Laboratory for Astrophysics of Objects with Extreme Energy Release

• The Laboratory modern spectrometers and on-board systems and on-board data processing systems for detecting space gamma radiation.
• We have designed a project of the ALEGRO Cherenkov gamma observatory. We have created complexes of prospective detectors of hard radiation from space objects.

Implemented results of research:

• Two objects of intellectual property have been registered to the Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University – software for modeling physical processes in extreme space objects.
• Modern spectrometers and on-board data processing systems for detecting space gamma radiation created at the Laboratory have comprised the basis of scientific equipment of the orbital missions «Small Spacecraft for Fundamental Space Research» (MKA-FKI) and «Spektr-UF». Using the developed equipment astrophysicists will be able to obtain more precise, reliable and complete data concerning sources of high-energy radiation in space.

Education and career development:

• One doctoral dissertation, 4 candidate dissertations, 7 masters degree theses, and 4 bachelor degree theses have been defended.

Organizational and structural changes: Intensified collaboration of three faculties of the university: the Faculty of Physics and Technology, the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry and the Faculty of Cybernetics Technologies.

Other results:

• Efforts of members of the academic staff in interpretation of gamma radiation splashes from the Crab Nebula and from observations of the Vela Pulsar Nebula have received recognition from the Royal Astronomical Society of the United Kingdom and NASA.
• Works in modeling structure of neutron stars and interpretation of X-ray observations of these objects have been included into the list of the best achievements of the Chandra Orbital Observatory.

Collaborations: Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia), Ioffe Institute (Russia), Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia), Harvard University (USA), Pennsylvania State University (USA), University of North Carolina (USA), University of Florida (USA), Montpellier 2 University ((France), Paris Diderot University (France), Heidelberg University (Germany: joint research