New frontiers in transient astrophysics: gravitational-wave multi-messenger sources and r-process nucleosynthesis

Event Date:
2025-01-23T16:00:00
2025-01-23T17:00:00
Event Location:
HENN 201
Speaker:
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, University of California Santa Cruz
Related Upcoming Events:
Department Colloquia
Intended Audience:
Everyone
Local Contact:

Georg Rieger (rieger@phas.ubc.ca) and Brett Gladman (gladman@astro.ubc.ca)

All are welcome to this event!

Event Information:

Abstract:

The detection of GW170817 enabled us to track down and watch the cataclysmic event in multiple wavelengths of light, allowing us to scrutinize the source of these cosmic ripples for the first time. This discovery provided the first solid evidence that neutron-star smashups are the source of much of the Universe's gold, platinum and other heavy elements in the Universe. With a single event, we were able to answer fundamental questions in general relativity, cosmology, nuclear physics, and astrophysics. However, other parts of the story told by these events are still shrouded in mystery. For astronomers and physicists across disciplines, this is an extremely exciting time to be alive.

Bio:

Ramirez-Ruiz was born in Mexico, studied physics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and pursued his PhD at Cambridge  University. He was the John Bahcall Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton before joining the faculty at UCSC, where he is a professor of astrophysics and astronomy and holds the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair.

Since joining the UCSC faculty in 2007, Ramirez-Ruiz has won a number of awards for his research, including a Packard Fellowship, the NSF CAREER Award, the Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard, the Niels Bohr Professorship from the Danish National Research Foundation,  the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, the HEAD Mid-Career Prize from the AAS and the Bouchet Award and the Dwight Nicholson Medal from the American Physical Society. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and  member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Learn More:

Add to Calendar 2025-01-23T16:00:00 2025-01-23T17:00:00 New frontiers in transient astrophysics: gravitational-wave multi-messenger sources and r-process nucleosynthesis Event Information: Abstract: The detection of GW170817 enabled us to track down and watch the cataclysmic event in multiple wavelengths of light, allowing us to scrutinize the source of these cosmic ripples for the first time. This discovery provided the first solid evidence that neutron-star smashups are the source of much of the Universe's gold, platinum and other heavy elements in the Universe. With a single event, we were able to answer fundamental questions in general relativity, cosmology, nuclear physics, and astrophysics. However, other parts of the story told by these events are still shrouded in mystery. For astronomers and physicists across disciplines, this is an extremely exciting time to be alive. Bio: Ramirez-Ruiz was born in Mexico, studied physics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and pursued his PhD at Cambridge  University. He was the John Bahcall Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton before joining the faculty at UCSC, where he is a professor of astrophysics and astronomy and holds the Vera Rubin Presidential Chair. Since joining the UCSC faculty in 2007, Ramirez-Ruiz has won a number of awards for his research, including a Packard Fellowship, the NSF CAREER Award, the Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard, the Niels Bohr Professorship from the Danish National Research Foundation,  the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, the HEAD Mid-Career Prize from the AAS and the Bouchet Award and the Dwight Nicholson Medal from the American Physical Society. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and  member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Learn More: What is GW (Gravitational Wave) #170817?: GW170817 - Wikipedia More about this neutron star smashup: Neutron star smashup seen for first time, 'transforms' understanding of Universe and Dawn of an Era: Astronomers Hear and See Cosmic Collision | Discover Magazine What does a binary star-merger look like? ESA - Neutron star merger Event Location: HENN 201