Unravelling the stellar interiors of the chemical factories of the Universe. This project aims to determine the interior stellar physics of the most massive stars in the Universe, which have thus far

Description

Unravelling the stellar interiors of the chemical factories of the Universe. This project aims to determine the interior stellar physics of the most massive stars in the Universe, which have thus far remained elusive due to the lack of suitable observational data for penetrating inside these stars. Stellar pulsations, detectable with the state-of-the-art TESS space telescope, provide direct windows into these stellar interiors and will be used to perform innovative comparisons between stellar observations and theoretical stellar models. This project will result in a more than hundred-fold increase in the number of massive stars with well-defined interior physics, revolutionizing our understanding of the chemical factories of the Universe. This is also in alignment with the decadal plan of Australian astronomy.. Scheme: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: Dr May Pedersen