The Shocking Universe - Gamma-Ray Bursts and High Energy Shock phenomena in the Universe

Second Announcement

Go to first Announcement
Go to third Announcement

We have had a good response to our first announcement and the meeting is shaping up quite well. As listed in the previous circular the main themes of the meeting will be GRBs and high-energy relativistic shocks in the Universe. In addition to the large amount of unique data collected by Swift and by ground-based observatories we have now the contribution of the Fermi satellite that, together with AGILE, will lead to many breakthroughs in these fields. GRBs theories are likely to be at a turning point: the meeting itself will be a place where to witness the state of the art and evaluate new understanding and ideas. This would be extremely useful for all the community and in particular for the young participants and students.

In light of this, it will be of great help to the SOC to receive proposals and ideas from scientists who plan to participate. So, you are invited to apply and send us an abstract as soon as possible in order to optimize the content of the meeting.

The most recent literature tell us that we may have a problem with the standard internal shock scenario so that we will take a very critical view of the models with Meszaros, Piran and Kumar among others. Klebesadel will tell about the pioneering observations of the GRBs and later, getting into the core of the problems, we will develop new understanding following the latest observations and theoretical developments. Atwood, Meegan, Michelson and Ritz, among others, will cover some basic science relating it to the excellent data obtained with the Fermi satellite. A wide discussion about the physics of GRBs, their progenitors and environment will be led by Freyer, Ramirez-Ruiz, Berger and others. The meeting will also focus on the relation between SNe and GRBs.

A new, intriguing issue related to the study of GRBs is the possibility, in a near future, of detecting the emission of neutrinos and gravitational waves during the merging of NS - NS stars and the collapse of massive star. This requires accurate models necessary both for planning the observational strategies (and possibly new instruments) and for robust interpretation of future data. To this end, scientists from different research fields will present their work stimulating discussion and new ideas.

The presentations will be divided as follows:

  • Long [30+5 minutes] The speaker touch upon the state of the art of a given topic and illustrates his/her point of view.
  • Medium [20+5 minutes] A complex research carried out by the speaker and his/her collaborators.
  • Short [12+3 minutes] A specific result presented by the speaker and his/her collaborators.

Accomodation

The conference will be held on the San Servolo island in the Venice lagoon. Since at this time of the year Venice is a very popular and busy touristic place, it is advisable to make room reservation as soon as possible. Therefore we strongly suggest to book the hotel room well in advance. Note that for the San Servolo Guesthouse the room will only be guaranteed if booked before March 31.

Deadlines

  • March 31: deadline for S. Servolo guesthouse reservation
  • June 15: deadline for early registration and abstract submission
  • end of July: final program

Conferance Fee

  • early payment (before June 15): 550 euro
  • late payment : 600 euro
The conference fee include:
  • conference registration
  • welcome cocktail
  • breakfast and lunch (from Monday to Friday) at the S. Servolo canteen
  • social dinner and social trip
  • Conference kit
  • S. Servolo card (which includes discounts in various restaurants and musei of Venice for one year)
  • Proceedings
The registration fee can be paid only by bank transfer or on-site by cash for late payments (with fees listed above). Credit cards, personal cheques and traveller's cheques are not accepted. Please avoid cash payment if possible. Here are the details for the International Bank Order:

BANK: BNL Banca Nazionale del Lavoro
Address: BNL Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Via Costantino Nigra, 15 - 00194 ROMA
Account Holder: INAF Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica

IBAN: IT69S0100503309000000218500
Swift code: BNLIITRR

NATIONAL DETAILS: Account Number: 218500, ABI: 01005 CAB: 03309

Please note that:

  • the bank transfer has to be free of charge for the receiver,
  • the bank transfer should clearly indicate the reason: OABrera, GRB, Venice09, conference registration
  • You should quote the full name of the participant,
  • You are kindly requested to send a copy of your bank transfer to the LOC (FAX:+39 039 5971001; E-mail: infomeeting@brera.inaf.it).
General information, registration form and room reservation forms can be found at the link:

http://www.brera.inaf.it/sanservolo2009/

Students or Young Researcher Support

We plan to support conference expenses for a limited number of students or young researchers. Motivated requests should be addressed to the secretary of the conference before March 31 at infomeeting@brera.inaf.it.

To apply for the financial support we need the following information:

  • if you are a student (and which is the expected degree MS/PhD) or a postdoc;
  • a short description of your research activity (if you are a Phd student) or the subject of your thesis/dissertation;
  • the name of your supervisor or of the person you are working with;
  • your institution.

Please forward this announcement to anyone you think might be interested.

Go to first Announcement
Go to third Announcement