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1st announcement

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1st Announcement of IAU Symposium 279
"Death of Massive Stars: Supernovae & Gamma-Ray Bursts"
18-22 April, 2011 - Nikko, Japan
Symposium website - http://www.hp.phys.titech.ac.jp/iau279
 
 
This is the first announcement of IAU Symposium 279 entitled "Death of
Massive Stars: Supernovae & Gamma-Ray Bursts." The primary goal of this
symposium is to bring together theoretical and observational experts in
order to discuss the connection between supernovae and gamma-ray bursts.
This exciting program, as described below, will be held in the picturesque
city of Nikko, Japan, during the week of April 18, 2011. Registration for
and details about the symposium can be found at the Symposium website.
 
The Death of Massive Stars is manifest as core collapse supernovae
(CCSNe) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In a few rare cases, a firm connection
between these objects has been established; in all these cases the supernova
(SN) resulted from the explosion of a highly stripped star (Type Ic SN), was
very luminous, and exhibited a larger-than-usual kinetic energy (up to one
magnitude more than in a normal SN explosion). In contrast, there are clear
cases in which no bright SN was found to be associated with a GRB, and vice
versa. The quest in understanding supernovae (SNe) and GRBs, and the
connection between them, has raised many questions which will be reviewed at
this symposium, including:
 
- How ubiquitous are GRB-SNe and what is their intrinsic rate?
- Do CCSNe and GRBs come from the same environments?
- What are the progenitors of CCSNe and GRBs?
- What are their explosion mechanisms and subsequent evolution?
- Is there a continuum between the dimmest CCSNe and the brightest GRBs?
- How can these bright transient objects be used as cosmological probes?
 
The study of these objects is strongly supported by the astrophysics
community and is considered of great importance. SNe are a key element in
our understanding of stellar evolution, chemical enrichment, and the role
they play in triggering star formation. Likewise, since GRBs are the
brightest beacons they are strong signposts for determining the star
formation rate over large cosmic distances. This symposium is coming at a
very opportune time as new results and forthcoming surveys related to SNe
and GRBs will be available in an era of new and proposed facilities such as
the Advanced LIGO, Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST), Fermi
Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, IceCube, Joint Astrophysics Nascent Universe
Satellite (JANUS), Joint Dark Energy Mission (JDEM), JWST, Pan-Starrs, and
Space multi-band Variable Object Monitor (/SVOM/).
 
Invited Speakers
Niccolo Bucciantini
Andrew Bunker
Hsiao-Wen Chen (TBC)
Bethany Cobb
Alessandra Corsi
Paul Crowther (TBC)
Chris Fryer
Avishay Gal-Yam
Suvi Gezari
Thomas Janka
Boaz Katz
Thomas Kruehler
Shri Kulkarni
Giorgos Leloudas
Andrew Levan
Emily Levesque
Andrew MacFadyen
Keiichi Maeda
Paolo Mazzali
Ken Nomoto
Kazuyuki Omukai
Andrea Pastorello (TBC)
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
Takanori Sakamoto
Patricia Schady (TBC)
Rhaana Starling
Tomonori Totani
Schuyler van Dyk
Bing Zhang
 
 
Science Organizing Committee
Zi-Gao Dai
Massimo Della Valle
Johan Fynbo
Neil Gehrels
Nobu Kawaii (Co-Chair)
Sheila McBreen
Maryam Modjaz
Ehud Nakar
Ken'ichi Nomoto
Paul O'Brien
Elena Pian (Co-Chair)
Pete Roming (Co-Chair)
Sandra Savaglio
Brian Schmidt
Stephen Smartt
Alicia Soderberg
Shoichi Yamada
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- Local Organizing Committee
Keiichi Maeda (IPMU; Chair)
Katsuaki Asano (Tokyo Tech.)
Aya Bamba (DIAS/ISAS)
Kei Kotake (NAOJ)
Takeo Minezaki (IoA, Univ. Tokyo)
Toru Tamagawa (RIKEN)
Masaomi Tanaka (IPMU)
Yoichi Yatsu (Tokyo Tech.) 
 
- Host Institutes
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (IPMU), U. Tokyo
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)