What time can tell us about space: Using time-resolved observations of young stars to explore the circumstellar environment beyond what direct resolution can achieve

What happens in the planet-forming region when planets form? How are stars like our Sun formed? Observational answers have to deal with one fact: the highest spatial resolution available nowadays barely traces the location of Jupiter in nearby star-forming regions. Thus to gain information on the tiny scales of stellar radii and the innermost planet-forming regions of disks, indirect methods are required.

Time-resolved observations are one of the best ways to track small scales beyond direct resolution: the orbital period of the disk where close-in planets form span ranges from days to years. Time-resolved data is one of the main drivers of current missions (Kepler, TESS, Gaia) and time-resolved spectroscopy lies behind the confirmation of extrasolar planets. In this project, you will use time-resolved spectroscopy and photometry of young stars to unveil their circumstellar environments, as well as to establish it as a tool to map what happens in the innermost planet-forming regions. The data, which consists of new observations acquired at the Calar Alto Observatory during 2020, and existing archival data, will allow to measure the velocity of the material around the stars, and to detect eclipses or shadows cast onto its surrounding. You will be also involved in the future observations that are required to complete our view of the most interesting systems.

The observations of the innermost part of the disk will allow us to understand how the star and disk are connected and the role of the stellar magnetic field, how accretion onto the star proceeds, and what the general innermost disk structure looks like and can affect the formation and migration of planets.

The project is offered towards a PhD in Physics. It is based on observational astrophysics. Previous astrophysics background will be an advantage.

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