Neutron stars are invaluable laboratories for probing the state of matter under extreme conditions, and observations of neutron stars provide complementary information to that obtained from particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider. We study the physics and astrophysics of neutron stars and the observational signatures of these physics.
Neutron stars are observed by astronomical telescopes around the world and in space. We study the multi-messenger (electromagnetic, gravitational wave, and neutrino) signatures of the various physical processes that occur in and around neutron stars, such as accretion, magnetic and thermal variability, and stellar oscillations.
The complex physics that govern the interior and exterior of neutron stars includes General Relativity, supranuclear physics with magnetohydrodynamics and exotic phases of matter like superfluids, superconductors and deconfined quarks. We develop the theory and models required to take advantage of astronomical observations (both electromagnetic and gravitational).
Image credit: (a) X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/F.Seward; Optical: NASA/ESA/ASU/J.Hester & A.Loll; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. Minn./R.Gehrz; (b) D. Page.