X-Ray Astrophysics at Purdue University

Purdue High Energy Astrophysics group is pursuing an observational program utilizing the current suite of space based detectors. The focus of the observational program is the study of compact objects (i.e. neutron stars, white dwarfs and black holes) and the surrounding Interstellar Medium. Compact objects represent extreme states of matter with densities exceeding nuclear density and, in the case of neutron stars, possessing magnetic fields some 6 orders of magnitude greater than the largest terrestrial magnets. Isolated compact objects reveal themselves through the thermal radiation emitted from their surface as they cool. At temperatures of between 100,000 K (white dwarfs) and several million K (neutron stars) this work is carried out in the ultraviolet, extreme ultraviolet and X-ray domain of the electromagnetic spectrum and must necessarily be carried out on a space based platform.