Thesis Projects

PhD

Currently no open position, but you are welcome with your own grant on any of my research fields

Open star clusters dissolve by internal evolution and the external tidal field and form tidal arms. Numerical simulations, where each star is representated by one particle, allows the investigation of many different aspects of the star clusters. The following topics may be investigated in the framework of a Bachelor thesis:
- Simulation of individual clusters (Hyades, Pleiades, Coma Berenice, ...)
- Analysis of cluster properties as function of initial conditions: dissolving timescale, shape and extension, density profile, mass segregation, kinematics
- Analysis of structure and kinematics of tidal tails
- Simulation including binary stars to investigate their impact on cluster properties
Our Milky Way disc contains stars of very different age, which can be described by a continous star formation history (SFH). Combining the SFH with the dynamical heating (AVR) of the disc and a chemical enrichment model (AMR) allows to derive a seof-consistent disc model. All these input functions depend on the galactocentric radius. The following topics may be investigated in the framework of a Bachelor thesis:
- Analysing radial gradients of metallicity, thickness, ages for the default aemi-analytic model
- Comparing the model results of stellar subpopulations with observational data
- Extending the local disc model in velocity space to radial and tangential motion
- Including the White dwarf populations to the disc model

Upon request; mostly used as precursor for a (potential) Bachelor thesis project

Last update 11th January, 2021