Maximilian von Wietersheim-Kramsta

Maximilian von Wietersheim-Kramsta

Postdoctoral researcher within the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) and the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy (CEA) at Durham University since April 2024.

Posts by Collection

press

An Interactive Map of the Universe

Published:

Citation: Map of all known astronomical objects in the Universe (up to 2017) including quasars, galaxies, stars, exoplanets, asteroids, artificial satellites, and more for display at the Global Data Observatory. Full map with labels available here. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/research-office/funder-information/funding-opportunities/internal-funding-opportunities/iaa/case-studies/stfc-case-studies/an-interactive-map-of-the-universe/

Durham astrophysicists’ key contributions to cosmic discoveries

Published:

Citation: "These observations are tremendously exciting: they demonstrate the capabilities of this precision instrument, while already pushing the cutting-edge in astrophysics. Among the results, it is astonishing that Euclid has already discovered 500 gravitational lens candidates substantially adding to the total of approximately 1,000 previously known lensed galaxies, which took over 40 years to discover! At this rate, Euclid is expected to observe 200,000 such objects over six years of the survey. These observations, together with the two billion galaxies Euclid will image, will help us understand how dark matter is distributed in the Universe and may allow us to uncover its nature. " - MvWK https://www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/latest-news/2025/03/euclid-q1-data-release/

Final findings from Kilo-Degree survey confirm cosmology model

Published:

Citation: "The Kilo-Degree Survey has said its last word on one of the most polarising tensions in cosmology! The final KiDS results reconcile early- and late-Universe measurements of the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. As we enter the golden era of gravitational lensing with surveys such as Euclid, this analysis drives the state-of-the-art of weak lensing cosmology and teaches us important lessons for the future." - MvWK https://www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/latest-news/2025/03/final-findings-from-kilo-degree-survey-confirm-cosmology-model/

Webb brings cosmic lenses into focus

Published:

Citation: "This ESA/Webb Picture of the Month shows eight stunning examples of gravitational lensing. Gravitational lensing, which was first predicted by Einstein, occurs because massive objects like galaxies and clusters of galaxies dramatically warp the fabric of spacetime." https://esawebb.org/images/potm2509a/

Developing Talent Award Winners 2025-2026

Published:

Citation: "We are pleased to announce the winners of the Developing Talent Award for 2026: James Gill-Fleming (CfAI) , Aurelie Magniez (CfAI), Omer Rathore (CMP) and Max von Wietersheim-Kramsta (ICC & CEA)" for "Cosmos to Care: A Durham Sprint for Cross-Disciplinary Innovation in the Development of Cancer Treatments" (an interdisciplinary collaboration between cosmologists in Durham and Newcastle, oncologists from the Institute for Cancer Research in London, and the industrial partners from concr applies advanced statistical and machine-learning methods,  typically applied in cosmology, that can be used to make better predictions from existing cancer data). https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/physics/news/developing-talent-award-winners-2025-2026/

publications

Dark energy and equivalence principle constraints from astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant

Published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2015

Citation: Martins, C. J. A. P., Pinho, A. M. M., Alves, R. F. C., Pino, M., Rocha, C. I. S. A., & von Wietersheim, M. (2015). Dark energy and equivalence principle constraints from astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2015(08), 047. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1475-7516/2015/08/047

6 × 2 pt: Forecasting gains from joint weak lensing and galaxy clustering analyses with spectroscopic-photometric galaxy cross-correlations

Published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2024

Citation: Johnston, H., Chisari, N.E., Joudaki, S., Reischke, R., Stölzner, B., ..., von Wietersheim-Kramsta, M., ..., & Zhang, Y. (2024). 6 × 2 pt: Forecasting gains from joint weak lensing and galaxy clustering analyses with spectroscopic-photometric galaxy cross-correlations. A&A, 699, A127. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202452466

Measuring the Stellar-to-Halo Mass Relation at ~1010 Solar masses, using forthcoming space-based imaging of galaxy-galaxy strong lenses

Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2025

Citation: Wang, K., Cao, X., Li, R., Nightingale, J.W., He, Q., ..., von Wietersheim-Kramsta, M., ..., & Ma, X. (2025). Measuring the Stellar-to-Halo Mass Relation at ~1010 Solar masses, using forthcoming space-based imaging of galaxy-galaxy strong lenses. MNRAS. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2253

Radiation damage to the Hubble Space Telescope during two Solar cycles, and correction of Charge Transfer Inefficiency using ArCTIc

Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2025

Citation: Massey, R., Kegerreis, J.A., Barrios, J.P.L.G., Nightingale, J.W., Hayes, R.G., ..., & von Wietersheim-Kramsta, M. (2025). Radiation damage to the Hubble Space Telescope during two Solar cycles, and correction of Charge Transfer Inefficiency using ArCTIc. MNRAS. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2186

KiDS-Legacy: Constraints on Horndeski gravity from weak lensing combined with galaxy clustering and cosmic microwave background anisotropies

Published in arXiv e-prints, 2025

Citation: Stölzner, B., Reischke, R., Grasso, M., Cataneo, M., Joachimi, B., ..., von Wietersheim-Kramsta, M., ..., & Zhang, Y. (2025). KiDS-Legacy: Constraints on Horndeski gravity from weak lensing combined with galaxy clustering and cosmic microwave background anisotropies. arXiv, arXiv:2512.11039. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2512.11039

talks

teaching

Workshops for the “Theoretical Physics 2” course

Tutorial, Durham University, Department of Physics, 2025

Convening and demonstrating of two weekly workshops as part of the 2nd-year undergraduate course “Theoretical Physics 2” (PHYS2631) over two terms in 2024-2025. The course covers calculus of varations, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, symmetry principles and advanced quantum theory. Each workshop involves demonstrating a problem set to approx. 40 students, and present the answers to the questions.