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Most stars are members of binary systems. Many of the most interesting astrophysical systems, from Type Ia supernovae to the black-hole mergers observed by LIGO, only exist as products of binary evolution. In almost all of these systems, one or both binary components are compact objects (white dwarfs, neutron stars or black holes). Despite their importance, the evolution of compact interacting binary stars remains poorly understood. For example, we still don’t even know the dominant pathway(s) for producing Type Ia supernovae, even though we routinely use these objects as cosmological standard candles. 

The problem is that several critical physical processes for binary evolution are extremely difficult to model accurately and self-consistently. Much of what we have learned about these systems has come from “population synthesis” studies, in which the properties of the detectable populations of these systems are predicted via numerical simulations. 

In this project, you will develop a next-generation population synthesis data base and framework for compact binary systems. A unique feature of your work will be an emphasis on adopting and testing state-of-the-art physical and theoretical constraints on all key physical processes. For example, you will use the latest research on the spin down rates of single and detached binary stars to inform your modelling of interacting compact binaries. You will then exploit this framework to predict the populations of white dwarf, neutron star and black hole binaries, from those that can be observed both electromagnetically to those that will be seen with gravitational wave detectors.