High-energy astrophysics articles from across Nature Portfolio

High-energy astrophysics is the study of the processes that occur within stars, black holes and supernovae. These processes can be monitored by measuring the high-energy electromagnetic radiation and particles that they emit including x-rays, ultraviolet light and gamma rays. These observations are supplemented with computer simulations.

Featured

News & Views | 15 May 2023

An intense visible flash from a distant gamma-ray burst

Nature Astronomy, 1-2

Latest Research and Reviews

Research | 29 May 2023

Variability of extragalactic X-ray jets on kiloparsec scales

Strong X-ray emission from a population of radio jets shows variability that supports a model of synchrotron emission by a secondary population of electrons boosted to teraelectronvolt energies within a small volume of a jet.
- Eileen T. Meyer
- , Aamil Shaik
- & Max Trevor
Nature Astronomy, 1-9
Research | 17 May 2023

A highly magnetized environment in a pulsar binary system

The observation of pulsar emission at various orbital phases of a companion star probes the diverse magnetic structure in a binary system, and exhibits varying polarization behavior, akin to that observed in certain fast radio bursts.
- Dongzi Li
- , Anna Bilous
- & Yuan-Pei Yang
Nature, 1-5
Research | 11 May 2023

Exceptionally bright optical emission from a rare and distant gamma-ray burst

A luminous optical flash from GRB 210619B was captured rapidly by robotic telescopes and attributed to an extremely fast, narrow and magnetized jet shocked by propagating into the surrounding medium.
- Gor Oganesyan
- , Sergey Karpov
- & Michael Prouza
Nature Astronomy, 1-13
Research
29 April 2023 | Open Access

The diffuse gamma-ray flux from clusters of galaxies

The origin of the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGRB) is unknown. Here, the authors show that the integrated gamma-ray flux from clusters can contribute up to 100% of the DGRB flux observed by Fermi-LAT above 100 GeV.
- Saqib Hussain
- , Rafael Alves Batista
- & Klaus Dolag
Nature Communications 14, 2486
Research
26 April 2023 | Open Access

A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet

Spatially resolved images of M87 obtained at a wavelength of 3.5 mm in 2018 show a ring-like accretion structure, the inner (outer) edge of which connects the black hole (jet).
- Ru-Sen Lu
- , Keiichi Asada
- & Chen-Yu Yu
Nature 616, 686-690
Research | 10 April 2023

Vertical wind structure in an X-ray binary revealed by a precessing accretion disk

Kosec et al. analyse X-ray spectroscopic observations of outflowing hot material from an accreting neutron star. An innovative technique reveals the vertical distribution of the outflow structure, which is challenging to measure otherwise.
- P. Kosec
- , E. Kara
- & J. Wilms
Nature Astronomy, 1-9

All Research & Reviews

News and Comment

Comments & Opinion | 19 May 2023

A space-borne X-ray imaging polarimeter

A year of science from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer has brought results that are stimulating a re-examination of theoretical models of astrophysical sources.
- Martin C. Weisskopf
- , Paolo Soffitta
- & Philip Kaaret
Nature Astronomy 7, 635
News & Views | 15 May 2023

An intense visible flash from a distant gamma-ray burst

A brief but bright flash of optical radiation has been captured only 30 seconds after the onset of a gamma-ray burst. Produced in the interior of the shocked relativistic jet that powered the burst, the optical flash reveals the jet to be narrow and magnetized.

Nature Astronomy, 1-2
News & Views | 12 April 2023

Revealing the magnetic field geometry in the Milky Way’s most efficient particle accelerator

The first maps of the magnetic field in the nebula surrounding the Crab pulsar have been drawn using X-ray polarimetry. They provide insight into the flow of relativistic particles through the nebula and the generation of turbulence.

Nature Astronomy 7, 522-523
Research Highlights | 14 February 2023

Shine as the light
- Morgan Hollis
Nature Astronomy 7, 124
Research Highlights | 14 February 2023

Black hole takes multiple bites at the cherry
- Paul Woods
Nature Astronomy 7, 126
Research Highlights | 03 November 2022

Bursting back into life
- Morgan Hollis
Nature Astronomy 6, 1230

All News & Comment

High-energy astrophysics articles from across Nature Portfolio

Featured

An intense visible flash from a distant gamma-ray burst

Latest Research and Reviews

Variability of extragalactic X-ray jets on kiloparsec scales

A highly magnetized environment in a pulsar binary system

Exceptionally bright optical emission from a rare and distant gamma-ray burst

The diffuse gamma-ray flux from clusters of galaxies

A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet

Vertical wind structure in an X-ray binary revealed by a precessing accretion disk

News and Comment

A space-borne X-ray imaging polarimeter

An intense visible flash from a distant gamma-ray burst

Revealing the magnetic field geometry in the Milky Way’s most efficient particle accelerator

Shine as the light

Black hole takes multiple bites at the cherry

Bursting back into life

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