Compact Binaries
Supervisors: Professor A R King, Dr U. C. Kolb, Dr G Wynn, Dr J Osborne, Dr M C Watson.
In many astrophysical systems the infall of matter under gravity provides the dominant energy source. Theoretical studies of such processes are undertaken and comparisons made with observations of the resulting high-energy radiation. For compact binary systems, where a black hole, neutron star or white dwarf accretes from a close companion star, X-ray data provide severe constraints on theory, and there has been rapid progress in understanding the accretion flows, as well as the long-term evolution of the binaries themselves. Closely-related problems in active galactic nuclei and young stellar objects are also studied. This work is in active collaboration with groups in the USA, France, Germany and Israel.
- More about compact binaries
Contact: Graham Wynn (gwy@star.le.ac.uk)
