Ken Shen (also bsky.social and astrodon.social)

My money is more on radiative levitation than direct pollution, but the jury is still out.

8/8 We still need to check that the merging process can trigger the first detonation, and that the first white dwarf's explosion can ignite the second white dwarf. But I'm optimistic that we're on the right track to finally explain how Type Ia supernovae happen!

7/ Check out our paper on what these two-star explosions would look like, led by an amazing grad student earlier this year. They reproduce observations well, and I expect them to match even better as we input more physics into the calculations. arxiv.org/abs/2401.08011

1/ New paper thread (well, new last week)! We find that most white dwarfs are born ready to explode. They just need something to hit them hard enough, which should happen when they merge with other white dwarfs. Read on for details! arxiv.org/abs/2405.19417

@joeyboxcar UNSUBSCRIBE

Listen I’m excited here but self aware that the Chiefs will boat race either of these teams

Thread: I am looking to fill three positions @HambObs. A PhD position and Postdoc are funded through the ERC starting grant “CompactBINARIES” and another Postdoc is funded through my position at @unihh (1/3)

Postdoctoral Fellowship opportunity at the CCA - Flatiron Institute, NYC simonsfoundation.org/grant/flatiron… We are interested in a few strategic areas, including the numerical study (1D and 3D) of stellar structure and evolution, as well as stellar transients✨

Know someone on the job market? 5(!) faculty positions at UHawaii @UHIfA this year!!! 4 at IfA Manoa and 1 at IfA Hilo. This is part of a long-term hiring plan (3 new faculty last year). Please let particularly good folks know! jobregister.aas.org/ad/4003dca1 jobregister.aas.org/ad/7bf114ff

We have postdoc fellowships available in the @ColumbiaThea group. Please apply! jobregister.aas.org/ad/438d8603

Abstract deadline for Transients Down Under #TDU2024 is this Friday, Sept 15! #swinburne #ozgrav #transients #astrophysics #instrumentation #followup #supernovae #culturalastro #gammaraybursts #FRBs #telescopecoordination #GW @AstroSocAus

@_sublunar_ Astronomers have always been glutens for punishment, from Babylonian times through Tycho Barley to the present day, including Adam Rice

Just barley making ends meet

@emmanuel_pier @SihaoCheng @evbauer_astro @spacetimekatie 18/18 I had a great time working with new people and learning new things somewhat outside my comfort zone for this project. It helped remind me why being a scientist is awesome, and that I'm extremely lucky and privileged to be one!

@emmanuel_pier @SihaoCheng @evbauer_astro @spacetimekatie 17/ If instead these binaries merge unstably, they won't be a viable supernova progenitor channel. But I think that's fine because I think a different scenario (mergers of two white dwarfs) causes Type Ia supernovae!

1/ Paper thread! I had a fun time exploring white dwarf physics with Simon Blouin and @spacetimekatie. Read on to find out more! arxiv.org/abs/2308.04559