Research and Projects
I worked with a group of undergraduate students like myself at the Undergraduate Lab at Berkeley (Physics and Astronomy Division) on a research project that investigated whether we could accurately measure distances and the Hubble Parameter from gravitational wave data. We successfully coded a calculator that computed the distance and inclination angle of a merger event after inputting data about the event's gravitational wave from LIGO. When coming up with some constraining problems in this calculation, we were able to successfully solve them and come up with a new way of obtaining the inclination angle for each GW signal. We then calculated the Hubble Parameter from the gravitational wave data as well as SNE data to compare the accuracy of the two. We finished these parts of the project, and presented them at the ULAB Symposium at the end of the year.
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Check out our final poster here: Gravitational Waves as Standard Sirens Final Poster
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Although ULAB ended with the academic year, we were interested in some problems and questions that arose during our research, so we continued the project into the summer and are currently working on it now. We plan on submitting a paper to the Berkeley Science Journal this year!
Gravitational Waves as Standard Sirens
For our final project, my partner and I created HR/CMD diagrams from GAIA Release 2 data. After some searching and learning about globular and open clusters, we decided to focus on Messier 45 and Messier 15. We plotted the absolute G-band magnitude vs. the BP-RP color to create our graphs using Python in Jupyter Notebook. To take it one step further, we created 3D graphs, by adding Temperature as a parameter. Finally, we were able to animate the graphs to show various rotating perspectives, which can be useful for analysis. Our project culminated in the creation of several varying graphs for each cluster, and a final presentation that we gave to the class. This project helped me improve my coding skills in Python, including using libraries, graphing plots, and becoming familiar with how to work with data. I successfully collaborated with a fellow student and I learned how to use and handle real astrophysical data.
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Check out our final presentation and graphs here: HR/CMD Diagrams for Messier 15 and Messier 45
(Click on the animated graphs to watch a YouTube video of the animation!)