The IFAS4 school will bring together students from different horizons, expose them to high-level specialized lectures, and propose them to carry-on a seven-days research project. The topic of the present school is spectroscopy, from the observational and data-reduction techniques, through the source detection and extraction in integral-field spectroscopy using inverse methods data fusion approaches, to data analysis. The school is open to students at Master and Doctoral level, without geographic restrictions.

The Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL) has been a pioneer or 3D, or Intergral field spectroscopy, and recently assembled the MUSE spectrograph now in operation at the ESO's VLT. This is one of the largest and most advanced IFU spectrograph, and it opened the era of spectroscopic blind surveys, where, rather than targeting pre-selected sources, entire new classes of objects can be discovered out of deep fields. IFAS4 will give introduction and practical experience on the cutting-edge spectroscopic methods.

IFAS4 is the fourth edition of a series co-organized by Lyon (LIO, CRAL CNRS UMR5574, UCBL) and IUCAA in Pune. The first and third editions were held in 2015 and 2017 in Pune on observational astronomy, and the second was held in Lyon in 2016 was on modeling and simulations in astrophysics. These schools hosted participants from nine different nationalities. Observatoire de Lyon is renowned for its expertise in cosmology, physics of galaxies, and planetology. IUCAA is coordinating major efforts to develop theoretical and observational astronomy in India.

Lectures will be given during the morning sessions, and research projects will be proposed to the participants, in small groups supported by a tutor. The school will be concluded by a presentation of the results of these projects.

Up to 30 participants will be selected. The organizers may provide partial financial support on demand and justification (this may take the form of reduced registration fees and/or travel grants).

Registration, support and deadline

The registrations will be open from 2017 Dec 1st till 2018 March 15th. Early applications are an advantage if a grant is requested.

The registration fees of 700 € include the full board accommodation. The school can offer a travel grant and/or a discounted rate to those justifying it.

 The registration process is the following:

1. Create an account, fill the information carefully.
2. Click on "overview" to check if everything is correct.
3. Click to submit.
4. You will receive a mail with a validation link. After validation you can connect again to the site to have the possibility to change your details.
5. We will then contact you personally, not later than a few days after the deadline, to inform you about your possible selection and the grant that we may offer if you requested one.

Recommendations: The school will be over-subscribed by a factor three. The selection process will start in January, and postponing the registration to close to the deadline may reduce the chances to be accepted. We invite you to (i) submit a complete and concise form and (ii) arrange for a support letter from a professor (if you are student).