The astrophysics of accretion in compact binaries
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Unlike our Sun, the majority of stars find themselves in gravitationally bound pairs known as binary stars. The interaction between the two stars often leads to the formation of a compact pair with the lower mass donor star losing mass onto the more massive primary. Such interactions can produce very energetic objects as the potential energy that is released is converted into radiation and heat. The most extreme examples contain a very small but massive remnant of a star, which can be either a white dwarf for a star the mass of our Sun, or a neutron star or black hole for more massive stars. These two stars can orbit around each other in as little as a few minutes. I propose to employ novel imaging techniques, which are very similar to the CAT scanning methods used in hospitals, in order to study this interaction using the latest telescopes and instruments. This allows us to reconstruct images and even movies that show this interaction in detail despite the fact that such double stars are not resolved in even our biggest telescopes. I will use these reconstructed images of binaries to study the wide variety of physical processes that occur in these systems. These include turbulence, tidal interactions, outflows and jets, relativistic physics near black holes and the structure of matter under extreme conditions. My work relies on exploiting the latest suite of ground-based telescopes in conjunction with space-based observations at wavelengths that are not accessible from earth. In order to determine how binaries affect the populations of stars in galaxies such as our Milky Way, I also intend to search for many new systems using wide-field digital cameras attached to large telescopes. This combination will allow me to test our current ideas concerning the formation, structure and time evolution of a wide range of binary systems.
Publications
SULLIVAN, DJ And METCALFE, TS And O'DONOGHUE, D And WINGET, DE And KILKENNY, D And VAN WYK, F And KANAAN, A And KEPLER, SO And NITTA, A And KAWALER, SD And MONTGOMERY, AH And NATHER, RE And STEEGHS, D And KOESTER, D And BERGERON, P And O'BRIEN, MS And WOOD, M And JIANG, XJ And LEIBOWITZ, EM And IBBETSON, P And ZOLA, S And KRZESINSKI, J And PAJDOSZ, G And VAUCLAIR, G And DOLEZ, N And CHEVRETON, M
The hottest known DBV white dwarf
Witham A
(2008)
The IPHAS catalogue of Ha emission-line sources in the northern Galactic plane
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Deacon N
(2009)
The IPHAS-POSS-I proper motion survey of the Galactic plane
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Roelofs G
(2007)
The long-period AM CVn star SDSS J155252.48+32 0150.9
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Ramsay G
(2012)
The long-term optical behaviour of helium-accreting AM CVn binaries The long-term behaviour of AM CVn systems
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Van Spaandonk L
(2010)
THE MASS OF THE WHITE DWARF IN GW LIBRA
in The Astrophysical Journal
ROELOFS, GHA And GROOT, PJ And BENEDICT, GF And MCARTHUR, BE And STEEGHS, D And MORALES-RUEDA, L And MARSH, TR And NELEMANS, G
The nature of the donor stars in ultra-compact AM CVn binaries
Cornelisse R
(2012)
The nature of the X-ray transient MAXI J0556-332 MAXI J0556-332
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Steeghs D
(2013)
THE NOT-SO-MASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN THE MICROQUASAR GRS1915+105
in The Astrophysical Journal
Steeghs D
(2013)
The not-so-massive black hole in the microquasar GRS1915+105
Uthas H
(2010)
The orbital period and system parameters of the recurrent nova T Pyx The orbital period of T Pyx
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
RodrĂguez-Gil P
(2010)
The orbital period of V458 Vulpeculae, a post-double common-envelope nova
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Copperwheat C
(2011)
The photometric period in ES Ceti The photometric period in ES Ceti
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greiss S
(2016)
The search for ZZ Ceti stars in the original Kepler mission
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Greiss S
(2016)
The search for ZZ Ceti stars in the original Kepler mission
Girven J
(2012)
The unseen population of F- to K-type companions to hot subdwarf stars F- to K-type companions to hot subdwarf stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Groot P
(2009)
The UV-Excess survey of the northern Galactic plane
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Van Spaandonk L
(2010)
Time-resolved spectroscopy of the pulsating CV GW Lib
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Raddi, Roberto And Drew, Janet E. And Sale, Stuart E. And Steeghs, Danny And Consortium, IPHAS And Moitinho, A And Alves, J
(2012)
Tracing the Structure of the Perseus Arm with IPHAS
in Star Clusters in the Era of Large Surveys
Gänsicke BT
(2010)
Two white dwarfs with oxygen-rich atmospheres.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Copperwheat C
(2009)
ULTRACAM observations of two accreting white dwarf pulsators
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Barros S
(2007)
ULTRACAM photometry of the ultracompact binaries V407 Vul and HM Cnc
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Papadaki C
(2008)
V2051 Ophiuchi after superoutburst: out-of-plane material and the superhump light source
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Song L
(2010)
VARIABLE O VI AND N V EMISSION FROM THE X-RAY BINARY LMC X-3: HEATING OF THE BLACK HOLE COMPANION
in The Astronomical Journal
Torres M
(2015)
VLT spectroscopy of the black hole candidate Swift J1357.2-0933 in quiescence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
| Description | Advanced our understanding of binary stellar systems and the physics of accretion. |
| Exploitation Route | Sharing of data and techniques |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education |
| Description | Used by peers in scientific community |
| Sector | Education |
| Description | Royal Society MP Pairing Scheme |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Description | Long-term link with Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Organisation | Harvard University |
| Department | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Long-term research collaboration with High-Energy astrophysics Dividion |
| Collaborator Contribution | Offer expertise as well as access to facilities |
| Impact | N/A |
| Description | Media work |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Several press releases, interviews and quotes in large popular science media. Strong evidence for reaching broad audience, work cited on blogs and news sites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009,2010,2011 |