HEASARC News: Upcoming Meeting Announcements

[Newsletter for the field of High Energy Astrophysics <heasarcnews@lists.nasa.gov>]

Upcoming meeting that may be of interest to the HEASARCNews community

1) Tidal Disruption Events and AGN Outbursts Workshop (June 25-27)

2) Chandra Science Workshop: X-Ray Binaries - Celebrating 50 Years Since the Discovery of SCO X-1 (July 10-12)

3) COSPAR 2012 Event E1.1 Radio meets Hard X-rays (July 14-22)


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1) Tidal Disruption events and AGN outbursts workshop

  Dates: 25-27 June 2012
  Place: European Space Astronomy Centre, Madrid, Spain

Workshop rationale:

Gigantic X-ray, UV and optical flares have been seen from the nuclei
of a small number of galaxies. These extraordinary flares have been
interpreted as the tidal disruption of a stellar object by a quiescent
black hole, if the hosts were non-active, or as dramatic changes in
the accretion environment, if the galaxy appeared as a classical AGN.
The very distinctive lightcurves and spectra of tidal disruption
events (TDE), predicted in advance by pioneering theoretical work,
clearly distinguish them from AGN activity and establish them as an
important field of study in their own right.  Recent, high-quality
observations of TDE, differ in detail from early expectations of
thermal emission from steadily returning stellar debris and challenge
the sophisticated theoretical and numerical models which are now
emerging.

Large, and very rare, flux changes in known AGN, pose challenges for
our understanding of accretion disk processes and the immediate
nuclear environment.

The discovery of jetted emission from SWIFT J1644+57, probably induced
by a stellar disruption, has opened a new window into the phenomenon
and provides a further link between tidal disruption events and AGN.

Over the next few years, sensitive, large-area, surveys will come
on-line and likely detect extragalactic flares in large numbers. This
workshop is designed to bring together theorists and observers for a
review of previous observations and state-of-the-art modeling, and
help to develop a strategy for the identification and follow-up of
future events.


Registration and Important Dates:

The workshop is free.

  * April 15, 2012: Deadline for registration and abstract submission.
  * April 30, 2012: Final programme release
  * June 25-27    : Conference

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2) The summer 2012 Chandra-sponsored Science Workshop is entitled
    X-RAY BINARIES - CELEBRATING 50 YEARS SINCE THE DISCOVERY OF SCO X-1

to take place
              July 10-12, 2012
at the
        DoubleTree Guest Suites in Boston, MA.


Please check the website at
         http://cxc.harvard.edu/cdo/xrb12
for information, abstract submission, and registration.  Please print
the Conference Poster and post it at your institution!


            ------ DEADLINES ------

Wednesday, April 25, 2012
        contributed talk abstract submission
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
        general registration and poster abstract submission



       ------ MEETING ABSTRACT ------

In 1962, Scorpius X-1 became the first X-ray source discovered outside
the Solar System. In the 50 years since, X-ray binaries have proven to
be important for studies of fundamental physical processes such as
mass accretion and jet formation. Contemporary X-ray satellites
provide detailed spectroscopic studies of individual Galactic black
hole and neutron star binaries, as well as population studies of
low-mass X-ray binaries in globular clusters, high-mass X-ray binaries
and ultra-luminous X-ray sources in starburst galaxies. This meeting
will celebrate the startling discovery of Scorpius X-1, highlight the
latest results in our understanding of the formation of black holes,
neutron stars and X-ray binaries, as well as the use of X-ray binaries
for testing the laws of physics in the extreme environment close to
black holes and neutron stars.

   ------ SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ------

Chairs: Peter Jonker (SRON), Andrea Prestwich (SAO).
  Charles Bailyn (Yale), Chris Done (Durham), Andy Fabian (IoA),
  Vicky Kalogera (CIERA), Julia Lee (Harvard), Tom Maccarone
  (Southampton), Tod Strohmayer (GSFC), Rashid Sunyaev (MPA),
  Natalie Webb (CESR)

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3) COSPAR 2012 Event E1.1 Radio meets Hard X-rays

    Dates: 3 half days during 2012 July 14 - 22 
    Deadline for Abstracts: 2012 February 10 (Submission is now OPEN) 
    Place: Mysore, India

Recently the hard X-ray sky (E > 10 keV) has been explored with an
unprecedented sensitivity thanks to the Swift/BAT and INTEGRAL/IBIS
surveys. These instruments are able to probe this energy domain where
fundamental changes from thermal to non-thermal sources/phenomena are
expected, where the effects of absorption are drastically reduced, and
where cosmic acceleration, explosions and accretion take place.

Radio observations of high energy sources, some newly discovered,
provide insight into their nature, emission mechanisms and origin, but
this connection is virtually unexplored. Most accreting sources, such
as X-ray binaries, cataclysmic variables and active galaxies show jets
during some phases of their lives which are found by means of radio
observations, so the comparison with hard X-ray data allows the study
of the jet/disk relationship. SNR, pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae and
clusters of galaxies also exhibit strong emission both in radio and
hard X-rays. Radio follow-up observations of yet unidentified hard
X-ray objects are also useful to provide information on their nature
and class.

The goal of this meeting, which is being organized by Angela Malizia
(INAF-IASF Bologna, Italy) and Hans Krimm (NASA-GSFC, USA), is to
explore the "hard X-ray/radio connection" and to bring together a
large number of scientists from both communities in order to meet and
discuss many astrophysical topics of interest to both fields.

The precise dates of the Event will be announced as soon as they are fixed.

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