Collaborative Research: Stellar Collisions and Mergers

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AST 0206276PI RasioClose interactions happen frequently in dense stellar systems, such as the cores of globular star clusters, where the density of stars can be so high that even physical collisions between stars can occur. They can also happen during the evolution of close binary stars, where they often lead tomergers of the two components. Close stellar interactions play a crucial role in determining the long-term dynamical evolution and final fate of dense star clusters. In addition, dynamical interactions in these clusters are thought to be responsible for the production of large numbers of exotic objects such as X-ray sources, binary radio pulsars, and blue stragglers. Understanding the long-term dynamical evolution of dense stellar systems and the formation mechanisms for the peculiar sources they contain are two long-standing problems in theoretical astrophysics. This project will focus on a number of theoretical and computational studies dealing with various aspects of these hydrodynamic stellar interactions in dense star clusters and in binary star systems. Large-scale numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic and stellar evolution processes will be performed on parallel supercomputers, providing quantitatively accurate theoretical predictions that can be compared directly to observations. Much of the work will be carried out by undergraduate students.***