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Example PhD positions
Magnetic fields in the Milky Way, through optical polarimetry of stars
Despite the important role that magnetic fields play in the interstellar medium of the Milky Way, their strength, structure and influence is not well understood. One of the reasons for this is that observing these Galactic magnetic fields is necessarily indirect, and everything but straightforward. Traditionally, radio polarimetry (synchrotron emission and Faraday rotation) is used to investigate magnetic fields on galactic scales. In this project, funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant to Marijke Haverkorn, we will include partial linear polarization of starlight as a tracer of Galactic magnetic fields, and include these in novel modeling efforts through the IMAGINE consortium.
In this call, two PhD positions are available within this project. The first project comprises of processing and analysis of data from the two optical polarimetric surveys, in collaboration with a second PhD student who just started at the Radboud University, and with Prof. Antonio Mario Magalhães (IAG) and Dr. Claudia Vilega Rodrigues (INPE) in São Paulo. The second position aims to include these polarimetric data and suitable dust distributions into the IMAGINE magnetic field modeling.
For more information regarding the project, please contact Dr. Marijke Haverkorn (m.haverkorn@astro.ru.nl).
