| 1. Origin of the Dust in the Milky Way |
| This project aims at theoretically understanding the evolution of dust in galaxies (especially the Milky Way). Dust grains are tiny solid particles in the interstellar medium of galaxies. We aim at numerically modeling how dust evolves throughout the history of galaxy evolution. More specifically, the student will challenge one of the following problems: (i) How do dust properties (dust abundance, dust grain size, porosity) evolve along with the galaxy evolution? (ii) Can we really explain the dust properties of the Milky Way through our galaxy evolution scenarios? |
| Pre-requisites: basic understanding of physics and mathematics |
| Keywords: dust, galaxies, interstellar medium |
| Supervisor: Hiroyuki Hirashita (ASIAA) |
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| 2. Modeling the Observables of Exocomets |
| It is well known that thousands of extra-solar planetary systems are detected. Given the diversity of these observed systems, it is important to further understand the properties of these planetary systems in order to study the formation histories of both extra-solar and Solar systems. In fact, astronomers have shown the existence of water in some exoplanet atmospheres. It was thus claimed that some exocomets might exist within these systems as the sources of water. In this project, a model of possible observable signals of exocomets will be produced. |
| Pre-requisites: none |
| Keywords: extra-solar planetary systems |
| Supervisor: Ing-Guey Jiang (NTHU) |
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| 3. Radiative Cooling of Molecular Gas under Self-gravitating Collapse |
| The interstellar medium is so diffuse that, when compressed during the collapse, the increased internal energy can be lost through radiation. In consequence, the gas heats up less efficiently than what would have been expected for a gas under adiabatic compression. We will solve the Navier-Stokes equations to find a self-similar spherical collapse solution. With this, an effective equation of state of the gas can be obtained. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus, Basic programming, Fluid mechanics |
| Keywords: Molecular cloud, Self-gravitating collapse, Radiative cooling |
| Supervisor: Yueh-Ning Lee (NTNU) |
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| 4. Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations |
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Core-collapse supernovae are important multi-messengers that will produce not only electromagnetic waves but also neutrino and gravitational waves. In this project, we will learn how to blow up a star through numerical simulations of core-collapse supernovae. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus; General Astronomy; Basic programming (e.g. basic knowledge on Fortran, C, or Python is preferred but not required). |
| Keywords: hydrodynamics, gravitational waves, neutron stars, black holes |
| Supervisor: Kuo-Chuan Pan (NTHU) |
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| 5. Type Ia Supernova Progenitors |
| Type Ia supernovae are used as standardizable candles, but the nature of its progenitor systems remains elusive. In this project, we will learn how to numerically construct such progenitor systems and to predict possible observational signatures of such systems. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus; General Astronomy; Basic programming (e.g. basic knowledge on Fortran, C, or Python is preferred but not required). |
| Keywords: hydrodynamics, stellar evolution, white dwarfs, supernovae, binaries |
| Supervisor: Kuo-Chuan Pan (NTHU) |
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| 6. Origin of Nature’s Heavy Elements |
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Finding the origin of heavy elements in our Milky Way remains an important task pursued by astrophysicists. Although the kilonova detection accompanying the gravitational wave event GW170817 from a neutron star merger revealed that mergers can be important sites for heavy element production, it may still require other sites, e.g., various kinds of supernovae, to fully account for observed heavy-element abundances in metal-poor stars. In this project, we will learn the basics of galactic chemical evolution (GCE) model, and use an open-source, one-zone GCE code to model the evolution of elements in the Milky Way. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus; Basic programming (e.g. basic knowledge on Fortran, C, or Python). |
| Keywords: neutron star mergers, supernovae, heavy elements, galactic chemical evolution |
| Supervisor: Meng-Ru Wu (Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica) |
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| 7. Modelling Galaxy Stellar Population Gradients |
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Galaxies are typically redder on the inside and bluer on the outside. The steepness of this 'color gradient' varies across the galaxy population. But why? We still don't have a good understanding of how variations in color across galaxies arise from the complicated astrophysics of galaxy formation. In this project, we will use stellar population synthesis (SPS) models and a large database of new observations to explore how gradients in color can be created by gradients in stellar age and chemical enrichment. |
| Pre-requisites: The project will be mainly computational, with no maths beyond basic calculus. Familiarity with writing and debugging simple programs will be extremely helpful. The codes we will work with are written in Python. Knowledge of basic concepts in stellar evolution and galaxy formation will be useful, but not essential. |
| Keywords: galaxy structure, galaxy evolution, stellar populations |
| Supervisor: Andrew Cooper (NTHU) |
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| 8. Effect of Magnetic Field on Black Hole Jet Feedback in Clusters |
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Jets from supermassive black holes contain an enormous amount of energy and are an important source of gas heating in galaxy clusters. Previous simulations have typically modelled this feedback process using purely hydrodynamic simulations; however, magnetic fields in the clusters could have non-negligible influence on the results. In this project, we will learn how to perform numerical simulations of black hole jets in clusters, and compare the results from simulations with and without magnetic fields using a Python-based software. |
| Pre-requisites: General Astronomy; Basic programming (e.g. basic knowledge on Fortran, C, or Python is preferred but not required). |
