EDUCATION:

M.Sc. 1991, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Ph.D. 1995, Lebedev Physical Institute

RESEARCH:

I am interested in theoretical astrophysics in general and relativistic astrophysics in particular. A large part of my work is related to black holes and neutron stars. These compact objects are associated with various high-energy sources in the Universe: X-ray binaries, pulsars, active galactic nuclei, and cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRB).

Most recently I calculated the nuclear history of GRB explosions. A significant fraction of the ejected material is likely composed of free neutrons, and then the GRB resembles a huge relativistic neutron bomb. Another interesting feature of GRBs is that their MeV radiation fronts create copious electron-positron pairs in the external medium. The ensuing blast wave propagates in the pair-rich material and should produce a specific light signal in the first minutes of the explosion. I am currently calculating the expected signal. It can be observed by the new satellite Swift which is specially designed for GRB observations.

I am developing a new method of gravity estimation from observed motions in gravitating systems. The method is called "orbital roulette" and is based on the presumption that the motions are observed at a random moment of time and therefore have random orbital time phases. The method is principally different from the traditional virial estimate and more efficient. One interesting application is the center of our Galaxy where the gravitational potential is dominated by a central massive black hole. Future applications also include mass estimation for the dark-matter halo of our Galaxy, stellar clusters, and clusters of galaxies.

Other problems I continue to work on include accretion onto black holes, gravitational bending of light near compact objects, and physics of strongly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars). The latter is especially difficult and challenging. I would like to understand how the electric current forms in the twisted magnetosphere of a magnetar and find the voltage associated with the current. Progress in this problem would clarify the origin of X-ray and optical emission from magnetars and their spindown rates.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS: 

"Orbital Roulette: a New Method of Gravity Estimation from Observed Motions", A. M. Beloborodov and Y. Levin, ApJ, in press (2004)

"Neutron-Fed Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Busrts", A. M. Beloborodov, ApJ, 585, L19 (2003)

"Nuclear Composition of Gamma-Ray Burst Fireballs", A. M. Beloborodov, ApJ, 588, 931 (2003)

"Radiation Front Sweeping the Ambient Medium of Gamma-Ray Bursts", A. M. Beloborodov, ApJ, 565, 808 (2002)

"Gravitational Bending of Light Near Compact Objects", A. M. Beloborodov, ApJ, 566, L85 (2002)

"Small-Scale Inviscid Accretion Discs around Black Holes", A. M. Beloborodov and A. F. Illarionov, MNRAS, 323, 167 (2001)

"Power Density Spectra of Gamma-Ray Bursts", A. M. Beloborodov, B. E. Stern, and R. Svensson, ApJ, 535, 158 (2000)

"Plasma Ejection from Magnetic Flares and the X-ray Spectrum of Cygnus X-1", A. M. Beloborodov, ApJ, 510, L123 (1999)

"Polarization Change Due to Fast Winds from Accretion Disks", A. M. Beloborodov, ApJ, 496, L105 (1998)

"Super-Eddington Accretion Disk Around a Kerr Black Hole", A. M. Beloborodov, MNRAS, 297, 739 (1998)

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