# Tomáš Plšek
🎓 I am astrophysics PhD student at DTPA, Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, working in the High Energy Astrophysics (HEA) group led by Prof. Norbert Werner. My research focuses on AGN feedback in giant elliptical galaxies, with a specialisation in the detection and characterisation of X-ray cavities in the hot atmospheres of these galaxies. I work extensively on image and spectral analysis of X-ray observations and on applying machine learning methods to astronomical data.
💻 Beyond astronomy & astrophysics, I genuinely enjoy coding, and in my free time, I like to play with home automation projects 🏠🔌. When I step away from the screen, I play football ⚽, ride my bike 🚴, and spend time gardening 🌱.
## Education
- since 09/2021 — PhD candidate, "Understanding the physics of hot galactic atmospheres" (supervisor: Norbert Werner), DTPA, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University
- 09/2019–06/2021 — MSc, "Relation between Bondi accretion and jets powers in giant elliptical galaxies" (supervisor: Norbert Werner), DTPA, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University
- 09/2016–06/2019 — BSc, "Dark matter modelling of clusters of galaxies" (supervisor: Filip Hroch), DTPA, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University
## Work experience
- since 03/2021 — Researcher, DTPA, Masaryk University: "Development of novel ML methods in astrophysics; data analysis"
- 10/2019–12/2020 — Researcher, DPE, Masaryk University: "Plasma treatment of materials; optical emission spectroscopy; surface energy; data analysis"
- 05/2018–09/2018 — Demonstrator, Vyškov Observatory: "Public astronomical demonstrations"
[Download full CV (PDF)](cv.pdf)
# Publications
## Major Contributions
- Jan 2024 — "The infalling elliptical galaxy M89: the chemical composition of the AGN disturbed hot atmosphere" — Kara S., Plšek T., Protušová K., Breuer J.-P., Werner N., Mernier F., Ercan E. N.; MNRAS 528, 1500–1516
- Nov 2023 — "CADET: pipeline for detection of X-ray cavities in hot galactic and cluster atmospheres" — Plšek T., Werner N., Topinka M., Simionescu A.; MNRAS 527, 3315–3346
- Sep 2022 — "The relation between accretion rate and jet power in early-type galaxies with thermally unstable hot atmospheres" — Plšek T., Werner N., Grossová R., Topinka M., Simionescu A., Allen S. W.; MNRAS 517, 3682–3710
## Contributions
- Oct 2025 — "Compact stellar systems hosting an intermediate-mass black hole: Magnetohydrodynamic study of inflow–outflow dynamics" — Labaj M., Ressler S. M., Zajaček M., Plšek T., Ripperda B., Peißker F.; A&A 702, A233
- Sep 2025 — "The thermodynamic structure and large-scale structure filament in MACS J0717.5+3745" — Breuer J.-P., Werner N., Plšek T., Mernier F., Umetsu K., Simionescu A., Devlin M., Di Mascolo L., Dibblee-Barkman T., Dicker S., Mason B. S., Mroczkowski T., Romero C., Sarazin C. L., Sievers J.; accepted to A&A
- Jul 2025 — "X-ray investigation of the remarkable galaxy group Nest200047" — Majumder A., Simionescu A., Plšek T., Brienza M., Churazov E., Khabibullin I., Gastaldello F., Botteon A., Röttgering H., Brüggen M., Lyskova N., Rajpurohit K., Sunyaev R. A., Wise M. W.; A&A 699, A375
- Feb 2025 — "MeerKAT discovery of gigahertz radio emission extending from Abell 3017 towards Abell 3016" — Hu D., Werner N., Xu H., Zheng Q., Breuer J.-P., Wu L., Duchesne S. W., van Weeren R. J., Sun M., Zhang C., Johnston-Hollitt M., Shan H., Guo Q., Zhu Z., Wang J., Gu J., Zhao Y., Siew H., Mao J., Zhang Z., Plšek T.; A&A 694, A320
- Feb 2025 — "The bulk motion of gas in the core of the Centaurus galaxy cluster" — XRISM Collaboration [including Plšek T.]; Nature 638, 365–369
- Nov 2024 — "ICECUBE AGN neutrino candidate PKS 1717+177: dark deflector bends nuclear jet" — Britzen S., Kovačević A. B., Zajaček M., Popović L. Č., Pashchenko I. N., Kun E., Pánis R., Jaron F., Plšek T., Tursunov A., Stuchlík Z.; MNRAS 535, 2742–2762
- Oct 2023 — "Ram-pressure stripped radio tail and two ULXs in the spiral galaxy HCG 97b" — Hu D., Zajaček M., Werner N., Grossová R., Jáchym P., Roberts I. D., Ignesti A., Kenney J. D. P., Plšek T., Breuer J.-P., Shimwell T., Tasse C., Zhu Z., Wu L.; MNRAS 527, 1062–1080
- Feb 2022 — "Very Large Array Radio Study of a Sample of Nearby X-Ray and Optically Bright Early-type Galaxies" — Grossová R., Werner N., Massaro F., Lakhchaura K., Plšek T., Gabányi K., Rajpurohit K., Canning R. E. A., Nulsen P., O’Sullivan E., Allen S. W., Fabian A.; ApJS 258, 30
## Submitted publications
- Nov 2025 — "IceCube candidate neutrino emitter PKS 1413+135 is gravitationally lensed on pc-scales" — Britzen S., Zajaček M., Fendt C., Best H., Jaron F., Pashchenko I. N., Plšek T., Seidel G.; submitted to MNRAS
- Mar 2025 — "Gravitationally lensed supermassive binary black hole in IceCube AGN Neutrino candidate PKS 2233-148" — Britzen S., Kovačević A. B., Popović L. Č., Kun E., Zajaček M., Jaron F., Plšek T., Pashchenko I. N., Pánis R., Stuchlík Z.; submitted to A&A
List of all publications (ADS)
[List of publications (PDF)](list_of_publications.pdf)
