Variability of Accreting Magnetized Stars

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AST 0507760Marina RomanovaCornell UniversityVariability of Accreting Magnetized StarsABSTRACTNewly developed numerical methods will be applied to problems of disk interactions withmagnetized stars. Specifically, 3-dimensional models of disk-magnetosphere interactions will begenerated using numerical codes based on an inflated cube grid. The simulations will be used tohelp link observational data with underlying physics. The goal is to help understand the nature ofthe variability of different types of magnetized stars (Classical T Tauri stars, cataclysmic variables,and accreting neutron stars). With this in mind, four different activities will be undertaken: (1)simulations will be run with parameters as close to observational constraints as possible; (2)different mechanisms of variability and quasi-variability which follow from 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional numerical modeling will be investigated; (3) the light-curves from the modeledmagnetized stars will be calculated and analyzed to determine the origin of different peaks in thepower spectra; and (4) a program will be developed which will search for the best match betweenobserved and modeled light curves.Included is the training of graduate and undergraduate students in complex magnetohydrodynamicphysics as well as advanced programming and modeling techniques. The results obtained here willbe disseminated to the public through an education/public outreach program at the local ScienceMuseum and through a Virtual Reality outreach program to school children and educators.