Research Interests

ERC logo 
Supported by ERC Advanced Research Grants - GRBs
 (2010-2015) and TReX (2016-2022). 

GRBs image

Gamma Ray Bursts

Gamma Ray Bursts are the brightest explosions in the Universe. My research spans numerous aspects of this events, ranging from the origin to their effects on Life on Earth. 

 

For more information see a popular reviews (PDF link): The Brightest Explosions in the Universe! 

 

__________________________________________________________

Gamma Ray Bursts and Life in the Universe Gamma Ray Bursts and Life in the Universe

Gamma Ray Bursts are likely causes of major life extinction event on Earth. GRBs control also the conditions for life in different regions of the Milky Way.

JTF LOGO Supported by the John Templeton Foundation

 __________________________________________________________

 

TDE image

Tidal Disruption Events

 

TDEs – Tidal Disruption Events take place when a star that passes near a massive black hole at a Galactic center is thorn apart and disrupted. 

Colliding Neutron Stars as the Source of Heavy Elements-LinkPDF
Jerusalem TDE Workshop-Link

 

__________________________________________________________

Neutron Stars image. credit:NASA/ Dana Berry

Binary Neutron Star Mergers

Mergers between binary neutron stars are prime candidates sources for gravitational wave that is searched for by advanced detectors like LIGO and Virgo. They are also, as I have predicted in 1989 the sources of short Gamma-Ray Bursts and the sites where heavy elements are synthesized. 

__________________________________________________________

 

Gold image

Nucleosynthesis and the origin of heavy (r-process) elements in the Universe

I have proposed that these elements (like gold) have been produced in collisions between neutron stars.  Recent observations of macronova that followed some short GRBs support these ideas.

 

__________________________________________________________

 

 

Black Hole image

 Black Holes

Link: 
The inner Structure of Black Holes - Can Black Holes be Portals to Other Universes?

 

__________________________________________________________

GRB and Life image

The impact of GRBs on life

 

The impact of Gamma-Ray Bursts on life on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe and the links to the anthropic principle 

 

 

__________________________________________________________

Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays image

 

Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) and the most energetic particles that reach Earth from outer space. My research involves models for their origin and their composition.  Read moreabout Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays