Research

I am currently a Ph.D student in astrophysics in the CAPCA group at the University of Calgary, Department of Physics and Astronomy. My main research interest is the inner engine for gamma ray bursts. I have been exploring the collapsar model and the cannonball model for gamma ray bursts. Currently I am exploring quark stars as possible inner engine for GRBs.

I used a 3-D GRMHD code developed by Dr. De Villiers and Dr. Hawley to explore the Collapsar model.

I have been studying the cannonball model for gamma ray bursts, and in particular possible formation sites for cannonballs.

For the quark star scenario I have been studying spin down of neutron stars to see how their central density changes as they spin down. If the density reaches a critical density, quarks may become deconfined and a quark nova and a GRB is a possible outcome. To do this I use the RNS code developed by Dr. Stergioulas.

Currently I am looking into how quark stars can explain gamma ray bursts and the early X-ray afterglow.