Observations of Jets from Accreting White Dwarfs

Sokoloski, Jennifer L, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

AST-0302055 Sokoloski, Jennifer Dr. Sokoloski is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. She will address the creation of astrophysical jets, which are found on many different size scales in the universe. The cause of these highly focused outflows are thought to be accretion disks around central objects, but are not well understood. Dr. Sokoloski will conduct a detailed study of accretion disks around symbiotic stars, in which a white dwarf star accretes gas from the stellar wind of a red giant. The three facets of the research project will be (1) an archival spectroscopic survey for jets in symbiotic stars, plus complementary radio, optical, and X-ray imaging observations; (2) an exploration of the disk-jet connection in symbiotic stars, including interferometric observations that could possibly produce the first image of a tidally distorted star; and (3) a detailed examination of the jet-producing inner-disk region in selected white-dwarf accretors. The goal is to use the symbiotic stars to distinguish between competing jet models, both for these systems and for astrophysical jets generally. Dr. Sokoloski will also work towards increasing the participation of women and girls in science. She will continue to participate in the "Eyes to the Future" science mentorship program for middle-school girls, and focus on recruiting colleagues to participate as well. In addition, she will work on disseminating the results of the International Conference on Women in Physics to different groups in the Boston area, both giving talks and collecting feedback. She will also lead discussions in preparation for a follow-up meeting, tentatively scheduled for 2006. ***