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Benjamin Stappers

Professor of Astrophysics, University of Manchester
My primary research interests are radio pulsars, neutron stars and rapid radio transients. I am a member of the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) and international Pulsar Tming Array (IPTA) projects which are attempting to use precision timing of radio pulsars to detect gravitational waves which have a freqeuncy in the nano-Hz regime. These waves are thought to have been generated by processes in the early universe, either inflation, cosmic strings or binary supermassive blackholes have been proposed.

I lead an ERC funded project called MeerTRAP which searches for radio transienst, including pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts, with MeerKAT. It operates commensally on many of the observations being undertaken with the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope pathfinder called MeerKAT. It has the capability to detect and localise FRBs over a range of redshifts. I am also co-PI of the pulsars and fast transient project TRAPUM which also runs on MeerKAT. It is revealing hundreds of new pulsars in many different environments from globula clusters to our nearest neighbour galaxies. I am also co-PI of the transients key science project of LOFAR and the head of the pulsar science working group for the same telescope. LOFAR is the LOw Frequency ARray which is a very large radio telescope working at frequencies between 10 and 240 MHz. It is the most sensitive telescope ever built at these frequencies and wass the first of the next generation of radio telescopes which uses large numbers of small elements. As well as using these next generation telescopes I am also involved in the specification and building/wirting software for the pulsar and fast transient search capabilities of the SKA itself which will be the world's largest telescope.

Space Science Series

Black hole, neutron star or something new? We discovered an object that defies explanation

Jan 19, 2024 10:07 am UTC| Science

Sometimes astronomers come across objects in the sky that we cant easily explain. In our new research, published in Science, we report such a discovery, which is likely to spark discussion and speculation. Neutron stars...

Economy

Gold Prices Inch Higher Amid U.S.-Iran War Tensions and Technical Rebound

Gold prices edged up in Asian trading on Monday, recovering modestly after a turbulent week marked by sharp volatility tied to escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran. Spot gold climbed 0.4% to...

Oil Prices Surge Amid Middle East Tensions as Houthi Attacks Escalate Conflict

Global oil prices climbed sharply at the start of Mondays trading session following a significant escalation in Middle East hostilities. Yemens Iran-backed Houthi group launched a missile barrage targeting Israel over the...

Asia Markets Tumble as Gulf Conflict Drives Oil Prices to Historic Highs

Asian stock markets fell sharply on Monday as investors braced for a prolonged Gulf conflict that has sent oil prices surging to their highest monthly gains in decades, raising serious concerns about global inflation and a...

Bank of Japan Signals Rate Flexibility Amid Yen Volatility

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda reaffirmed on Monday that the central bank will keep a close eye on foreign exchange rate movements, acknowledging their significant influence on Japans economic outlook and...

WTO Digital Trade Talks Stall as E-Commerce Tariff Deadline Looms

Trade ministers convening in Cameroon for the World Trade Organization ministerial summit are entering a critical final stretch with no agreement in sight on one of global commerces most consequential digital policy...

Politics

Trump Says Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Near as Direct Talks Progress

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States is actively engaged in direct negotiations with Iran, expressing cautious optimism that a diplomatic agreement could be reached soon. Speaking to reporters...

Pakistan Leads Diplomatic Push to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Amid Iran War

Pakistan brought together foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in Islamabad on Sunday in a high-stakes diplomatic effort to end the ongoing Iran war and restore critical oil shipping routes through the...

Trump Eyes Military Operation to Seize Iran's Uranium Stockpile

President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a bold military operation to physically extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing senior U.S. officials. While no final...

Iran-U.S. Military Tensions Escalate: Markets, Universities, and the Strait of Hormuz at Risk

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have intensified dramatically as Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a stark warning targeting U.S.-affiliated universities across neighboring countries. The IRGC...

Pakistan's Diplomatic Pivot: Brokering Peace Between the U.S. and Iran

Pakistan has undergone a remarkable foreign policy transformation, shifting from regional isolation to becoming one of the most consequential diplomatic players in the Middle East. Under the joint leadership of Prime...

Science

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Technology

Cybersecurity Stocks Tumble After Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI Leak Sparks Market Fears

Major cybersecurity stocks took a sharp hit Friday following reports that Anthropic accidentally exposed details about its next-generation AI model before its official launch. CrowdStrike fell 7%, Palo Alto Networks...

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...