Madelon Bours
I am a PhD student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group at the University of Warwick and my supervisor is Prof. Tom Marsh.
I am interested in short-period eclipsing white dwarf binaries, and am monitoring as many of these as we can, to map possible variations in their orbital periods. A second project of mine has been a precision study of the eclipsing double white dwarf binary CSS 41177, for which I analysed ULTRACAM photometry and X-shooter spectroscopy data to obtain precise orbital and stellar parameters. Currently, I'm focussing my efforts on fitting the spectra we obtained of this binary with the Hubble Space Telescope.
Publications I was involved in:
Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2015, MNRAS 448, 601) --- "HST+COS spectra of the double white dwarf CSS 41177 place the secondary inside the pulsational instability strip."
Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 445, 1924) --- "Testing the planetary models of HU Aquarii."
Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 438) --- "Precise parameters for both white dwarfs in the eclipsing binary CSS 41177."
Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2013, A&A 552) --- "Single degenerate supernova type Ia progenitors. Studying the influence of different mass retention efficiencies."
Hardy, A.; Schreiber, M. R.; Parsons, S. G.; Caceres, C.; Retamales, G.; Wahhaj, Z.; Mawet, D.; Canovas, H.; Cieza, L.; Marsh, T. R.; Bours, M. C. P. et al. (2015, ApJ 800) --- "The First Science Results from Sphere: Disproving the Predicted Brown Dwarf Around V471 Tau."
Littlefair, S.P.; Casewell, S.L.; Parsons, S.P.; Dhillon, V.S.; Marsh, T.R.; G\"aensicke, B.T.; Bloemen, S.; Catalan, S.; Irawati, P. Hardy, L.K.; Mcallister, M.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 445) --- "The substellar companion in the eclipsing white dwarf binary SDSS J141126.20+200911.1."
Dhillon, V.S.; Marsh, T.R.; Atkinson, D.C.; Bezawada, N.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 444) --- "ULTRASPEC: a high-speed imaging photometer on the 2.4-m Thai National Telescope."
Hermes, J.J.; Gaensicke, B.T.; Koester, D.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 444)--- "Heavy metals in a light white dwarf: abundances of the metal-rich, extremely low-mass GALEX J1717+6757."
Littlefair, S.P.; Dhillon, V.S.; Gaensicke, B.T.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 443) --- "A parameter study of the eclipsing CV in the Kepler field, KIS J192748.53+444724.5."
Parsons, S. G.; Marsh, T.R.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 438L) --- "Timing variations in the secondary eclipse of NN Ser."
Marsh, T.R.; Parsons, S. G.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2014, MNRAS 437) --- "The planets around NN Serpentis: still there."
Kaplan, D.L.; Marsh, T.R.; Walker, A.N.; Bildsten, L.; Bours, M. C. P. et al. (2014, ApJ 780) --- "Properties of an eclipsing double white dwarf binary NLTT 11748."
Parsons, S.G.; Marsh, T.R.; Gänsicke, B.T.; Schreiber, M.R.; Bours, M.C.P. et al. (2013, MNRAS 436) --- "A magnetic white dwarf in a detached eclipsing binary."
Conference contributions / proceedings:
19th European White Dwarf Workshop, Montreal, Canada --- "The eclipsing double white dwarf binary CSS 41177."
Speed & Sensitivity: expanding astronomical horizons with ELTs; Galway, Ireland, March 2014 --- "Variations of eclipse arrival times in white dwarf binaries."
Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society; London, UK, January 2013 --- "Monitoring orbital period variations in eclipsing white dwarf binaries."
UK National Astronomy Meeting; St. Andrews, UK, 2013 --- "Monitoring orbital period variations in eclipsing white dwarf binaries".
18th European White Dwarf Workshop. ASP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 469. Astronomical Society of the Pacific., p.451 --- "Planets around white dwarf binaries."
UK National Astronomy Meeting; Manchester, UK, 2012 --- "Planets around the eclipsing binary UZ Fornacis."
Binary Paths to Type Ia Supernovae Explosions, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 281, p. 248-250 --- "Single Degenerate Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae"