Main Colloquium
Dr. Evan Keane	SCHEDULED

National University of Ireland, Galway

Neutron stars exhibit many of the most extreme phenomena ever observed. They are also the most precise astrophysical tools in existence. Fortunately they are readily observable, across the electromagnetic spectrum, from Birr to Bonn to Boolardy. In this talk I will describe what is, and is not, known about neutron stars, with particular emphasis on the inter-related topics of their evolution post-supernova and pulsar emission physics. I will describe the difficulties involved in identifying evolutionary tracks for neutron stars, and discuss some potential solutions to these. Considering the growing number of diverse observational classes within the 'neutron star zoo' I will describe how these groups are, and are not, evolutionarily linked to one another. I will also describe search strategies that might identify the most interesting undiscovered sources.