Monthly Archives: December 2024

Event

 IAA Lecture,  Wed 11 December, 7.30 p.m., Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics building, QUB: ” Unlocking the mysteries of superluminous supernovae” by Aysha Amer, and”Searching For Giant Exorings” by Niamh Mallaghan, both of the  Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB

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Abstract: Superluminous supernovae are mysterious explosions up to 100 times brighter than typical supernovae, and therefore require a much more energetic power source. In this talk I’ll present SN2019szu, a superluminous supernova with unique properties, including a plateau in the light curve before explosion! The spectrum also reveals peculiar insights into this object such as an emission line at early times, indicating interaction with material outside the supernova. Analysis of this event suggests it is one of the best candidates for pulsational pair-instability, a mechanism that allows stars to ejects massive shells of material before exploding.

Biography:

Aysha is a final year PhD student studying superluminous supernovae, tidal disruption events, and other weird and exotic transients. She started her PhD at the University of Birmingham before moving over to Belfast last year to complete it.

Abstract: In this talk I will be covering rings around planets within our solar system, theories about how they formed and how they have survived so long. Once the background has been set then we will discuss how we might find rings around planets outside of our solar system, known as exorings, along with the candidates that have been discovered thus far, and why this area of exoplanet research is important. 

Biography:  Niamh is a second year PhD student at QUB studying in the Exoplanet group with Ernst de Mooij and Chris Watson. She works on the search for and characterisation of exoring systems.

Admission free, all are welcome, including Light Refreshments.

Event

IAA Lecture,  Wed 27 November, 7.30 p.m., Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics building, QUB: “The Hiccups of Massive Stars”  by  Dr Charlotte Angus, Research Fellow, Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB

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Abstract: Massive stars play a fundamental role in sculpting the chemical make up of the Universe. Yet our understanding of how these stars actually evolve is incomplete. In extremely massive stars, we predict that they should experience violent pulsations towards the end of their lives. These pulsations would be strong enough to remove entire layers from the outer regions of the star. However, we have so far not been able to observationally confirm that such phenomena take place. In this talk I will explore the physics behind these giant stellar hiccups, and how we might begin to search for them in the night sky.

Biography: Dr Charlotte Angus is a Research Fellow at the Queen’s University Belfast, working on a wide variety of exotic transient phenomena; from massive stellar explosions, to stars being shredded by black holes. She received her PhD at the University of Warwick in 2017, and has since worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southampton, then won a DARK Research Fellowship at the University of Copenhagen in 2019. Since moving to QUB at the end of last year, she has infiltrated the IAA, and accidentally been elected as its co-Vice President. She has yet to successfully solve one of Terry’s Teasers. 

Admission free, all are welcome, including Light Refreshments.