The Time Domain Astronomy group at Purdue University in the Department of Physics and Astronomy is led by PI Danny Milisavljevic. We employ multi-wavelength and multi-diagnostic observations and analyses that together address fundamental questions pertaining to the poorly understood explosion mechanisms and progenitor systems of supernovae.
Supernova explosions are among the most powerful and consequential phenomena in the universe: they shape and enrich galaxies; they are prodigious emitters of neutrinos; they produce neutron stars, black holes, and some gamma-ray bursts; they are likely to be strong Galactic sources of gravitational waves; and and they evolve into remnants that seed interstellar space with the raw materials needed for stars, planets -- and potentially life. Our interdisciplinary work spans physics, astronomy, numerical computation, data science, and computer graphics.