HTRA IV Conference - Home

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High Time Resolution Astrophysics (HTRA) IV - The Era of Extremely Large Telescopes
Mirabello Beach and Village Hotel
Agios Nikolaos, Crete
May 5 - 7, 2010

 

The workshop presentations are now available in the Programme section  

 

WORKSHOP GOALS:

This workshop is organised as part of the OPTICON-funded European Network for High Time Resolution Astrophysics with the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT).

The goal of the HTRA-IV workshop is to explore the current and future state of observations of all different types of astronomical sources featuring variability at the second and/or sub-second time scales. The three day workshop has been planned to offer the community the opportunity to present contributions in different thematic areas covering science, instrumentation and future observing facilities.

Selected science topics include:

- isolated neutron stars
- X-ray binaries
- white dwarfs and ultra compact binary systems
- stellar oscillations
- flare stars
- extra-galactic transients (GRBs)
- planet transits/occultations

although contributions in other science topics related to the field of HTRA are equally welcome.

The focus of the HTRA-IV workshop is on optical studies in all of the above areas. In particular, the major emphasis will be on optical observations and on the potential of HTRA with the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (like the E-ELT, the Thirty Meter Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope) to make discoveries beyond our current state of knowledge and expectations.
However, the workshop will also focus on HTRA studies at multi-wavelengths (radio, X-rays, gamma-rays) both with present (XMM, CHANDRA, FERMI) and future (e.g. IKO and SKA) observing facilities.

The HTRA-IV workshop is timed to be just before, and in the same venue as, the meeting:
Astronomy with Megastructures - Joint science with the E-ELT and SKA
http://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/users/Karastergiou/Greece2010/home.html.
so that attendance at both meetings is encouraged.

The purpose is to create a unique opportunity for interaction between the HTRA community and the wider astronomical community. This will stimulate discussions on the exploitation of the scientific potential of future facilities, on the development of their instrumentation, and on a number of technical and engineering aspects related to their design and operation.

INVITED SPEAKERS:

Felix Aharonian (MPIK / Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies)
Werner Becker (Max Planck Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik)
Tomaso Belloni (INAF - Astronomical Observatory of Brera, Merate)
Patrizia Caraveo (INAF- IASF, Milano)
Vik Dhillon (University of Sheffield)
Isobel Hook (University of Oxford)
Michael Kramer (MPIfR / Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics)
Ron Remillard (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Andrea Richichi (European Southern Observatory)
Jürgen Schmitt (Hamburg Observatory)
Danny Steeghs (University of Warwick)
Luigi Stella (INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Rome)
Nial Tanvir (University of Leicester)
Virginia Trimble (University of California, Irvine)
Joachim Trümper (Max Planck Institut fur Extraterrestriche Physik)


SCIENCE ORGANISING COMMITTEE:

Cesare Barbieri (University of Padova, Dept.of Astronomy)
Giovanni Bonanno (INAF-Astronomical Observatory, Catania)
Vik Dhillon (University of Sheffield)
Dainis Dravins (Lund Observatory)
Gottfried Kanbach (Max Planck Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik)
Nikos Kylafis (University of Crete, FORTH)
Tom Marsh (University of Warwick)
Roberto Mignani (University College London-Mullard Space Science Laboratory)
Andy Shearer (National University of Ireland, Galway)
Aga Słowikowska (Kepler Institute of Astronomy, University of Zielona Góra)