Explosive Transients and Multi-messenger astronomy

The transients group at Warwick studies all manner of explosive, extra-galactic transients as probes physics at the extremes of matter. Our interests lie primarily in supernovae, fast blue-optical transients (FBOTs), and the electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources - kilonovae. We study their multi-wavelength signatures to understand the explosion mechanisms and the nucleosynthesis of these events. In addition, we are interested in the host galaxies and local stellar populations of transients, and pioneer integral-field spectroscopy as a tool to further understand the progenitor systems. At Warwick, we are leading the development of the Gravitational wave Optical Transient ObserverLink opens in a new window (GOTO) facility. GOTO is a dual-site observatory aimed at enabling multi-messenger astronomy, and bringing together an international collaboration of scientists to study many aspects of time-domain astrophysics. Our group is heavily-involved in ENGRAVELink opens in a new window, the European effort to detect and characterise multi-messenger events, and ePESSTO+Link opens in a new window.

Research news, job opportunities and possible PhD projects are shared part of the main Astronomy and Astrophysics group webpages. You can also find more specific information on PhD and Research Fellowships in the Transients and Multi-messenger area.

Academic Staff

Name	Email	Research Interests
Danny Steeghs (professor)	D.T.H.Steeghs@warwick.ac.uk	Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy Fast transients Time-domain techniques Robotic Telescopes see also white dwarfs and SDA
Deanne Coppejans (associate professor)	Deanne.Coppejans@warwick.ac.uk	Fast Blue Optical Transients Supernovae Gamma-ray Bursts Tidal Disruption Events Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy see also white dwarfs
Joe Lyman (associate professor, Future Leader Fellow)	J.D.Lyman@warwick.ac.uk	Faint and fast supernovae Host galaxies and parent stellar populations of transients Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy Robotic telescopes
Elizabeth Stanway (reader)	E.R.Stanway@warwick.ac.uk	Host galaxies and parent stellar populations of transients Gamma-ray Bursts Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy see also stellar populations
Krzysztof Ulaczyk (senior research fellow)	K.P.Ulaczyk@warwick.ac.uk	Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy Photometric sky surveys Microlensing and Variable Stars Robotic Telescopes

Research Staff

Name	Email	Research Interests
Kendall Ackley (post-doctoral research fellow)	Kendall.Ackley@warwick.ac.uk	Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy Time-domain sky survey strategies Gamma-ray Bursts Gravitational astrophysics of compact objects
David O'Neill (post-doctoral research fellow)	David.O-Neill@warwick.ac.uk	Hydrogen-rich Supernovae Supernova progenitor stars Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy
Mark Magee (Warwick Prize Fellow)	Mark.Magee@warwick.ac.uk	Thermonuclear Supernovae Radiative transfer Machine learning for transients
Miika Pursiainen (post-doctoral research fellow)	Miika.Pursiainen@warwick.ac.uk	Strongly-interacting supernovae Optical photometric/spectroscopic polarimetry Fast transient

Postgraduate Students

Name	Email	Research Interests
Benjamin Godson	Benjamin.Godson@warwick.ac.uk	Gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy Characterising CMOS detectors for astronomy
Christopher Phillips	Christopher.A.A.Phillips@warwick.ac.uk
Anwesha Sahu	Anwesha.Sahu@warwick.ac.uk	AM CVn stars Radio astronomy with the VLA Accretion and outflows in extreme environments
Ben Warwick	Ben.Warwick@warwick.ac.uk	Strongly-interacting supernovae Rapid, automated follow-up of transients with robotic telescopes
Miriam West	Miriam.West@warwick.ac.uk