The First Stars in the Universe at LJMU's Gamma Ray Burst Conference

Over 80 leading scientists from more than 20 countries visited Liverpool this week (June 18-22) to attend the "Gamma Ray Bursts in the Era of Rapid Followup" conference, which was organised and run by ARI Gamma Ray Burst group, led by Professor Carole Mundell.

The conference, held at the Maritime Museum in the historic Albert Docks brought together international research leaders to discuss the frontiers of high-energy astrophysics at the interface between three wide-reaching disciplines - the physics of relativistic jets, astrophysical probes of theories of fundamental physics and the nature of the high-redshift Universe.

The conference fostered lively discussion between theorists, observers and technologists across a wide range of research fields.

One highlight of the conference was the presentation of new insight into the first stars in the Universe by Professor Rennan Barkana, who presented his group's discoveries on the first day of the conference. More details can be found in the related BBC news item.