10. Investigating Galactic Bar Formation with Euclid

ESA supervisor: David O'Ryan
Collaborator(s): Sandor Kruk, Tobias Géron (University of Toronto), Hayley Roberts (Zooniverse / University of Minnesota)

Site: ESAC

Galactic bars - large stellar structures found at the centre of many disk galaxies - are key drivers of galaxy evolution. While bars are known to form via internal instabilities to the galactic disk, interactions with companion galaxies may also play a significant role. However, the impact of galaxy interactions on bar strength and formation remains poorly understood. This project will be the first large-scale observational study on how galaxy interactions influence the formation, evolution and strength of galactic bars.

We will conduct the first population study of galactic bars in interacting pairs. We will use machine learning methods with the first quick release from the Euclid survey to identify galaxies hosting galactic bars. Following this, we will conduct a study of those with close companion galaxies undergoing interactions or merging, and those residing in isolation. Such a study will shed light on the influence of an interaction on the evolution of the galactic bar and provide insight into this understudied formation mechanism.

What you’ll do:
- Train and apply machine learning models to detect galactic bars in galaxy images.
- Develop a pipeline to classify galaxies by bar strength.
- Analyze trends in bar properties as a function of interaction and merger properties.
- Contribute to the first large-scale observational study linking galaxy interactions to bar evolution and strength.

Project duration: 6 months.

Desirable expertise or programming language:

  • Experience with the Python programming language.
  • Experience with Anaconda (or equivalent) and JupyterLab.
  • Experience with using and deploying machine learning algorithms.
  • Experience with handling large astronomical datasets and imaging.
  • Knowledge of extragalactic astronomy is desired, but not essential.
  • Knowledge of CUDA and GPU programming is desired, but not essential

To apply for this project please fill in an online application form through the following link.

To see the full list of Internships available at ESA please go to our website for ESA Career Opportunities.