Supervisor: Dr Dirk Froebrich
Outline for PhD project
The project will focus on understanding the mass accretion and rotation of young stars. The candidate will utilise existing and new high cadence, multi filter optical observations of young stellar objects to measure rotation periods as well as amplitude and phase variations. These data will be utilised to infer the properties of cold magnetic or hot accretion spots (temperature, size, position on the star) and map their evolution over time to gain new insights into the evolution of accretion columns or magnetic spots on the surface of young stars.
The candidate will be expected to obtain additional data during the project with our Beacon Observatory, as well as work with existing data obtained as part of the HOYS-CAPS citizen science project. The latter will involve continued engagement with our community of amateur astronomers and the development of observing strategies for them to maximise the usefulness of their contributions. Furthermore, the candidate will be expected to exploit other existing, relevant and public datasets as part of the project.
For enquires about the projects please contact Dr Dirk Froebrich