Péter Veres
Page on high energy astrophysics
Page on high energy astrophysics
I am an assistant professor at the Department of Space Science University of Alabama in Huntsville. My field of reseach is gamma-ray bursts, the brightest explosions in the universe. I am also interested in other astrophysical phenomena like active galaxies, gravitational waves and fast radio bursts. I got my PhD from the Eötvös University, Budapest in 2011.
This GRB was the brightest of all time. Stephen Lesage lead ths paper where we unfolded the instrumental effects and characterized the burst.
GBM paperThis is a re-heating of an idea proposed by Mark McConnell for BATSE: use Earth's atmosphere as a polarimeter. For some GRBs the photons scatter off the atmosphere before reaching the instrument. The scattering is polarization-sensitive so you can tease out some polarization info.
Paper draftWhat powers the GRB? The so-called central engine is widely considered to be a black hole. There is an alternative however, that is capable of releasing the required 1052 erg/s energy. This is a highly magnetized neutron star, a magnetar. In some scenarios the pulsating signal from a magnetar would show up in X-rays within an hour of the trigger. We use NICER observations to look for this signature.
no draft yetHigh energy neutrinos, 10 TeV to >1 TeV, are detected by IceCube, at theh South Pole, but their origin is not clear. They could be a wide variety of astrophysical sources, like AGN, tidal disruption events, star forming galaxies, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts. GRBs fell out of favor according to the most recent studies, but they are still borderline a viable class. However if you were to detect neutrinos from any one source, the BOAT GRB 221009a is your best bet. No conincident events have been found, which doesn't bode well for GRBs as neutrino sources.
draftThe IGMF is a very weak magnetic field (1E-20 to 1e-15 Gauss) , present in the voids. It can be studied using active galaxies and GRBs having high energy photons.
IGMF paper1.7 seconds after the first neutron star binary merger was detected by LIGO-Virgo, Fermi-GBM triggered on GRB 170817A. The GRB is short, close by, and has the same source as the gravitational wave signal. This is the first unambiguous gravitational wave - electromagnetic radiation detection.
GBM paperAlways looking for motivated students and collaborators. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to work with me, chat, or just say hello!
📧 peter.veres@uah.edu room 2040 in Cramer Research Hall - University of Alabama in Huntsville