Javier Guerrero Segarra
Pronouns: He/him
Research Mentor(s): Lia Corrales, Assistant Professor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Astronomy, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 5 (3pm-3:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 15
Presenter: 2
Abstract
This research is interested in discovering if there are interstellar dust clouds near stars that could be identified because of the interference they make with X-ray imaging, which would normally be difficult to detect because of their proximity to the star. Nearby dust clouds act as X-ray “mirrors” that reflect and scatter the rays, causing a notable phase shift that can be used to identify the clouds. This research aims to develop tools to aid in analyzing X-ray data collected from stars in order to identify such clouds. This was achieved through the creation of image analysis algorithms made and used in the python environment Spyder. In addition to this, the library astropy was also used to manipulate and analyze table data to help develop these algorithms. Algorithms based on the idea of centering the x-ray image of the star to perform a radial analysis of its surroundings will be able to help identify these clouds. Since the algorithms are still being developed and perfected, the research hopes to be able to find new dust clouds, or confirm that none exist, by testing the algorithms on well-documented stars. With this, the research will be able to confirm or deny dust clouds near stars and thus help other astronomers account for them.
Authors: Javier Guerrero, Lia Corrales
Research Method: Computer Programming
