Péter István Mészáros (born 15 July 1943)[1] is a Hungarian-American theoretical astrophysicist, best known for the Mészáros effect[2] in cosmology and for his work on gamma-ray bursts.[3][4]
Péter István Mészáros | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 15, 1943 |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Citizenship | Hungary, United States |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires University of California, Berkeley Princeton University Cambridge University |
| Known for | Gamma ray bursts, Mészáros effect |
| Awards | Einstein Professorship, Chinese Academy of Sciences Bruno Rossi Prize First Prize, Gravity Research Foundation |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Institutions | Pennsylvania State University |
| Doctoral advisor | George B. Field |
Life
editPéter Mészáros was born in 1943 in Budapest, Hungary, and grew up in Liège, Belgium and Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he did his undergraduate studies. He received his PhD in 1972 from the University of California, Berkeley, and after postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University and Cambridge University he became a staff scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. He joined the Pennsylvania State University in 1983, where for ten years he was Head of the department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Professor of Physics, being named Eberly Chair Professor.[5]
Career
editMészáros is widely known in the astrophysical community for his papers on the relativistic fireball shock model of gamma ray bursts and their afterglows,[3][4] laying down the framework for the interplay between the jet dynamics and the external as well as internal shocks which determine the observational aspects of these sources. He is also known in the cosmological community for the Mészáros effect,[2] or Mészáros equation, which quantifies the influence of dark matter in the evolution of the initial perturbations leading to large scale structures in cosmology. He was active in the study of the interstellar medium as well as the astrophysics of black holes, and contributed broadly to the study of magnetized neutron stars, e.g.[6] He served as the science-theory lead of the NASA Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory space mission. His current interests include calculations of theoretical models of cosmic high energy cosmic ray and neutrino sources, e.g.,[7][8] as well as exploring various aspects of multimessenger astrophysics.
Positions
editMészáros is a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences (2021),[9] Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010),[10] Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2010),[11][1] Fellow of the American Physical Society (1996) and Fellow of the American Astronomical Society (2019). He is the Eberly Chair Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics and of Physics at Penn State, and Director Emeritus of its Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics.[12] He is currently a member of the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences.[13]
Awards
edit- 2020 - Legacy Fellow, American Astronomical Society in 2020.[14]
- 2013 – Einstein Professorship of the Chinese Academy of Sciences[15]
- 2009 – Thomson Reuters scienceWATCH: Highest ranked in citations on gamma-ray bursts during 1999–2009[16]
- 2007 – Bruno Rossi Prize (shared with Neil Gehrels and the Swift team)
- 2000 – Bruno Rossi Prize (shared with B. Paczynski and M.J. Rees)
- 1999 – Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation[17]
- 1996 - Fellow, American Physical Society[18][circular reference]
- 1976 – First Prize, Gravity Research Foundation (shared with P. Kafka)[19]
Personal life
editMészáros is married to Deborah Mészáros, and they have an adult son, Andor Mészáros.
References
edit- ^ a b "Az MTA köztestületének tagjai (en: Members of the Hungarian Academy)" (in Hungarian). Magyar Tudomanyos Academia (en: Hungarian Academy of Sciences). p. Mészáros Péter. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ a b Mészáros, P., "The behaviour of point masses in an expanding cosmological substratum", Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 37, no. 2, Dec. 1974, p. 225-228
- ^ a b Mészáros, P. and Rees, M.J., "Optical and Long-Wavelength Afterglow from Gamma-Ray Bursts", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 476, Issue 1, Feb. 1997, pp. 232-237
- ^ a b Rees, M.J. and Mészáros, P., "Unsteady Outflow Models for Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts", Astrophysical Journal Letters v.430, August 1994, pp.L93-L96
- ^ https://news.psu.edu/story/207785/2005/10/14/meszaros-named-holder-eberly-family-chair-astronomy-astrophysics Eberly Chair Professor
- ^ Mészáros, Peter (1992), High energy radiation from magnetized neutron stars, Chicago: University of Chicago, ISBN 0-226-52093-5, pp.1-531
- ^ Rachen, J.P. and Mészáros, P., "Photohadronic neutrinos from transients in astrophysical sources", Physical Review D, Volume 58, Issue 12, 15 December 1998, id. 123005
- ^ Murase, K., Kimura, S.S. and Mészáros, P., "Hidden Cores of Active Galactic Nuclei as the Origin of Medium-Energy Neutrinos: Critical Tests with the MeV Gamma-Ray Connection", Physical Review Letters, Volume 125, Issue 1, June 2020, id. 011101
- ^ "NAS Fellows 2021". NAS. Retrieved 26 April 2021., entry in member directory:"Member Directory". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Peter Meszaros elected as a 2010 American Academy Fellow | Penn State University". news.psu.edu.
- ^ "Peter Meszaros elected a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences | Penn State University". news.psu.edu.
- ^ http://sites.psu.edu/cmma Penn State Center for Multimessenger Astrophysics
- ^ https://www.nationalacademies.org/ssb/space-studies-board
- ^ "AAS Fellows". AAS. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Einstein Professorship Awarded to Péter Mészáros by the Chinese Academy | Eberly College of Science".
- ^ "Peter Mészáros Interview - Special Topic of Gamma-ray Bursts - ScienceWatch.com". archive.sciencewatch.com.
- ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Peter I. Mészáros".
- ^ "APS Fellows". American Physical Society.
- ^ "Gravity Research Foundation". Gravity Research Foundation.