Astronomy & Astrophysics Program

Mathematical Sciences Institute, ANU

Research Activities

Dayal T. Wickramasinghe (Ph.D. Cambridge, Program's Convenor): The nature of Accretion Disks, which consist of gas and plasma that swirl around stars and collapsed objects such as Black Holes, Neutron Stars and White Dwarfs. The properties of matter under extreme physical conditions of density and magnetic fields found in collapsed stars such as the White Dwarfs. The nature of accretion on to Black Holes in binary stellar systems and the centres of Active Galaxies.

Stephane Vennes (Ph.D. Montreal): Modelling and observation of compact stars. Evolved binaries. Abundance in white dwarf stars. Accretion. Abundance in the local interstellar medium. Projects involve numerical modelling of stellar atmospheres, solutions to the diffusion equation in stars, observations with ground-based and space-borne observatories ( FUSE, HST, Chandra ).

Lilia Ferrario (Ph.D. ANU): Isolated magnetic white dwarfs. Fluid mechanical problems related to accretion in binary stars and radiation transfer effects. Radiation processes and transfer mechanisms in accretion flows on to highly magnetic compact stars (see figure above), such as the magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (mCVs). Modelling of cyclotron radiation from the accretion columns of mCVs.