Dr. Namir Kassim (Naval Research Laboratory)

Opening a New Window on the Electromagnetic Spectrum with LOFAR - Dr. Namir Kassim Colloquium

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

Planets (and possibly exoplanets), pulsars, and supernova remnants, high redshift radio galaxies, and possibly even the Universe itself emit strongly at frequencies below 1000 MHz. Yet the low radio frequency spectrum is the most poorly explored region in the electromagnetic spectrum, due largely to the poor sensitivity of the previous generations of low-frequency telescopes. The 74 MHz system on the VLA and the GMRT in India are creating a quiet renaissance in long wavelength radio astronomy, producing high angular resolution, high sensitivity images and stimulating the development of instruments with even greater capability. In this talk I'll demonstrate how the opening of this new window on the Universe can be used to attack a wide variety of astrophysical problems, and describe plans for achieving this with the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR).