PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR A JOINT DISCUSSION AT THE
XXVII IAU GENERAL ASSEMBLY, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, 3-14 AUGUST 2009
Joint Discussion: NEUTRON STARS: TIMING IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
Duration: 1.5 days
Coordinating IAU Divisions: XI
Participating IAU Divisions: V, X
Participating IAU Commissions: 40, 44
Scientific rationale:
Astronomical systems harboring a neutron star, from isolated and binary radio pulsars to magnetars and accreting X-ray binaries, constitute a unique tool for the study of matter under extreme conditions. Testing General Relativity in the strong-field regime and the determination of the equation of state of neutron matter are major goals which appear more and more within reach. The availability of high-energy missions such as XMM-Newton, Chandra, INTEGRAL and Suzaku for energy spectra and RossiXTE for fast time variability, as well as the discovery of a new binary radio pulsar, have spurred these lines of research. The results from high-energy Cherenkov experiments like MAGIC and HESS are opening a new window to study the extreme environment close to compact objects. Agile and GLAST will be fully operational, providing an unprecedented view of this type of systems. The proposed Joint Discussion aims at getting together experts in these fields for an analysis of the current situation and a view toward future prospects. 2009 will be the fourteenth year of operation of RossiXTE and it will mark the 10-year anniversary of the launch of XMM-Newton and Chandra. The Indian satellite for X-ray astronomy ASTROSAT will be in orbit, providing crucial fast-timing information. In addition, ESA, NASA and JAXA are currently analyzing the possibility of joining forces by merging the two major X-ray programs (Constellation-X and XEUS) into one large mission and we expect that the conclusions reached in this JD will help shape up the science program for it. All these constitute an ideal milestone for such a meeting. The proposed program includes nine major topics for which two solicited talks are envisioned, together with a small number of selected contributed talks. An additional session, distributed through the two days, will address future instrumentation for timing analysis. A poster session is also envisioned. A IAU JD provides an ideal setting for such a meeting and will allow discussions focused to these topics. Although the emphasis is on time variability, all aspects will be addressed, from radio observations to high-resolution spectra and high-energy emission.
Invited speakers:
- F. Aharonian (Germany)
- N. Andersson (UK)
- D. Barret (France)
- D. Bhattacharya (India)
- A. Cumming (Canada)
- C. Kouveliotou (USA)
- J. Lattimer (USA) - to be confirmed
- M. McLaughlin (USA)
- M. Méndez (Netherlands)
- R. Wijnands (Netherlands)
Scientific organizing committee:
Tomaso Belloni (co-chair, Italy), Mariano Méndez (co-chair, Netherlands), Chengmin Zhang (co-chair, China), Ali Alpar (Turkey), Didier Barret (France), Deepto Chakrabarty (USA), Marat Gilfanov (Germany/Russia), Jorge Horvath (Brazil), Vicky Kaspi (Canada), Duncan Lorimer (USA), Michiel van der Klis (Netherlands), Donald Melrose (Australia), Dany Page (Mexico), Andreas Reisenegger (Chile) Gustavo Romero (Argentina)
Information on the XXVII IAU GA can be found at http://www.astronomy2009.com.br/
Information on this JD will soon be available at
http://www.brera.inaf.it/IAU2009extreme/home.html
Conference email: IAU2009extreme@brera.inaf.it
Best Regards