3. Searching for former companions to young neutron stars with Gaia

ESA supervisor: Ashley Chrimes
Collaborator(s): Jos de Bruijne

Site: ESTEC

Most massive stars are born in binaries or high order systems. In binaries, when the first star goes supernova, the binary is thought to unbind in most cases. The newborn neutron star and former companion star then travel away from each other. Direct observational constraints on this process have wide ranging implications, e.g. for the formation rate of binary compact objects.

In this project, based at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA/ESTEC), the intern will use the Gaia DR3 catalogue to search for former binary companions to young pulsars: if the proper motion of a pulsar is known, we can search for Gaia stars whose past trajectories intersect the past trajectory of the pulsar. The intern will evaluate the probability that candidates are truly associated and compare their properties with expectations for recently ejected companion stars. The sample size will be much larger than in previous studies, and the results of this systematic search will provide the new benchmark for observational constraints on unbound neutron star companions. 

Depending on progress, there is the possibility of (co-)authorship of a paper publishing the results following the internship.

Project duration: 6 months.

Desirable expertise or programming language:

• Proficiency in a programming language, preferably python.
• A basic understanding of high-mass stellar evolution and binary stars (e.g. through undergraduate astronomy courses). 

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.