Deep inside evolved stars, magnetic fields generated by dynamo processes in convective cores can become trapped as stars ascend the red giant branch. These hidden magnetic fields suppress the oscillation modes that would otherwise travel through the stellar interior — leaving a detectable imprint on the observed oscillation spectrum. This project uses asteroseismology to identify and characterise stars with magnetically suppressed modes, and places them in their Galactic context using large spectroscopic and photometric surveys.
What you will do
- Identify stars with suppressed dipole modes in Kepler and TESS data
- Characterise their stellar parameters (mass, age, metallicity) using seismic and spectroscopic data
- Investigate the occurrence rate of magnetic cores as a function of stellar population and Galactic environment
- Connect observational signatures to theoretical predictions of stellar dynamo activity
Skills you will develop
Asteroseismic analysis, Galactic survey data (APOGEE, GALAH, Gaia), stellar population statistics, dynamo theory.
Why this matters
The fraction of evolved stars harbouring strong internal magnetic fields constrains models of angular momentum transport and core dynamo activity across stellar evolution — with implications for our understanding of compact object formation and gravitational wave sources.
If you want to know more, please get in touch via email.