CAREER: Compact Objects in the Era of Celestial Cinematography

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As a class, compact objects consist of white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. As the endpoint states of normal stellar evolution, they represent fundamental constituents of the physical Universe. The most telling observations of compact objects come from dense stellar systems, where stars are crowded close enough to each other to undergo frequent interactions. This interplay between compact objects and other stars yields observations which when compared to simulations provides firm conclusions about the properties of these extreme forms of matter. Under this award, Dr. Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz (University of California - Santa Cruz, UCSC) will build complete models for a wide variety of stellar encounters. Only through full-scale simulations will come the ability to critically test our understanding of the physics of stellar encounters and their aftermath, with a direct comparison with observations. A comprehensive model database of transient events will be developed and disseminated to the astronomical community. This aspect of the work is particularly important as astronomy moves toward an era of celestial cinematography where the entire accessible sky is imaged to unprecedented depth, with near-real-time detection and classification of variable sources. The prediction and, hence, understanding of the observable characteristics of stellar encounters is one of the main goals of this modeling program.As a part of this project, Dr. Ramirez-Ruiz will join forces with the faculty, and staff at Hartnell Community College to effectively identify potential transfer students who are promising researchers at the beginning of their careers and also members of groups who are traditionally underrepresented in the University of California. Key components of the program include intensive research instruction through summer internships, academic counseling and mentoring, and workshops that integrate family members. The selected summer interns will work closely with Dr. Ramirez-Ruiz on a research project and also be integrated into one of the many existing student support programs at UCSC, such as the California Alliance for Minority Participation program. This will provide the interns with a student community as well as the opportunity to develop additional skills to advance their education and career. Family involvement in the program is considered essential. For this reason, as part of the public outreach effort, Dr. Ramirez-Ruiz will develop a Family Astronomy Night lecture series. The value of the lecture series will be twofold. First, it will communicate aspects of the proposed research and the thrill of discovery to a diverse group of community college students and their parents. Second, it will help ensure that parents have the information needed to support their child's academic success.