| Keywords: hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, black holes, feedback, galaxy clusters |
| Supervisor: Hsiang-Yi Karen Yang (NTHU) |
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| 9. Confronting Dark Matter with Neutron Star |
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Cosmological microwave background and various astrophysical observations strongly favor an excess of matter beyond the normal baryonic particles called dark matter (DM). To understand the essence of DM is an important issue in particle physics. In this project, we study how DM engages with the compact degenerate matter in the neutron star (NS), either from the changes of NS cooling or of the NS mass-radius relation. We will also learn how to solve the differential equations numerically that concern the evolution of NS surface temperature and the hybrid Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equations in the presence of DM. |
| Pre-requisites: Mathematical physics; Quantum mechanics; Basic programming (e.g. basic knowledge on Fortran, C, or Python). |
| Keywords: beyond Standard Model, dark matter, neutron star |
| Supervisor: Yen-Hsun Lin and Meng-Ru Wu (Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica) |
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| 10. Black Hole Spectroscopy |
| The direct detection of gravitational waves emitted from binary black hole mergers ushers in a completely new era of gravitational wave astronomy. The associated signals tell us a lot about the information contained in such an extreme gravitating system. In particular, the quasi-normal modes (QNMs) of a black hole, which characterize the post-merger signals, carry several valuable information about the fundamental nature of the black hole as well as the underlying theory of gravity. Therefore, it is possible to test gravitational theories using black hole QNMs. In this project, starting from the fundamental knowledge of black hole perturbation theories and QNMs, we will learn how black hole QNMs can be used to test gravitational theories. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus, General Relativity, Mathematica. |
| Keywords: black hole, gravitational waves, modified gravity |
| Supervisor: Che-Yu Chen (Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica) |
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| 11. Heating of Galactic Discs by Wave Dark Matter Fluctuations |
| Wave/Fuzzy dark matter (FDM) has been a promising alternative to the standard cold dark matter (CDM) due to its potential of solving the small-scale controversies of CDM while retaining the same large-scale structure. The model consists of ultralight bosons with mass ~10-22 eV and features rich wave-like structure, including a halo of fluctuating density granules formed by quantum interference. In this project, we will conduct numerical simulations to investigate how these fluctuating granules may heat a galactic disc and thereby increases its stellar velocity dispersion. We will then use the observed disc thickening in our Milky Way to constrain the FDM particle mass. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus; Basic knowledge on C and Python. |
| Keywords: Dark Matter, Galaxies, Numerical Simulations |
| Supervisor: Hsi-Yu Schive (NTU) |
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| 12. Core-Halo Relation in Wave Dark Matter |
| Wave/Fuzzy dark matter (FDM) has been a promising alternative to the standard cold dark matter (CDM) due to its potential of solving the small-scale controversies of CDM while retaining the same large-scale structure. The model consists of ultralight bosons with mass ~10-22 eV and features rich wave-like structure, including a central solitonic core surrounded by an extended halo. The question of whether there is a universal relation between cores and halos has been hotly debated in the last few years. In this project, we will conduct a comprehensive set of numerical simulations using the state-of-the-art FDM code GAMER to address this open question. |
| Pre-requisites: Calculus; Basic knowledge on C and Python. |
| Keywords: Dark Matter Halos, Soliton, Numerical Simulations |
| Supervisor: Hsi-Yu Schive (NTU) |
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| 13. Investigating Multi-phase Astrophysical Flows in and around Galaxies |
| The evolution of galaxies over cosmic time is inseparably linked to the flows of matter within and around them. Multi-phased flows of hot, tenuous gases, cold dense clumps relativistic particles can pass between the circum-galactic environment and the interstellar medium of a galaxy, regulating activities such as star-formation and chemical enrichment. However, the exact link between these flows and the galactic astrophysics they influence is unclear. In this project, the student will build phenomenological models to investigate hot, ionised galactic outflows, inflows, and the entrainment of cold, dense gases within these flows. They will assess the impact such flows could have on an evolving galaxy and its internal environment, and will consider the observational signatures they may produce. This project is open-ended, flexible, and can take more than one student. |
| Pre-requisites: 3rd year undergraduate or above, with major in any one of Physics, Astrophysics, Applied Mathematics or Astronomy. Knowledge of basic mathematical methods (including differential equations, vector calculus), and classical mechanics is essential. Some background in astronomy or astrophysics would be desirable, plus elementary programming experience with python and/or fortran. The exact project scope will be adapted to the student’s background. |
| Keywords: Theoretical astrophysics, galaxy evolution, circum-galactic medium, interstellar medium, molecular clouds, astrophysical flows, gamma-ray haloes. |
| Supervisor: Dr Ellis Owen (NTHU Institute of Astronomy) |
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| 14. Simulation of collective neutrino flavor conversions |
| Neutrinos play key roles in astrophysical environments such as core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers. One important but yet-elusive aspect in theory modeling of these events is the flavor conversions of neutrinos. Past studies have shown that collective phenomena can emerge in the flavor space of neutrinos due to the high density of neutrinos and their self-interactions. In this project, we will study the occurrence and transport of collective neutrino flavor conversions with simulations. |
| Pre-requisites: Quantum physics, C++ and/or Python |
| Keywords: Neutrino oscillations |
| Supervisor: Meng-Ru Wu (Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica) |
