Lorenzo Amati: The Transient High-Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS)
FB51
AlbaNova Main Building
The Transient High-Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS) is a mission concept developed by a large European collaboration under study by ESA since 2018 and currently one of the three candidate M7 mission for a launch in the late '30s. THESEUS aims at fully exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts for investigating the Cosmic Dawn and as key phenomena for multi-messenger astrophysics. By providing an unprecedented combination of X-/gamma-ray monitors, on-board IR telescope and spacecraft autonomous fast slewing capabilities, THESEUS will be a wonderful machine for the detection, multi-wavelength characterization and redshift measurement of any kind of GRBs and many classes of X-ray transients, including high-redshift GRBs for cosmology (primordial low-mass/luminosity galaxies, first stars, cosmic re-ionization) and electromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational waves. Moreover, THESEUS will enable extreme and fundamental physics through unprecedented breakthrough measurements of GRB prompt and afterglow emission, as well as the detection and multi-eavelength characterization of many classes of high-energy transients. In all thses respects, THESEUS will thus provide an ideal synergy with the very large astronomical facilitiesof the future working in the e.m. (e.g., ELT, CTA, SKA, Athena) and multi-messenger (e.g., Einstein Telescope, Cosmic Explorer, km3NET).
About the speaker: Dr. Lorenzo Amati is a high-energy astrophysicist who famously discovered the "Amati relation," a correlation between the spectral peak photon energy and the total radiated energy of gamma-ray bursts, which has significant implications for understanding GRB physics and their potential use in cosmology. Since 2017, Dr. Amati is the Director of Research at the Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio (OAS) of INAF in Bologna and since August 2024, he is the Director of INAF - OAS. Dr. Amati is the Mission Principal Investigator and Lead Scientist for the THESEUS mission, currently under study by the European Space Agency (ESA), aimed at investigating the early Universe and revolutionizing multi-messenger time domain astrophysics through the study of GRBs and other transient phenomena.
In the OKC: Nov 10-12 2025, A5 corridor (KTH part)
Felix Ryde (speaker host), Filip Alamaa (speaker host), Alex Burgman (OKC colloquium coordinator)