MIT Kavli Institute Directory

Jeroen Homan

Research Scientist Research Scientist

I grew up in the Netherlands and started studying astronomy at the University of Utrecht in 1990. After receiving my PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Amsterdam I did a two-year postdoc in Merate, Italy. In 2003 I moved to MIT for a post-doc position with Walter Lewin. In 2008 I became a research scientist at MIT.

Research interests:

My research focuses on X-ray binaries. These are binary systems in which a sun-like star orbits around a compact object (i.e. a black-hole or a neutron star). The strong gravitational pull from the compact object results in gas flowing from the sun-like star to the compact object, a process referred to as 'accretion'. This process of accretion results in the release of enormous amounts of energy, mostly in the form of X-rays, hence the name X-ray binaries. By studying the X-ray from these systems with space based telescopes I hope to learn more about the extreme physical processes that take place around neutron stars and black holes.

Representative publications:

1) A possible signature of Lense-Thirring precession in dipping and eclipsing neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries
Homan, J, 2012, ApJ, in press
2) XTE J1701-462 and Its Implications for the Nature of Subclasses in Low-magnetic-field Neutron Star Low-mass X-ray Binaries
Homan, J., et al. 2010, ApJ, 719, 201