About the project
White dwarfs located in the halo of Andromeda (M31) are expected to lens some of the 100s of X-ray bright, accreting compact objects (black holes and neutron stars) located in that galaxy. This lensing is not achromatic and results in predictable changes in brightness as a function of wavelength (IR/optical/UV/X-rays) which allows the accretion flow to be mapped.
The project will include the exploration of the lensing profile as a function of time for a range of accreting systems, spectral state (driven by accretion rate) and impact parameter of the lens. This work will lead to predictions and triggers for instruments such as ZTF, JWST and XMM-Newton (amongst others) and an opportunity for the student to lead observing campaigns within this area of emerging science.
