Shedding Light on Electromagnetic Counterparts Across the Gravitational Wave Spectrum

Event Date:
2024-03-04T16:00:00
2024-03-04T17:00:00
Event Location:
HENN 318
Speaker:
John Ruan (Bishop’s University)
Related Upcoming Events:
Astronomy Colloquia
Intended Audience:
Undergraduate
Local Contact:

Allison Man (aman@phas.ubc.ca) and Brett Gladman (gladman@astro.ubc.ca)

This event is in-person (no recording will be available). 

All are welcome to this event!

Event Information:

Abstract: 

Gravitational wave astronomy is entering a golden era of discovery, and many key science goals of this new frontier rely on 'multi-messenger’ observations that leverage the combination of both 'cosmic messengers' of gravitational waves and light. 

I will discuss two recent advances from my research group in understanding the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves across the gravitational wave spectrum. First, I will discuss how the origins of the heaviest elements can be probed, through inferring the abundance pattern of r-process elements produced in binary neutron star mergers from optical spectroscopy of their resultant kilonova explosions. Second, I will discuss how to identify the host galaxies of supermassive black hole binaries that will soon be detected by pulsar timing array experiments, based on their unique morphological and stellar kinematic properties.

Bio:  

I am a multi-wavelength astronomer, and my research group is focused primarily on using multi-messenger gravitational wave observations to study kilonova astrophysics, r-process nucleosynthesis, black hole accretion, and cosmology. Most recently, I have become interested in applications of machine learning to computationally-intractable inference problems in astrophysics. For more information, please see the ‘Research Program’ page.

I began my research career as an undergraduate at Columbia University in New York, NY, and did my PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. For my PhD, I worked primarily on observations of active galactic nuclei variability, but also dabbled in a diverse variety of other areas, including cosmological simulations of galaxy formation, cosmic microwave background secondary anisotropies, and software infrastructure for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I then moved to McGill University in Montréal, QC, as a McGill Space Institute Postdoctoral Fellow. There, I began working in the exciting new field of multi-messenger gravitational wave astrophysics, before finally joining the faculty at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, QC.

 

Learn More:

Add to Calendar 2024-03-04T16:00:00 2024-03-04T17:00:00 Shedding Light on Electromagnetic Counterparts Across the Gravitational Wave Spectrum Event Information: Abstract:  Gravitational wave astronomy is entering a golden era of discovery, and many key science goals of this new frontier rely on 'multi-messenger’ observations that leverage the combination of both 'cosmic messengers' of gravitational waves and light.  I will discuss two recent advances from my research group in understanding the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves across the gravitational wave spectrum. First, I will discuss how the origins of the heaviest elements can be probed, through inferring the abundance pattern of r-process elements produced in binary neutron star mergers from optical spectroscopy of their resultant kilonova explosions. Second, I will discuss how to identify the host galaxies of supermassive black hole binaries that will soon be detected by pulsar timing array experiments, based on their unique morphological and stellar kinematic properties. Bio:   I am a multi-wavelength astronomer, and my research group is focused primarily on using multi-messenger gravitational wave observations to study kilonova astrophysics, r-process nucleosynthesis, black hole accretion, and cosmology. Most recently, I have become interested in applications of machine learning to computationally-intractable inference problems in astrophysics. For more information, please see the ‘Research Program’ page. I began my research career as an undergraduate at Columbia University in New York, NY, and did my PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. For my PhD, I worked primarily on observations of active galactic nuclei variability, but also dabbled in a diverse variety of other areas, including cosmological simulations of galaxy formation, cosmic microwave background secondary anisotropies, and software infrastructure for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I then moved to McGill University in Montréal, QC, as a McGill Space Institute Postdoctoral Fellow. There, I began working in the exciting new field of multi-messenger gravitational wave astrophysics, before finally joining the faculty at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, QC.   Learn More: View his website here Read Bishop's University article: Dr. John Ruan is Appointed Canada Research Chair in Multi-Messenger Astrophysics See Bishop's University blog on Prestigious scholars here Event Location: HENN 318