I am an NSERC Postdoctoral FellowLink opens in a new window in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group at the University of Warwick, working within the white dwarf research groupLink opens in a new window with Pier-Emmanuel TremblayLink opens in a new window. I am interested in theoretical stellar astrophysics and its application to white dwarfs, with the aim of using these stellar remnants as probes of Galactic, stellar, and planetary evolution.

White dwarfs represent the final stage of the life cycle of more than 95% of all stars. These dense, inert stellar remnants cool continuously over billions of years and thus act as "cosmic clocks", providing a powerful way to study the formation and evolution of stars and planets throughout the history of our Galaxy. In order to exploit this remarkable potential, we first need a detailed understanding of the physical properties of white dwarfs, in particular their slow cooling process.

My current research primarily focuses on the development of state-of-the-art models of the structure and evolution of white dwarfs, based on a wide range of physical theories and numerical techniques. I am especially interested in the phenomenon of crystallisation — a phase transition that causes the stellar core to freeze into a solid state — and its influence on the cooling process. I also study the complex effects of chemical element transport in the stellar envelope (due to diffusion, convection, accretion, and winds) on the evolution of white dwarfs.

Furthermore, I am interested in the analysis of the hundreds of thousands of white dwarfs recently discovered by the Gaia satelliteLink opens in a new window in the local region of the Galaxy. I build and use atmosphere models to interpret photometric and spectroscopic observations of white dwarfs and thus determine their fundamental parameters (mass, radius, temperature, composition, and age). I pay special attention to white dwarfs in binary systems, which provide important insights into stellar evolution, gravitational waves, and supernovae.

See the following pages for my CV, publications, and white dwarf cooling models.