My primary research focuses on compact objects; mainly neutron star, pulsars, supernova remnants and related phenomena. I develop post-Bayesian statistical methods and use them in conjunction with computer simulations to constrain the evolution of neutron stars. One of my goals is to extend this approach and apply it to various astrophysical problems.
I am currently a member of the Fermi-LAT (formerly GLAST) collaboration. The very high energy (γ-ray) emission from pulsars will hopefully help us finally understand the pulsar emission mechanism; a more than 40 year old jigsaw puzzle!
New...
- "New technique improves estimates of pulsar ages "...
- Astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed a new technique to determine the ages of millisecond pulsars, the fastest-spinning stars in the universe... More...
- Press coverage: UCSC press release, Science News, Astronomy Now, Universe Today, Space Daily, Astronomy Magazine, Space Info, Physics Today...
- "Constraints on Pulsar Evolution: The Joint Period-Spindown Distribution of Millisecond Pulsars", Kiziltan & Thorsett, 2009
- "Suprising Trove of Gamma-Ray Pulsars", an article in the Sky & Telescope magazine:
... Bülent Kiziltan and Steve Thorsett (University of California, Santa Cruz) showed that different millisecond pulsars must form by at least two distinct processes. But the nature of the second process remains a mystery...
- U. of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics ranked 1st in the US.
- ...arXiv:0811.0311: The Science Impact of Astronomy Ph.D. Granting Departments in the US
- ...UCSC Press release
In the past...
- Conducted multiband observations:
- Radio: Arecibo radio telescope, Australian ATNF-Parkes dish
- Optical: CTIO, Hubble Space Telescope (WFPC2, ACS)
- X-ray: Chandra (ACIS, HRC)
- Created a pipeline-database for the Hubble-WFPC2 parallel images. Its available for public use.
Adviser: Steve Thorsett
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