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Gamma-Ray Burst & Kilonova Research

Image of Dr Ben Gompertz

Ben Gompertz is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Birmingham , working in the Institute for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and the School of Physics and Astronomy . He studies gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) , kilonovae , and other multi-messenger transients produced by merging neutron stars and black holes. His work combines gamma-ray, X-ray, optical/infrared, radio, and gravitational-wave observations to understand relativistic jet physics and explosive cosmic transients. He is also the Director of the Wast Hills Observatory .

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Overview

When two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole merge, the extreme energy release launches jets of material travelling at almost the speed of light, and creates ripples in space-time. We can detect these as short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and gravitational waves. These extreme environments provide the conditions for some of the heaviest elements in the Universe to form, and are thought to be the main production sites for elements like gold, platinum, and uranium. The newly-formed but unstable heavy elements forged in neutron star mergers produce a radioactive glow, which we can detect as a ‘kilonova’. In my research, I use the combined ‘multi-messenger’ information from short GRBs, kilonovae, and gravitational-waves to learn about how our Universe became enriched with very heavy elements, how jets are launched in short GRBs, and the extreme conditions found inside neutron stars.

I am particularly interested in unusual merger GRBs that last far longer than our current understanding should allow. A key example of this new class of GRB is GRB 211211A, pictured below.

You can see me talk about my research as part of the Institute of Physics West Midlands lecture series on YouTube.

Hubble Space Telescope image of the kilonova discovered alongside GRB 211211A, a gamma-ray burst from a neutron star merger in a galaxy 1.2 billion light years from Earth. The kilonova (red) can be seen to the bottom-right of the host galaxy in the centre of the image. Our discovery of the kilonova was announced in Rastinejad, Gompertz, et al. (2022), and the physics of the GRB was presented in Gompertz et al. (2023).