| Monthly Lecture | ||
| Date/Time: | Monday February 13 2006 at 8:00pm | |
| Title: | Title:
Newton watches Andromeda with X-ray eyes Subtitle: X-ray binaries in M31 and beyond. |
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| Speaker: |
By Dr. Ulrich Kolb, Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics, Department of Physics & Astronomy, The Open University, United Kingdom. |
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| Description: |
Short biography: ---------------- keen amateur and astrophotographer since the age of 15 first degree in physics in Munich PhD 1992 Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophyisk (MPA), Garching periods of postdoctoral research at MPA, Lick Observatory, Santa Cruz temporary lecturer at the University of Leicester joined the OU in 1999 currently Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics My research is part of the OU's CEPSAR (see http://cepsar.open.ac.uk). I am mostly interested in the origin and evolution of compact binary stars, and issues of accretion. I held two PPARC research grants on compact binaries; I currently have one postdoc and 2 PhD students working with me. I set up the OU's residential school course "Observing the Universe", a practical course in observational astronomy and planetary science with a week-long observing period at the Observatori Astronomic de Mallorca. (http://courses.open.ac.uk/sxr208) ------------------------------------------------- Abstract -------- Title: Newton watches Andromeda with X-ray eyes Subtitle: X-ray binaries in M31 and beyond. Neutron stars and black holes accreting material from a companion star are powerful emitters of high-energy radiation. The population of these X-ray binaries carries an imprint of the past life of the now dead stars. Careful forensic analysis should allow us to unravel the way black holes form. So far these attempts have been hampered by the fact that the sample of X-ray binaries in the Milky Way is incomplete and heavily distorted by selection effects. The new generation of X-ray telescopes allow us for the first time to study X-ray binaries in nearby galaxies in quite some detail. A single snapshot of a galaxy maps the full population of X-ray binaries in unprecedented completeness, in a way that will never be achieved for the Milky Way. Our recent work on X-ray sources in the Andromeda galaxies provides an important milestone for such population studies. We found a new tell-tale sign for the presence of a black hole, a previously unknown class of black hole binaries, and a number of other firsts.
Pay for your tickets now online |
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| Venue: |
Henry Grattan Building, DCU, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Click here for a map! Map of where to find DCU in Dublin |
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| Admission: | € 5 (€ 3 members and concessions) |
