Project Description: Our group uses computer simulations to predict the electromagnetic and gravitational waves emitted by supermassive binary black holes that are among the most luminous sources in our Universe! An intern working with us would lead the analysis of a new suite of simulations that model the dynamics of gas and magnetic fields around such binary black holes. They would use Python, Numpy, and Matplotlib to create publication ready figures describing the accretion rate (how much gas the black holes eat), the jet power (how they eject material), and how hot the gas gets (predicting thermal emission). This also involves performing Fourier transforms with existing tools, and analyzing and comparing our new results against literature. A more ambitious goal would be for the intern to run an existing radiative transfer code to make direct predictions for existing telescopes and analyze those predictions for detectable periodicities.
NASA Relevance: This internship will contribute to essential preparatory science for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a partly NASA-funded mission and a key component of the Science Mission Directorate. It is also relevant for a number of NASA missions observing in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Work Description:
1) Run and edit python and Numpy code that analyzes 1D, 2D, and 3D data from simulations of accreting black holes
2) Developing 2D and 3D visualizations of gas flows and magnetic fields around black holes with Matplotlib and PyVista
3) Comparing and contrasting new results against known literature; the intern would have to read and interpret articles from scientific journals.
Open or Reserved Project: Open, 1 position available.