Séminaire LAM par Daniele Malesani “Gotta Catch ‘Em All: the ESO Stargate program on gamma-ray bursts follow-up”

Gamma-ray bursts fascinate astronomers both for their astounding power
and for their usefulness as cosmological probes. Spectroscopy of their
bright optical counterparts allows us to dissect the interstellar and
circumgalactic medium of high-redshift star-forming galaxies, testing
their gas, metals, dust, and molecular content. At the same time, also
thanks to a new suite of instruments, we have been discovering a richer
diversity of progenitor systems, with the two main players being
collapsing massive stars and binary compact object mergers. I will
highlight the recent progress and surprises in the field achieved via
the “Stargate” program at the ESO/VLT.