Tarraneh Eftekhari NASA Hubble Einstein Fellow

About Me Research CV Publications

About Me

I am a NASA Hubble Einstein Fellow and Radio Astronomer at Northwestern University and a member of the Fast and Fortunate for FRB Follow-up (F4) collaboration. My research focuses on a broad range of astrophysical transients, ranging from fast radio bursts to superluminous supernovae and tidal disruption events. I'm particularly interested in studying the radio properties of these sources to answer key questions about their progenitors, outflows, and environments.

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I received my PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Harvard in 2021, and graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2015, where I worked as part of the Long Wavelength Array collaboration.

In my time off, I enjoy playing piano, strength training, carpentry, and delving into Tolkien lore. Though I'm Chicago-bound for the time being, I’m a desert dweller at heart, hailing from the enchanted mountains of Northern New Mexico.

Research Highlights

mm Transients

Extragalactic Millimeter Transients with CMB Surveys

The millimeter transient sky represents an unexplored frontier in time-domain astronomy. Next-generation CMB experiments -- which will cover over half of the sky with near daily cadence -- will provide a unique opportunity to open a new window in the transient universe at millimeter wavelengths for the first time.

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Illuminating the Progenitors of Superluminous Supernovae

    The mechanisms powering hydrogen-poor Type I superluminous supernovae are currently unknown, although prevailing theories suggest they are powered by the spin-down of millisecond magnetars. Radio observations of superluminous supernovae play a key role in unveiling the underlying energy sources which are otherwise obscured in the optical and UV where the majority of existing observations are focused. Our search for radio emission from a volume-limited sample of superluminous supernovae with the Very Large Array has so far led to the first detection of radio emission coincident with one of these events, and the deepest limits on associated magnetars from these sources to date. You can find a link to the paper below, or check out this poster for more details.

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Curriculum Vitae

Click here for a PDF version of my CV. (Updated February 2024)

Publications

Below you can find a list of my first-author publications. A complete listing of my publications can be found on the ADS.

9. An X-ray Census of Fast Radio Burst Host Galaxies: Constraints on AGN and X-ray Counterparts

8. Extragalactic Millimeter Transients in the Era of Next Generation CMB Surveys

7. Late-time Radio and Millimeter Observations of Superluminous Supernovae and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts: Implications for Obscured Star Formation, Central Engines, and Fast Radio Bursts

6. Wandering Massive Black Holes or Analogs of the First Repeating Fast Radio Burst?

5. A Radio Source Coincident with the Superluminous Supernovae PTF10hgi: Evidence for a Central Engine and an Analogue of the Repeating FRB121102?

4. Associating Fast Radio Bursts with Extragalactic Radio Sources: General Methodology and a Search for a Counterpart to FRB 170107

3. Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. III. Late-time Jet Energetics and a Deviation from Equipartition

2. Associating Fast Radio Bursts to Their Host Galaxies

1. A Low Frequency Survey for Crab Giant Pulses from the Crab Pulsar