projects.md - spzwart/AMUSE-Tutorial GitHub Wiki
Project Inspiration
Inspiration from papers published in 2024
-
In An Earth-Mass Planet and a Brown Dwarf in Orbit Around a White Dwarf the authors discuss the discovery of a planet and a brown dwarf orbiting a white dwarf. They arrive at two possible scenarios for the formation of this system. By modeling the gravitational, stellar and hydrodynamical evolution of the system, one can use the eccentricities of the two orbiting minor bodies to constrain which of the two scenarios is most feasible, or at least have a prediction for future observations.
-
in Quasi-periodic X-ray eruptions years after a nearby tidal disruption event the authors argue that quasi-periodic x-ray eruptions may be the result of the spaghettification of a star when it gets to close to a central galactic black hole. Part of the star accretes onto the black hole, resulting in x-ray flares. This process can be simulated with a combination of gravity and hydrodynamics, modelling the spaghettification of the star, and the subsequent formation of a clumpy accretion disk.
Other possible projects
- Star formation history through double white dwarfs with LISA The future LISA space-based gravitational wave detector can detect tens of thousands of double white dwarfs in the Milky Way, enabling population statistics. Use stellar evolution models to simulate this population. Can the properties of this population tell us something about the Milky Way's star formation history?
- Dynamical evolution of clusters in dispersing clouds Use gravitational dynamics coupled to a background potential to simulate the dynamics of a star cluster embedded in a dispersing gas cloud. Does the cluster remain bound? Does it shrink or expand? How does this depend on the ratio of the cloud mass versus the cluster mass?
- GMC dispersal by stellar wind feedback from runaway stars Massive stars can be ejected from their birth clusters at high velocities and potentially affect the interstellar medium with feedback from stellar winds or radiation feedback. If a runaway star encounters a collapsing giant molecular cloud (GMC) that is about to form stars, can its stellar winds disrupt the process of star formation? How does this depend on the cloud mass, runaway star mass, or velocity?
- Supernova kick distribution from galactic scale height Supernova remnants receive large kicks that might disturb their dynamics within the galaxy, to the point where they might reach greater heights above the galactic plane than other stars. Use stellar evolution models to model the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae, and place their remnants in a gravitational dynamics code coupled to a background potential. Does this population's scale height differ from the galaxy model's? Can you discern different kick velocity distributions?
- Dynamical stability of tilted inner disks Observations of protoplanetary disks reveal systems with a relative inclination between an inner disk and an outer disk. Use hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the dynamical stability of these systems; how massive can the disk and how small can the gap be for the system to remain stable?
- Common envelope outcome of the inner solar system The Sun will end its life as a red giant star, expanding to engulf Mercury, Venus, and potentially even the Earth. If these planets physically survive being engulfed, do they also survive the inspiral due to the friction of the Sun's envelope? If they can survive, does this depend on their remaining mass?
Previous years' projects
These projects were performed last year and can provide some idea of what suitable projects are like. If you're interested in a specific problem, talk to us about follow-up!
- Protoplanetary disk interactions In a cluster environments, what are the outcomes of stellar encounters and how does this modify their protoplanetary disks?
- Accretion of a disk around Iapetus Can the observed equatorial mountain range in Iapetus result from a ring around the moon?
- Dynamics of Molecular Cloud Collapse Near a Supermassive Black Hole How is star formation regulated in galactic centers?
- Dynamic binary formation in tidal tails Galaxy mergers produce tidal tails of stars, and some of these stars escape the newly merged galaxy. Is it possible for stars to form binaries after escaping?
- Pulsar migration from satellite galaxies Newly formed pulsars receive strong velocity kicks during the supernovae in which they form. Is it possible for kicked pulsars to migrate from a satellite galaxy (e.g., the LMC and SMC) to the main galaxy (the Milky Way in this example)?
- Protoplanetary disk erosion due to stellar winds Protoplanetary disks are not often found around massive stars. Could this be due to erosion by their strong stellar winds?
- Oort cloud formation due to migrating giant planets According to the Grand Tack model, Jupiter and Saturn moved around the solar system during their formation. Could the orbits of planetesimals have been disturbed such that an Oort cloud could be created?
- The fate of the solar system during the Milky Way-Andromeda merger The Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy are expected to merge within a few Gyr. What is the probability of the solar system being ejected from the merger result?