Jan van Paradijs

Johannes A. van Paradijs (9 June 1946 – 2 November 1999) was a Dutch high-energy astrophysicist. He is best known for discovering the first optical afterglow of a gamma-ray burst, GRB 970228, in February 1997, together with two of his students,[2] and for establishing that gamma-ray bursts are extragalactic events. He was married to the astrophysicist Chryssa Kouveliotou.

Jan van Paradijs
Jan van Paradijs in 1993
Born(1946-06-09)9 June 1946
Haarlem, Netherlands
Died2 November 1999(1999-11-02) (aged 53)[1]
Amsterdam, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1992)​
[2]
AwardsBruno Rossi Prize (1998)[3]
Scientific career
FieldsAstrophysics
Institutions

Research

Van Paradijs determined the first mass of a neutron star, the X-ray pulsar Vela X-1 in 1975. In 1978 he showed that X-ray bursters are neutron stars in binary systems. Using spectroscopic mapping, he was the first to spatially resolve an accretion disk.[1]

Academic career

Van Paradijs obtained his PhD at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1975, working on cool giant stars. His thesis was entitled "Studies of line spectra of G- and K-type stars"[4] and his supervisor was David Koelbloed. Afterwards he started working on X-ray binaries. In 1988 he was appointed full professor at the University of Amsterdam, and later he worked part-time at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, U.S. He published over 400 scientific papers, including many with long-time collaborator Walter Lewin of MIT.[1]

The minor planet 9259 Janvanparadijs was named after him.

References
  1. van den Heuvel, Ed. "Jan A. van Paradijs (1946 – 1999)". American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  2. Glanz, James (November 4, 1999). "Johannes van Paradijs, 53; Helped Explain Gamma Rays". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  3. "HEAD AAS Rossi Prize Winners". American Astronomical Society. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  4. "Physics Tree - Jan A. van Paradijs". academictree.org. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
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