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Time Domain Astrophysics

2015-2016 & 2018-2019

Optical astronomy has entered the era of Time Domain Astrophysics, and radio astronomy is expected to undergo great growth within a few years. While this new mode of astrophysical research has increased data production by orders of magnitude, discoveries depend on our ability to digest these large data sets and make real-time decisions about where to focus precious follow-up resources. This initiative brought together early career theorists, observers and computational scientists to identify and pursue the research that would benefit most from current optical facilities and set the stage to maximize the benefit of new facilities, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (previously referred to as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, or LSST) which is planned to be commissioned by 2022. This research is expected to include the development of novel theoretical, observational or computational approaches and collaborations that will accelerate our understanding of stars and their life-cycles, as well as to promote innovative projects based on new emerging datasets from Gaia and other space-based surveys that are likely to be disruptive for astrophysics.

Fellows & Facilitators

Fellows
Facilitators

Team Awards

Goal: to accelerate understanding of stellar and galactic dynamics on time scales accessible with ground-based telescopes and space-based surveys – such as Gaia, TESS, and ZTF — that are likely to be disruptive for astronomy, astrophysics, and data science.

2019 Team Awards

A Galactic Census of Eclipsing Binaries

  • Timothy Brandt
    University of California, Santa Barbara

    James Davenport
    University of Washington
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Beyond Gaia: Expanding the Dynamical Map of the Milky Way with Asteroseismic Distances

  • Sukanya Chakrabarti
    Rochester Institute of Technology

    Daniel Huber
    University of Hawaii

    Robyn Sanderson
    University of Pennsylvania
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Dancing Degenerates: Ages of Brown Dwarfs from White Dwarfs

  • Jackie Faherty
    American Museum of Natural History

    Andrew Mann
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Siyi Xu
    Gemini Observatory
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Discovering Quiescent Supermassive Black Holes in NGC Galaxies with TESS

  • Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere
    Northwestern University

    Simon Scaringi
    Texas Tech University

    Yue Shen
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Aging Gracefully: Stellar Ages across the HR Diagram and their Implications for Galactic Archaeology

  • Keith Hawkins
    University of Texas at Austin

    Jennifer van Saders
    University of Hawaii

    Andrew Wetzel
    University of California, Davis

    Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Inferring Stellar Population Ages from Integrated Light Curves

  • Joshua Pepper
    Lehigh University

    Gail Zasowski
    University of Utah
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation
2018 Team Awards

Mapping Explosive Enrichment

  • Carles Badenes
    University of Pittsburgh

    Gail Zasowski
    University of Utah
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Acceleration Today: Finding, Weighing, and Characterizing New Degenerate Companions to Nearby Stars

  • Timothy Brandt
    University of California, Santa Barbara

    Jackie Faherty, American Museum of Natural History
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Quickening Heartbeats: Measuring Tidal Orbital Decay in Eccentric Young Binaries

  • James Fuller
    California Institute of Technology

    Kaitlin Kratter
    University of Arizona

    Nicholas Law
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

A Gaia-Enabled View of Chemical Homogeneity

  • Keith Hawkins
    University of Texas at Austin

    Kaitlin Kratter
    University of Arizona

    Gail Zasowski
    University of Utah
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Expanding the Time-Domain Revolution: Stellar Parameters from Every Light Curve

  • Daniel Huber
    University of Hawaii

    Melissa Ness
    Columbia University
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Data at Your Fingertips: A Real-Time Discovery Engine for Gaia

  • Sergey Koposov
    Carnegie Mellon University

    Joshua Peek
    Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Discovery of Sub-kpc Binary SMBHs from Gaia with Variability-Induced Astrometric Jitter

  • Yue Shen
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Nadia Zakamska
    Johns Hopkins University
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation
2016 Team Awards

Stellar Multiplicity Meets Stellar Evolution: The APOGEE View

  • Carles Badenes
    University of Pittsburgh

    Kevin Covey
    Western Washington University

    Todd Thompson
    Ohio State University
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Precovery of Super-Flaring G Dwarfs for TESS using PTF and ZTF

  • Eric Bellm
    University of Washington

    John Wisniewski
    University of Oklahoma
  • Funded by Research Corporation

The Stellar MRI

  • Matteo Cantiello
    Flatiron Institute

    Jeffrey Oishi
    Bates College
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Down but Not Out: The White Dwarf Survivors of Low-Luminosity Thermonuclear Supernovae

  • Ryan Foley
    University of California, Santa Cruz

    James Fuller
    California Institute of Technology
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation

Identifying the Origin of the Extreme Scattering Events

  • Dimitrios Giannios
    Purdue University

    David Kaplan
    University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Supernova Light Curves Influenced by Hidden CSM Interaction

  • Daniel Kasen
    University of California, Berkeley

    Anthony Piro
    Carnegie Observatorie

    Nathan Smith
    University of Arizona
  • Funded by Research Corporation

The Shocking Reality of Dusty Cataclysms

  • Mansi Kasliwal
    California Institute of Technology

    Jennifer Sokoloski
    Columbia University
  • Funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation
2015 Team Awards

Catching the Emergence of a SN Years after the GRB

  • Laura Chomiuk
    Michigan State University

    Dimitrios Giannios
    Purdue University

    Funded by Research Corporation

Nuclear Burps and Belches: Presupernova Eruptions in 3D

  • Sean Couch
    Michigan State University

    Nathan Smith
    University of Arizona
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Monitoring Extrasolar Space Weather with the LWA and Evryscope

  • Gregg Hallinan
    California Institute of Technology

    Nicholas Law
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Transformational Technologies and Techniques for High Precision Photometric and Spectroscopic Stellar TDA

  • Leslie Hebb
    Hobart and William Smith Colleges

    Suvrath Mahadevan
    Pennsylvania State University

    John Wisniewski
    University of Oklahoma
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Professional-Amateur Collaboration: Enhancing the Scientific and Societal Value of Evryscope

  • Nicholas Law
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Jennifer Sokoloski
    Columbia University
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Bringing Novae into the Twenty-First Century

  • Raffaella Margutti
    New York University

    Brian Metzger
    Columbia University

    Ken Shen
    University of California, Berkeley
  • Funded by Research Corporation

Successes

Breakthroughs & Advancements
High-Impact Publications

Conference Booklets

SPONSORS

Additional Support