Three IFA researchers receive grants from the Carlsberg Foundation
Victor Silva Aguirre receives a Carlsberg Foundation Young Researcher Fellowship to continue work on 3D simulations of stellar atmospheres and stellar oscillations.
Victor Silva Aguirre. AU-photo
What
This project will produce the first grid of time-dependent, 3D, magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of the visible and interior layers of stars for a wide range of stellar types. Our unique technique to couple these new simulations to models of evolution of stars will make fundamental progress in our understanding of the physics of convection and stellar oscillations, solving some of the most pressing issues in the fields of stellar physics, asteroseismology, and galaxy formation theory.
Why
Stars with masses not too dissimilar to the Sun, which are the most common stars on the night-sky, live for billions of years and can thus be thought of as living fossils from bygone eras. If we can accurately measure the physical properties for thousands of them across our Galaxy, we would take a crucial step towards achieving a successful theory of galaxy formation, arguably the major unsolved problem in astronomy and cosmology. To successfully analyze the radiation emitted by stars and deduce their physical properties, it is crucial to have a realistic simulations of convection and magnetism and its impact on the stellar atmospheric layers.
How
In collaboration with renowned scientists from Denmark, Australia, France, Sweden, and USA, we have established a research group organized in national and international nodes with the team at Aarhus University at the center of its operations. The timely support of the Carlsberg Young Research Fellowship will fund a PhD student and postdoctoral researcher that will constructing the only grid in the world of realistic global time-dependent 3D magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations and implement the crucial physics learnt from these simulations into stellar interior and evolution models to predict accurate properties of stars across the Milky Way.
SSR
Our project focuses on fundamental questions that daunt us all: how are the interiors of stars in the night-sky? We will continue our habit of delivering popular talks to engage with the wider public and promote the eagerness to know drives society.
(Quote from the Carlsberg Foundation web announcement)
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