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INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera - Merate
(Image Credit: IPAC-Caltech)
High Energy Astrophysics comprises many aspects of astrophysics - the physics of astronomical objects and of the Universe - that must be investigated using the language of special and general relativity. This language is needed to describe particles and plasmas that move close to the speed of light (as, for example, in relativistic jets), in presence of very strong gravitational fields, or when very large energies are involved, as can be realized in the vicinity of neutron stars and black holes, or within cosmic explosive phenomena. Information about these systems can reach us through a range of messengers: photons at all wavelengths, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves, observed using instruments on ground and in space.
Research activities
Extragalactic jets are immense structures of plasma in relativistic motion, launched from the inner parts of active galactic nuclei, where supermassive black holes lurk and accrete matter...
Gamma-ray bursts are brief, intense flashes of gamma rays that hit space-borne detectors almost every day. They are produced by relativistic jets that signpost the death of some peculiar massive stars, or the violent merger of two compact objects such as neutron stars or black holes...
The merger of a neutron star (NS) with another compact object, such as a black hole or another NS, is one of the loudest sources of gravitational waves in the Universe. Matter that does not fall promptly beyond the event horizon of a remnant black hole (if any), can also produce a wide range of electromagnetic emission...
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