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Invited Talk: Thursday 15 March - Prof Nukri Komin
Title: Introduction to Gamma-Ray Astronomy
Author: Prof Nukri Komin
School of Physics
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg, ZA
Abstract:
Gamma-ray astronomy studies the high-energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum, where individual photons with energies of more than 100 keV and up to almost 100 TeV from astrophysical sources are detected. I will start with an introduction to the experimental techniques to detect astrophysical gamma rays and I will present the currently operating space-born and ground-based instruments. I will give an overview over the classes of astrophysical gamma-ray sources, which can be as small as a pulsar and as large as a jet of an active galactic nucleus. I will present recent results and discuss the underlying gamma-ray production mechanisms. I will conclude with a few examples where the combination of radio and gamma-ray astronomy is essential.
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More about the author:
Nukri Komin obtained his PhD in 2005 from the Humboldt-University in Berlin, Germany. Post-doctoral research followed in France, at CNRS in Montpellier and Annecy and at CEA in Saclay. In 2013 he joined Wits University, first as senior lecturer and since 2016 as associate professor.
His research interest is the gamma-ray emission from objects in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, like pulsars and their nebulae, supernova remnants and most recently binary system. The main focus lies in the identification of the production sites of cosmic rays.
Since being a PhD student he is member of the H.E.S.S. Collaboration and takes part in the construction and operation of the H.E.S.S. telescopes in Namibia. He is currently the convener of the galactic working group within H.E.S.S.