As a part of Prague Doctoral Program we seek 1-2 PhD students to work on topics related to the ERC Starting Grant “Catastrophic interactions of binary stars and the associated transients” (Cat-In-hAT). The work will focus on understanding the theory and observational implications of two merging stars, including neutron stars. Depending on the interests of the student, the work could focus on transients from stellar collisions, (magneto)hydrodynamical evolution of merger products, production of dust and molecules, and understanding the observational counterparts (blue stragglers, R CrB stars, FK Com stars, eta Car, progenitor of SN1987A, GW170817, etc.). The work can utilize existing codes or codes under development in the group: 1D stellar evolution, multidimensional low-Mach number magnetohydrodynamics, moving mesh radiation hydrodynamics, or N-body calculations. In addition, the group is a member of All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae, and the thesis can include significant observational or data analysis component.
For application instructions, see Prague Doctoral Program.