Margutti Group

(left to right) Giacomo Terreran, Aprajita Hajela, Raffaella Margutti, Deanne Coppejans

Research Goals

This group is currently working on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), one of the most energetic explosions in the universe. They study the properties of the afterglow of GRBs, spanning across the electromagnetic spectrum from X-rays to radio to better understand GRB central engines. They made a recent addition, GRB150518A, to a possible sub-class of long-GRBs which seem to have certain peculiar properties: (i) lasting for extremely-long duration,(ii) having very-soft late-time X-ray emission, and (iii) having a high intrinsic absorption column density. They connect these properties with the turbulent mass-loss history of the stellar progenitors which in turn help them to better constrain the central engine models.

Undergraduate Group

(left to right) Angelo Bastas, Raffaella Margutti, Kris Mortenson

Research Goals

The primary goal of this group’s research is observing in the ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths to better understand the physical properties of the transient systems known as kilonovae. They are similar to supernovae, only they have a shorter life span, aren’t as bright, and are byproducts of mergers between binary neutron stars or a singular neutron star and a black hole. They use this knowledge with another component of research, regarding the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST);  they are constructing a set of criteria for this telescope to optimize the discoveries of kilonovae.