Disks35▲ 266×2 topics
  10. Magnetic Fields35▲ 193×2 topics
  11. Nucleosynthesis28▲ 208×3 topics
  12. Gamma-Ray Bursts26▲ 355×1 topic
  13. Neutron Stars26▲ 355×1 topic
  14. Galactic Center26▲ 205×2 topics
  15. Exoplanets22▲ 196×1 topic
  16. Stellar Astrophysics22▲ 196×1 topic
  17. Cosmic Rays21▲ 151×2 topics
  18. Neutrinos21▲ 151×2 topics
  19. Astronomical Instrumentation21▲ 293×1 topic
  20. Spectrograph21▲ 293×1 topic
  21. X-Ray Spectroscopy19▲ 153×2 topics
  22. Event Horizon Telescope19▲ 308×1 topic
  23. X-Ray Astronomy19▲ 308×1 topic
  24. Turbulence17▲ 69×3 topics
  25. Dark Energy17▲ 92×2 topics
  26. General Relativity16▲ 87×2 topics
  27. Cosmic Microwave Background16▲ 105×1 topic
  28. Cosmological Parameters16▲ 105×1 topic
  29. Molecular Clouds16▲ 230×1 topic
  30. Protoplanetary Disks16▲ 230×1 topic
  31. Binary Black Hole15▲ 180×1 topic
  32. Equation of State15▲ 99×2 topics
  33. Neutron Star15▲ 180×1 topic
  34. High-Energy Astrophysics14▲ 185×1 topic
  35. Particle Acceleration14▲ 185×1 topic
  36. Particle Physics10▲ 47×2 topics
  37. Radio Astronomy8▲ 119×2 topics
  38. Axions7▲ 111×1 topic
  39. WIMPs7▲ 111×1 topic
  40. Solar System Abundances7▲ 50×1 topic

Which research topics does Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena, Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae, Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies and Astronomy and Astrophysical Research.

Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 40 fractional worksGamma-ray bursts and supernovae: 26 fractional worksStellar, planetary, and …22Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies: 22 fractional worksAstronomy and Astrophysi…21Astronomy and Astrophysical Research: 21 fractional worksAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations: 19 fractional worksCosmology and Gravitation Theories: 16 fractional worksAstrophysics and Star Fo…16Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies: 16 fractional worksPulsars and Gravitational Waves Research: 15 fractional worksAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena: 14 fractional worksDark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena: 7 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsInstrumentationNuclear and High Energy Physics

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 40 works
  2. 2 Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae Astronomy and Astrophysics 26 works
  3. 3 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 22 works
  4. 4 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 21 works
  5. 5 Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations Astronomy and Astrophysics 19 works
  6. 6 Cosmology and Gravitation Theories Astronomy and Astrophysics 16 works
  7. 7 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 16 works
  8. 8 Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research Astronomy and Astrophysics 15 works
  9. 9 Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena Nuclear and High Energy Physics 14 works
  10. 10 Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena Nuclear and High Energy Physics 7 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available52.9%not open47.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors43.6%domestic only56.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 6% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Garching

All research institutions in Garching

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.