Investigating asymmetry in powerful cosmic explosions

Supervisors: Dr Matt Nicholl and Aysha Aamer

Explosive transients have historically been studied in terms of their light curves and spectra. However, with growing samples of new and rare classes, it has become clear that some of the most luminous transients are also highly asymmetric. We have obtained data from the new MOPTOP polarimeter on the 2-meter Liverpool Telescope in La Palma, to search for asymmetries in "superluminous" supernovae and tidal disruptions of stars by massive black holes. The summer student will investigate this data set to determine its polarimetric precision, and thus how well we can constrain the geometry of these rare and energetic sources.

Probing the Origins of Thermonuclear Supernovae

Supervisors: Dr. Fionntan Callan, Joshua Pollin

Supernovae are extremely bright astrophysical events associated with the explosive deaths of stars. They are so luminous that individual supernovae can be observed in distant galaxies and monitored as they rise and fade over weeks to years. Aside from being spectacular events in their own right, they are vital for multiple branches of modern astrophysics research: they are the nuclear furnaces in which many of the familiar chemical elements are forged, can regulate star formation in galaxies, and are used as cosmological probes of the expansion of the Universe. Additionally, the study of supernovae encompasses a wide variety of fascinating topics including atomic physics, nuclear fusion and quantum mechanics.

This project will focus on Type Ia supernovae, which result from the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars. Thanks to modern telescope surveys a large number of Type Ia supernovae have now been observed. The diversity displayed by observations suggests multiple explosion scenarios are required to explain Type Ia supernovae as a whole. However, despite significant interest and study in recent years, the different explosion mechanisms which produce them are still poorly understood. The focus of our group's work is to improve the understanding of Type Ia explosion scenarios. Specifically, we carry out radiative transfer simulations, which allow predictions from different theoretical explosion models to be tested through direct comparisons with observations. These simulations treat a variety of different physical processes in the rapidly expanding plasma ejected by the explosion. This project will focus on testing how different treatments of these physical processes impact the predictions of our simulations and their comparisons with observed Type Ia supernovae. The project may also involve developing new original code to analyse physical quantities calculated in our simulations.

Required Background:

The project will be centred around Python programming. Programming experience, though beneficial, is optional. However, an interest in developing your computational skills is strongly preferred.

Astronomy Outreach and Public Engagement

Supervisors: Joseph Murtagh, Aaron Monson, Fiona McNeill

In the modern era of science, an often under looked part of our research involves effectively conveying our research through creative means. The ability to effectively summarise and communicate your work to all ages and all academic backgrounds is a crucial part of being a researcher. We are seeking a student who will help create resources for scientific outreach in astrophysics, which can then be presented to the general public.

The initial goal of this project is to create high quality pamphlets which condense and summarise the wide variety of research outputs and career paths of astronomers within the Astrophysics Research Centre (ARC) for use within school visits and public outreach days (e.g., the NI Science Festival). In creating these pamphlets, you will be directly interacting with the four key research groups that operate within ARC, gaining a deeper understanding of what working as a research astronomer is like, and what potential career opportunities result from studying astrophysics. In addition, successful candidates will see scope to produce additional outreach materials - we are seeking a talented filmographer to produce high quality B-roll footage of life within ARC and beyond, as well as individual interviews with researchers within ARC to be displayed on our public-facing website. All of these outreach materials will help us promote and exhibit the world-leading work that is being undertaken within ARC for many years to come.

The ideal candidate will have experience in some form of creative output, in particular in producing graphically designed creations in e.g., PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, or any other preferred method. The ability to work with a camera and shoot high quality footage is highly desired. A familiarity with the research areas within ARC is helpful but is not considered necessary - you will be guided through the different research groups by your supervisor.

Characterising Exoplanetary Atmospheric NLTE effects with ESPRESSO

Supervisor: Dr. Mitchell Young

Project Description:

The field of exoplanets is one of the most exciting and rapidly growing fields in astronomy today. The first exoplanets were discovered just over 30 years ago and since then over 5500 exoplanets have been confirmed, meaning we are now more equipped than ever to characterise and understand these planets and their atmospheres to an unprecedented degree. However, to do so requires both highly detailed observations of these planets and increasingly complex theoretical models of the physical processes that govern these alien skies. Knowing which processes to include so that a model provides the best possible fit to the data is essential for accurate characterisation.

This project will involve analysing observations of the exoplanet WASP-121 b made with the ESPRESSO spectrograph to identify the presence (or lack thereof) of Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium effects in the atmosphere. There will be some flexibility between focusing more on the modelling or data analysis aspects of this project, according to the candidate’s interests.

Required Background:

This project will involve data analysis / programming with Python (or a language of your choice) in a LINUX/UNIX environment. Experience with computer programming (particularly Python) and Terminal commands is beneficial. Familiarity with exoplanetary science and astronomical observation data files (FITS files) is helpful but not necessary.