gamma-ray astronomy @ SSL

- overview -

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Deeper understanding of astrophysical objects in our Universe comes from novel experiments to study their physical conditions, and consequently the underlying processes and dynamics that govern their evolution. Many astronomical observations are performed with telescopes in the radio, visible, and X-ray wavebands; however, some of the most energetic and exotic objects in our Universe emit the bulk of their energy in the gamma-ray range, in which case the gamma-ray observations are central to understanding the true nature of these objects.

Our group studies gamma-ray sources on many scales, including cosmic gamma-ray bursts, massive black holes, Galactic supernovae and compact objects, solar flares, planetary composition, and terrestrial electron precipitation. Many of these observations have important implications for fundamental physics, including the study of dark matter, quantum gravity, and cosmology. While spanning many orders of magnitude in size and energetics, the gamma-ray processes in these sources are often similar, and hence there is a strong overlap in the instrumentation we build and fly on satellites and balloons to study these various phenomena.

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The Nuclear Compton Telescope balloon payload preparing for launch, June 2005.

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