A tidal disruption event changes its spots

Recently I've been really interested in tidal disruption events (TDEs). These are hot, bright flares generated in the centres of galaxies as an unlucky star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole and gets shredded! Along with my collaborators, I just published this paper studying one particular TDE in detail, and trying to understand … Continue reading A tidal disruption event changes its spots

Gravitational waves and visible light from a neutron star collision: an incredible day for science

Wow. After two months of excitement and feverish work, we finally revealed yesterday what many in the astronomical community had been speculating about: the simultaneous discovery of gravitational and electromagnetic radiation (light) from the same source. But what maybe no one expected was just how much light. This event, the violent collision of two neutron … Continue reading Gravitational waves and visible light from a neutron star collision: an incredible day for science

A full literature study of superluminous supernovae with our new code, MOSFiT!

Alternative title: Markov Chain Monte Carlo Multi-Colour Magnetar Calculations with the MOSFiT Code (MCMCMCMCMC). Earlier this summer (it's been so busy!) we published the first results from our new multi-purpose light curve code. The Modular Open Source Fitter for Transients (MOSFiT) was written by James Guillochon and myself (with help from many others) so that … Continue reading A full literature study of superluminous supernovae with our new code, MOSFiT!