RESEARCH
WHITE DWARFS
Nearly 95% of stars in the universe will end up as white dwarfs, so studying these stars help astronomers study the end phases of stellar evolution in typical stars. A particular kind of white dwarf has a carbon dominated atmosphere. We call these special white dwarfs hot DQs (degenerate carbon). Young, hot DQs are observed to be rotating rapidly, rotating once every 400-1200 seconds. Earlier work on older hot DQs has not definitively detected this type of rapid rotation. This is a surprise because we know of no mechanism to slow these stars. Some older hot DQs show evidence of variability on time scales of several hours, which could be a sign of rotation. I present an analysis of multi-day observations of the old hot DQ G35-26 to determine if these variations are indeed real due to slow rotation of the star. If rotation is confirmed, then we will need to search for physical mechanisms to greatly slow the rotation of hot DQ stars.
ACOUSTICS
Music is a universal language. It stirs up the deepest emotions, paints numerous mental works of art, and provides a release for individuals. “...music is an incredible vehicle for expressing emotions and capturing our internal experience of life”. It is an integral part of society and provides a common ground that people of the world can converge upon. The art of composing music is an extraordinary craft. Composers, sound engineers, and producers sometimes need a personalized place to express their art. Individualized, quiet places to create are, at times, hard to obtain. A plan for a smaller, personalized recording studio would be advantageous and convenient for those who need their own creative environment. My thesis outlines an acoustically sound design for a small personalized recording studio.
COMPLEX ANALYSIS
We prove that if the angle of intersection between two disks divides 180 degrees, then a conformal map from the intersection between the disks to the unit disk extends smoothly to the boundary of the intersection between the disks. If the angle of intersection is less than pi divided by (k-1), then the integral of the kth derivative's modulus squared is finite on the intersection between the disks.
TYPE II SUPERNOVAE
Type II (core-collapse) supernovae are deaths of massive stars. However, our understanding of massive star evolution is incomplete. Early-time ultraviolet supernovae observations can constrain the size of the progenitor star, which helps us know more about these stars. I use ultraviolet supernovae data collected by the Neil Gehrels Observatory Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope. I process this data with Paul Kuin's UVOTPY software to extract and sum supernovae spectra. I then look at how these spectra evolve over time to learn more about these Type II supernovae.