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David Collins

I am a PhD student working on X-ray observations of disc-accreting cataclysmic variable stars.
My supervisor is Dr Peter Wheatley.

Binary systems consist of a pair of stars that are gravitationally
bound and in orbit about each other. Systems where the star separation
is small, comparable with the star size, are called close binary
systems. Because of the proximity of the two stars, close binaries
have a small orbital period, and can stream matter from one star onto the
other. These are called accreting binaries, and they lead to a broad
range of very interesting astronomical phenomena. For the accreting
star, it can become a variable star, emitting flashes of radiation and
matter jets.

Cataclysmic variables (CV) are a class of semi-detached binary star
systems, which consist of a white dwarf, the primary star, and a low
mass main sequence, secondary, star. They are defined as semi-detached
because one of the stars fills its Roche lobe, allowing perturbation to cause
material to move from the secondary to the primary to be captured by
the star. CVs are variable systems whose
brightness fluctuates in relatively short periods of time. In a
typical system the intensity of the CV may rise by several magnitudes
in a day, and then decay after a number of days. The
system then moves into quiescence, where the whole process is repeated.

 

 images2ps - script to convert a folder containing images into a single ps file, with the filename next to the image.

Write to:

Mr David Collins,
Department of Physics,
University of Warwick,
Coventry CV4 7AL
UK

Contact Details:

Office: PS004
Tel: +44 (0)247 657 4258
Fax: +44 (0)247 669 2016
E-Mail:
d.j.collins(at)warwick.ac.uk