2000 l.y. M87 Astrophysics @ Purdue

Studying the Cosmos through..... Observations Theory Experiment Astro @ Purdue

Astro @ Purdue 9 research-active faculty members covering a wide range of topics Group includes postdoctoral scholars, staff scientists and students Weekly seminar series and journal discussion club

Multi-wavelength Observations Detailed understanding of astrophysical phenomena requires data spanning huge range of energy! Finley, Peterson, Lister, Cui, Lee, Milisavljevic

Gamma-Ray Astronomy (Finley, Lister, Cui) VERITAS: prime gamma ray observatory in Northern Hemisphere (@Mount Hopkins, AZ); hundreds of TeV sources discovered

Astrophysical Jets (Lister) Investigate jets at center of active galaxies using the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) with a large sample (400 jets)! Why do some jets produce high energy gamma-rays? 2000 l.y. M87 MOJAVE VLBA Image

The dynamic gamma-ray sky as seen by the Fermi Observatory speed up factor of 1 million: 1 month elapses every 2 seconds

Formation and Evolution of Galaxies (Lee) What are galaxies like in the distant universe? (<20% of current age) How did galaxies grow? Mergers? Collapse of gas around supermassive black holes? Use optical telescopes to study composition, geometry, stellar populations, temperature.

WIYN Observatory 3.5 meter telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona One degree (gigapixel) camera Multiobject spectrograph Purdue became a partner in 2017

Stellar Explosions (Milisavljevic) Massive stars die in spectacular explosions that can outshine an entire galaxy’s worth of stars Possible to reconstruct the explosion using careful measurements of the remnant Prof. Milisavljevic’s carries out multiwavelength searches for other cosmic explosions Cassiopeia A supernova reconstruction

Theory (Lyutikov, Giannios) Plasma astrophysics Magneto-hydrodynamics Radiative transfer non-thermal high-energy astrophysics pulsar wind nebulae, active galactic nuclei (blackhole physics), gamma-ray bursts, magnetar, jets, tidal disruption events.

Experimental Dark Matter Search (Lang) Most sensitive dark matter experiment to date XENON1T is currently taking data in Gran Sasso, Italy

The Future: Surveys (Peterson) Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST): will survey the entire sky every few days starting in 2020 Peterson’s group has simulated the entire telescope, from emitted star photon to final image LSST will revolutionize our knowledge of asteroids, variable stars, cosmic explosions.

Purdue Department of Physics and Astronomy Thanks! Questions? Purdue Department of Physics and Astronomy