Galactic Astrophysics
Our galaxy is comprised of a large number of components. Stars and planets make up some of the normal matter, while diffuse components (gas, dust, magnetic fields, relativistic particles) fill its volume. We understand how most stars shine; the objects we do not fully understand are the more exotic ones. Neutron stars (NSs, especially rapidly spinning pulsars), massive stars, and supernova explosions (SNe) and their remnants, disks, winds, and jets all constitute some of the brightest, most powerful and yet least understood phenomenology in the galaxy. The evolution of stars and planets, the exotic galaxy components, and the galaxy as a whole, all depend on energy and particle transport in the galaxy.
We will study how massive stars impact their environment before they explode, the connection between these massive stars and the neutron stars they most often leave behind, the accretion of material onto these compact objects (this process, and not fusion, is the most efficient mechanism known for generating energy from matter), and the impact energy and matter released in these explosions and these compact objects (both accreting and non-accreting systems) have on their surroundings. This research will involve the analysis and interpretation of observations literally spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum, will inform the physics used to model the formation and evolution of galaxies, and vital for understanding the origin of the highest-energy particles in our Milky Way.