Name: TALES School I
Start: 2026-02-16T09:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-02-20T18:00:00+01:00
Location: Centro Congressi Federico II

TALES School I

from Monday, 16 February 2026 (09:00) to Friday, 20 February 2026 (18:00)

Monday, 16 February 2026

09:15 Welcome
Welcome
09:15 - 09:30
Room: Room B
09:30 Introduction to timing analysis and X-ray variability in AGN - I. Papadakis
Introduction to timing analysis and X-ray variability in AGN
- I. Papadakis
09:30 - 11:00
Room: Room B **Content:** This lecture will introduce the concept of random processes, and in particular stationary random processes, which are of significant importance in the study of variable phenomena in Astrophysics. I will give the definition of the auto-covariance and of the power spectral density function of a random process. I will then discuss how we estimate these random functions, and why it is preferable to work in the frequency rather than in the time domain.
11:00 coffee break
coffee break
11:00 - 11:30
Room: Room B
11:30 X-ray reflection and reverberation in AGN - A. Young
X-ray reflection and reverberation in AGN
- A. Young
11:30 - 12:15
Room: Room B Content: in the very innermost regions of accretion flows onto supermassive black holes the hot corona, located somewhere above the accretion disc, produces X-rays which illuminate the accretion disc. The back-scattered, “reflection”, spectrum contains spectral features that are affected by strong Doppler and relativistic effects close to the black hole, as well as “reverberation” echoes due to the light travel time between the corona and the disc. I will summarise the theoretical, numerical, and observational frameworks used to study these systems, and outline the limitations of standard models that we hope to address with TALES.
12:15 Estimators of stohastic flux variability - A. Georgakakis
Estimators of stohastic flux variability
- A. Georgakakis
12:15 - 13:00
Room: Room B **Content:** the lecture will present the statistical tools observational astronomers are using to measure the stochastic variability of light curves, with emphsasis on Active Galactic Nuclei. I will describe the beneﬁts and shortcomings of different methods and also brieﬂy discuss challenges associated with the Poisson nature of X-ray observations.
13:00 lunch break
lunch break
13:00 - 14:30
Room: Room B
14:30 Characterizing optical/UV variability of AGN - M. Paolillo
Characterizing optical/UV variability of AGN
- M. Paolillo
14:30 - 15:15
Room: Room B **Content:** the lecture will discuss the behaviour of AGN variability in the optical/UV band, and its link with X-ray variability, as well as the link between variability physical properties of AGN (mass, accretion rate). Finally we will discuss the eDectiveness of optical variability to identify AGN in next generation optical surveys.
15:15 Accretion flow properties through ML modeling - A. Kovacevic D. Ilic
Accretion flow properties through ML modeling
- A. Kovacevic
- D. Ilic
15:15 - 16:00
Room: Room B this lecture illustrates how we can build an AI-driven framework that reconstructs accretion flow transfer functions, SMBH physical parameters, and red-noise variability directly from AGN light curves without assuming stationarity or predefined parametric models. We will show how a data-riven approach allows to infer accretion flow structure and variability mechanisms across diverse AGN populations, enabling scalable characterization of SMBH accretion across millions of AGN in upcoming large time-domain surveys.
16:00 coffee break
coffee break
16:00 - 16:30
Room: Room B
16:30 TDE, QPE and transient variability: characterization and modeling in X-rays - A. Rau
TDE, QPE and transient variability: characterization and modeling in X-rays
- A. Rau
16:30 - 17:15
Room: Room B **Content:** the lecture will provide an introduction to Tidal Disruption Events (history, basic theory, emission models), of the X-ray properties studies from ROSAT to eROSITA and Einstein Probe, te challenges in identifying TDEs in wide-field X-ray surveys, the nature of Quasi Periodic Eruptions, and their link to TDEs.
17:15 TDE, QPE and transient variability: characterization and modeling in optical/UV - A. Gomboc
TDE, QPE and transient variability: characterization and modeling in optical/UV
- A. Gomboc
17:15 - 18:00
Room: Room B **Content:** the lecture will review the basic picture of TDEs, hydrodynamical simulations of TDEs, current status of optical/UV observations, what we can expect from Rubin LSST and the need for classiﬁcation based solely on photometry. I will also brieﬂy describe also QPE phenomenon.
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
09:30 Modeling the temporal and dynamical behavior of multi-phase accretion flows - A. Rozanska
Modeling the temporal and dynamical behavior of multi-phase accretion flows
- A. Rozanska
09:30 - 10:15
Room: Room B **Content**: the lecture will discuss timescales that are an outcome of multi-phase modelling of an inner accretion flow. In the model we consider the division of a total accretion energy is dissipated partially in an accretion disk, a warm corona responsible for soft X-ray excess and a hot corona where most hard X-ray radiation is emitted in radio quiet AGN. It will overview those timescales and put predictions on the multiwavelength observations of AGN variability.
10:15 Exploring the realm of winds in AGN - E. Constantini
Exploring the realm of winds in AGN
- E. Constantini
10:15 - 11:00
Room: Room B Content: the lecture will review the state-of-the-art of our understanding of the nature of powerful winds, outflowing from the innermost parts of accretion disks in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Winds are the likely messengers to explain how the central black hole may influence the host galaxy growth and ultimately explain galaxy evolution across cosmic time. Through high-energy resolution observations in the UV and X-rays, our view of winds evolved enormously. The high energy band provide a privileged view of the most energetic and massive multi-phases of the outflowing material.
11:00 coffee break
coffee break
11:00 - 11:30
Room: Room B
11:30 Feeding the Storm: Probing the Power and Impact of Black Hole Winds - F. Tombesi
Feeding the Storm: Probing the Power and Impact of Black Hole Winds
- F. Tombesi
11:30 - 12:15
Room: Room B **Content:** the lecture will focus on the most extreme forms of AGN feedback: ultra-fast outﬂows (UFOs), highly ionized winds moving at relativistic speeds, exploring the physical processes that launch and accelerate these winds, the diagnostics provided by high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy, and the modeling techniques used to interpret their properties. Special attention will be given to recent results from XRISM, which reveal complex multi-velocity structures and rich absorption features. Finally, we will discuss the implications of UFOs for galaxy evolution and the challenges that remain for theory and observation.
12:15 Student presentations

