The Time Domain Astronomy (TDA) group at Purdue University in the Department of Physics and Astronomy is led by Danny Milisavljevic. The group employs multi-wavelength observations and analyses that together address fundamental questions pertaining to stellar explosions and disruptions. TDA work is naturally interdisciplinary, and at Purdue it regularly spans physics, astronomy, numerical computation involving machine learning, and advanced visualization using virtual and augmented reality.
A focus of the TDA group is supernova explosions from massive stars that are among the most powerful and consequential phenomena in the universe. Supernovae shape and enrich galaxies; they are prodigious emitters of neutrinos; they produce neutron stars, black holes, and some gamma-ray bursts; they are likely to be strong Galactic sources of gravitational waves; and and they evolve into remnants that seed interstellar space with the raw materials needed for stars, planets -- and potentially life.