Members of the department are studying the associated highly relativistic phenomena theoretically and observationally. One theoretical focus is understanding the interplay between magnetic and thermal processes for strongly magnetic neutron stars. In addition, just like their stellar precursors, many compact objects occur in binary systems. Accretion Flows . Accretion flows occur in many astrophysical systems and in particular produce much of the observable phenomena associated with compact objects.
Departmental members are leaders in the modelling of accretion flows.
Model predictions for the spectral features and transient behaviors are compared with observations, from radio to high energy X-rays and gamma rays. Particular interests in the department include flows around supermassive black holes in galaxy centers such as the one in our own galaxy. The observational differences between the flows for neutron stars and black holes are also under study. Active Galactic Nuclei . Theoretical models of AGN X-ray emission are being developed which require strong magnetic fields and relativistic particles, generated near a supermassive black hole.