PhD in Physics & Astronomy, 03/2009
Thesis: Gamma-ray bursts in the Swift era: evidence of long lived central engines and implications for progenitor models.
Supervisor: Dr. Giancarlo Cusumano (INAF-IASF Palermo).
Master's degree in Physics & Astronomy, 07/2005
Thesis: XMM-Newton observations of the supernova remnant IC 443: analysis of the thermal X-ray emission.
Supervisor: Prof. F. Reale (OAPA - Astronomical Observatory of Palermo)
Bachelor's degree in Physics & Astronomy, 09/2002
Thesis: X-ray spectroscopy of He-like ions in optically thin astrophysical plasmas.
Supervisor: Prof. G. Peres (OAPA - Astronomical Observatory of Palermo)
Eleonora Troja
(Professor)
| Email: | eleonora.troja@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.286.0941 |
| Org Code: | 660 |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 662 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | Foreign National Visitor |
Research Interests
High Energy Astrophysics
Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational Waves
Astrophysics: Gravitational WavesMy research interests lie in the field of time domain astronomy, and include the study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and exotic transients such as kilonovae and tidal disruption events. In my career I worked on a variety of different aspects of the GRB phenomenon, although my primary focus is the connection between short duration GRBs, neutron star mergers, and gravitational wave sources.
My main interest is to investigate the observational signatures of compact binary mergers, that is, binary systems composed by either two neutron stars (NS-NS) or a neutron star and a black hole (NS-BH) which slowly spiral into each other and eventually collide due to energy losses to gravitational radiation. Compact binary mergers lie at the intersection of several key aspects of modern astrophysics:
- they are the most likely cause of short duration gamma-ray bursts;
- they are strong sources of gravitational wave radiation, and prime candidates for direct detection with advanced LIGO and Virgo;
- they are the most promising r-process sites for the formation of all the heavy elements (i.e. gold, platinum, uranium, …) found on Earth.
These three fundamental areas of investigation are at the core of my research.
Personal Website: https://eleonoratroja.wordpress.com
Positions/Employment
Swift Guest Investigator Program Lead
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
July 2013 - Present
Associate Research Scientist
University of Maryland - College Park
July 2017 - Present
Education
Teaching Experience
Lecturer - University of Maryland College Park (ASTR 288C)
Selected Publications
Refereed
2019. "The afterglow and kilonova of the short GRB 160821B." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society [10.1093/mnras/stz2255] [Journal Article/Letter]
2019. "A year in the life of GW170817: the rise and fall of a structured jet from a binary neutron star merger." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society [10.1093/mnras/stz2248] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "A luminous blue kilonova and an off-axis jet from a compact binary merger at z = 0.1341." Nature Communications 9 (1): 4089 [10.1038/s41467-018-06558-7] [Journal Article/Letter]
2018. "The outflow structure of GW170817 from late-time broad-band observations." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters 478 (1): L18-L23 [10.1093/mnrasl/sly061] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "The X-ray counterpart to the gravitational-wave event GW170817." Nature 551 (7678): 71-74 [10.1038/nature24290] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "Significant and variable linear polarization during the prompt optical flash of GRB 160625B." Nature 547 425-427 [10.1038/nature23289] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Swift follow-up of gravitational wave triggers: results from the first aLIGO run and optimization for the future." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 462 1591-1602 [10.1093/mnras/stw1746] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "An Achromatic Break in the Afterglow of the Short GRB 140903A: Evidence for a Narrow Jet." The Astrophysical Journal 827 102 [10.3847/0004-637X/827/2/102] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "Localization and Broadband Follow-up of the Gravitational-wave Transient GW150914." Astrophysical Journal Letters 826 L13 [10.3847/2041-8205/826/1/L13] [Journal Article/Letter]
2016. "XMM-Newton Slew Survey Observations of the Gravitational Wave Event GW150914." Astrophysical Journal Letters 822 L8 [10.3847/2041-8205/822/1/L8] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "An Analysis of Chandra Deep Follow-up Gamma-Ray Bursts: Implications for Off-axis Jets." The Astrophysical Journal 806 15 [10.1088/0004-637X/806/1/15] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "Swift and Fermi Observations of X-Ray Flares: The Case of Late Internal Shock." The Astrophysical Journal 803 10 [10.1088/0004-637X/803/1/10] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Swift/BAT Detection of Hard X-Rays from Tycho's Supernova Remnant: Evidence for Titanium-44." Astrophysical Journal Letters 797 L6 [10.1088/2041-8205/797/1/L6] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Identifying the Location in the Host Galaxy of Short GRB 111117A with the Chandra Sub-arcsecond Position." The Astrophysical Journal 766 (1): 12 [10.1088/0004-637X/766/1/41] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "Broadband study of GRB 091127: a sub-energetic burst at higher redshift?." The Astrophysical Journal [Full Text] [10.1088/0004-637X/761/1/50] [Journal Article/Letter]
2011. "Are All Short-hard Gamma-ray Bursts Produced from Mergers of Compact Stellar Objects?." The Astrophysical Journal 727 (2): [10.1088/0004-637X/727/2/109] [Journal Article/Letter]
2011. "Fall-back Disks in Long and Short Gamma-Ray Bursts." The Astrophysical Journal [10.1088/0004-637X/734/1/35] [Journal Article/Letter]
2011. "GRB 110328A/Swift J1644493+573451: The Tidal Obliteration of a Deeply Plunging Star?." The Astrophysical Journal 742 (1): 32 [Full Text] [10.1088/0004-637X/742/1/32] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "Precursors of Short Gamma-ray Bursts." The Astrophysical Journal 723 (2): 1711-1717 [10.1088/0004-637X/723/2/1711] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "Can X-ray emission powered by a spinning-down magnetar explain some gamma-ray burst light-curve features?." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 402 (2): 705-712 [10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15538.x] [Journal Article/Letter]
2008. "Different progenitors of short hard gamma-ray bursts." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters 385 (1): L10-L14 [Full Text] [10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00421.x] [Journal Article/Letter]
2008. "XMM-Newton observations of the supernova remnant IC 443. II. Evidence of stellar ejecta in the inner regions." Astronomy and Astrophysics [10.1051/0004-6361:20079123] [Journal Article/Letter]
2007. "Detection of GRB 060927 at z = 5.47: Implications for the Use of Gamma‐Ray Bursts as Probes of the End of the Dark Ages." The Astrophysical Journal 669 (1): 1-9 [10.1086/521546] [Journal Article/Letter]
2007. "Swift Observations of GRB 070110: An Extraordinary X‐Ray Afterglow Powered by the Central Engine." The Astrophysical Journal 665 (1): 599-607 [10.1086/519450] [Journal Article/Letter]
2006. "XMM-Newton Observations of the Supernova Remnant IC 443. I. Soft X-Ray Emission from Shocked Interstellar Medium." The Astrophysical Journal [10.1086/506378] [Journal Article/Letter]