The Universe’s Explosive Activity Revealed by Astronomers
LANL NEWS RELEASE
The universe is a hub of constant activity, with hundreds of cosmic explosions happening every second. These explosions offer astronomers a unique opportunity to study various phenomena, from the formation of compact objects like neutron stars and black holes to the creation of heavy elements such as iron, gold, and uranium in our Milky Way galaxy. These explosions occur in extreme environments with densities higher than nuclear levels and temperatures thousands of times hotter than the sun’s core, providing insights into fundamental physics under extreme conditions. With the help of new survey telescopes, astronomers anticipate discovering over 100,000 transient events annually. Despite the presence of numerous observatories, researchers are struggling to keep up with studying even a fraction of these transient events.
To delve deeper into these cosmic occurrences, astronomers must collaborate across different fields of expertise like fluid dynamics, radiation transport, atomic physics, nuclear physics, and plasma physics. This interdisciplinary approach necessitates a collective effort rather than single Principal Investigator-led studies. There is a growing recognition that advancements in science and innovation in this realm require community-driven initiatives. This collaborative effort between the astronomy community and NNSA scientists aims to significantly enhance our comprehension of time domain astrophysics through collective research endeavors, opening up new insights into the universe and the governing physics principles.
$10 admission fee; free for BSMA members (membership available on the ‘Join Us’ page).
Event Details: Thursday, April 16, 6:30-8pm at the Bradbury Science Museum. Free childcare services will be provided.
Chris Fryer holds a doctorate in astronomy from the University of Arizona (1996) and earned degrees in mathematics and astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley (1992). Joining LANL permanently in 2000 after initially visiting in 1994 as a graduate student, Fryer serves as the director of the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos. His research contributions span supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and binary stellar evolution. At LANL, he focuses on computational physics challenges in turbulence, radiation hydrodynamics, nuclear physics, and plasma physics. For his pioneering work in astrophysics and contributions to LANL’s missions, Fryer was honored as a laboratory fellow and recognized as a fellow by prestigious bodies like the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has received several accolades, including the E.O. Lawrence Award for advancing fusion and plasma sciences (2014) and the Marcel Grossmann Award for Relativistic Astrophysics (2024).
