1. 2000 l.y.
M87
Purdue

2. Studying the Cosmos through.....
Observations
Theory
Experiment
Purdue

3. 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

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

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

6. 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

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

8. 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.

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

10. 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

11. 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.

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

13. 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.

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