12:15 - 13:00
Room: Room B

13:00 lunch break
lunch break
13:00 - 14:30
Room: Room B

14:30 Student presentations

14:30 - 16:00
Room: Room B

16:00 coffee break
coffee break
16:00 - 16:30
Room: Room B

16:30 Student presentations

16:30 - 17:00
Room: Room B
17:00 TBA - C. Ratieri
TBA
- C. Ratieri
17:00 - 17:30
Room: Room B
17:30 TBA - C. Feruglio
TBA
- C. Feruglio
17:30 - 18:00
Room: Room B
Wednesday, 18 February 2026

09:00 Consortium/Student Meeting

09:00 - 11:00
Room: Room B

11:00 coffee break
coffee break
11:00 - 11:30
Room: Room B

11:30 WP splinter meetings

11:30 - 13:00
Room: Room B

13:00 Free afternoon - Social event
Free afternoon - Social event
13:00 - 22:00
Room: Room B
Thursday, 19 February 2026
09:30 PROMITY: Introduction to machine learning: lecture
Introduction to machine learning: lecture
09:30 - 11:00
Room: Room B
Contributions

09:30 Introduction to machine learning: lecture
11:00 coffee break
coffee break
11:00 - 11:30
Room: Room B

11:30 PROMITY: Introduction to machine learning: hands-on workshop
Introduction to machine learning: hands-on workshop
11:30 - 13:00
Room: Room B

13:00 lunch break
lunch break
13:00 - 14:30
Room: Room B
14:30 PROMITY: Introduction to deep learning and GPU computing: lecture
Introduction to deep learning and GPU computing: lecture
14:30 - 16:00
Room: Room B
Contributions

14:30 Introduction to deep learning and GPU computing: lecture
16:00 coffee break
coffee break
16:00 - 16:30
Room: Room B

16:30 PROMITY: Introduction to deep learning and GPU computing: hands-on workshop
Introduction to deep learning and GPU computing: hands-on workshop
16:30 - 18:00
Room: Room B
Friday, 20 February 2026
09:30 PROMITY: ML project from scratch: lecture
ML project from scratch: lecture
09:30 - 11:00
Room: Room B
Contributions

09:30 ML project from scratch: lecture
11:00 coffee break
coffee break
11:00 - 11:30
Room: Room B

11:30 PROMITY: ML project from scratch: hands-on workshop
ML project from scratch: hands-on workshop
11:30 - 13:00
Room: Room B

13:00 lunch break
lunch break
13:00 - 14:30
Room: Room B
14:30 ML applications in Astronomy
14:30 - 16:00
Room: Room B
Contributions

14:30 Strengthening leverage of Artificial Intelligence in interdisciplinary Science: Astrophysics use cases - M. Brescia

15:15 Leveraging Transfer Learning for Astronomical Image Analysis - S. Cavuoti (INAF- Capodimonte)
16:00 coffee break
coffee break
16:00 - 16:30
Room: Room B

16:30 Final discussion and future activities
Final discussion and future activities
16:30 - 18:00
Room: Room B

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