I am Peter Quigley, a PhD candidate under Rebecca Martin and Stephen Lepp in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). I develop hydrodynamics simulation code to study a strange class of star called Be stars and their associated disks.
The abnormal rotation rate of the massive class of stars called “Be stars” has catastrophic implications for their own existence and exciting implications for astronomers. These stars spin so fast that they can begin to launch their outer layers into orbit, forming spectacular disks of hot plasma that can extend up to the size of our solar system. When Be stars enter an inactive phase, they begin cannibalizing their own disk, reabsorbing some or all of the ejected material before it restarts the cycle. During the so-called ‘accretion’ phase, older gas from the outer edges rushes inwards to replace the lost matter. Typically, even the most sensitive instruments can only detect a signal from the dense, inner region of the disk while the outer disk remains hidden. Astronomers are attempting to use the change in the signal during the accretion phase to reconstruct the behaviour and structure of the outer disk. To do this, advanced computational techniques are employed to simulate the motion of the gas as the disk grows and expands and as it is reabsorbed or ejected into space.
The typical problem that researchers face is that these programs are expensive: both time-consuming and resource intensive. This is especially true at the stellar surface where the disk interfaces with the star. The densities contrast can span more than ten orders of magnitude, which is very difficult for even powerful computers to accurately detail. My novel contributions deal with implementing and testing new boundary schemes to find efficient and physically accurate representation of these interactions. This improvement will allow astronomers to better resolve the mass ejection behaviour, enabling us to better understand the structure, history, and evolution of these bizarre stars.
Timeline
- 2025—present: Ph.D. Astronomy, UNLV
- 2024—2025: M.S. Astronomy, University of Western Ontario
- 2022—2024: Research Technician, University of Western Ontario
- 2016—2021: H.B.Sc. Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia