Astronomy at the Highest Energies: Exploring the Extreme Universe with Gamma Rays

Physics Colloquium 25 November 2016 delivered by Dr Jamie Holder The gamma-ray band of the electromagnetic spectrum probes some of the most extreme environments in the Universe. Photons of these very-high energies can only be produced by the interactions of subatomic particles that have been accelerated to almost the speed of light. This acceleration occurs in a surprisingly wide variety of astrophysical sources: close to black holes and neutron stars, in the blast waves of supernova explosions, and in the relativistic jets of active galaxies. Gamma-ray emission might also result from the interactions of dark matter particles, and so provide a non-gravitational method to detect dark matter in the Universe and to determine its nature. Dr Holder will describe the detection methods for gamma-ray astronomy and highlight some of the most exciting results from the VERITAS observatory, which has been studying astrophysical sources from a mountain in Arizona since 2007. He will also describe the status and prospects for the Cherenkov Telescope Array, a next-generation gamma-ray observatory on a much larger scale.

Om Podcasten

The Department of Physics public lecture series. An exciting series of lectures about the research at Oxford Physics take place throughout the academic year. Looking at topics diverse as the creation of the universe to the science of climate change. Features episodes previously published as: (1) 'Oxford Physics Alumni': "Informal interviews with physics alumni at events, lectures and other alumni related activities." (2) 'Physics and Philosophy: Arguments, Experiments and a Few Things in Between': "A series which explores some of the links between physics and philosophy, two of the most fundamental ways with which we try to answer our questions about the world around us. A number of the most pertinent topics which bridge the disciplines are discussed - the nature of space and time, the unpredictable results of quantum mechanics and their surprising consequences and perhaps most fundamentally, the nature of the mind and how far science can go towards explaining and understanding it. Featuring interviews with Dr. Christopher Palmer, Prof. Frank Arntzenius, Prof. Vlatko Vedral, Dr. David Wallace and Prof. Roger Penrose."