Seminars 2025/26

The seminars are open to anyone from the university, students are encouraged to attend. This page will be updated as more speakers are confirmed.

Next Seminar: February 11

Dr. Soheb Mandhai (University of Manchester)

Evolving binary systems harmoniously with OCARINA

In the era of multi-messenger astrophysics, we are on the precipice of observing binary systems within our galaxy using gravitational waves in addition to traditional electromagnetism, in the advent of third generation gravitational wave detectors such as LISA. The joint messenger observations can bolster our detection ability of systems throughout our galaxy, providing an unprecedented insight into their populations. By predicting the spatial distribution of binaries within our galaxy, we can test multiple facets of binary evolution, such as stellar, orbital, and kick evolutions.

In anticipation of this, I will present our end-to-end OCARINA (Orbital Characterisation of binARIes iN gAlaxies) pipeline to accomplish track the orbital motion of binaries robustly using population synthesis and hydrodynamical galaxy simulations. By combining our understanding of binary motion throughout the galaxy, we can create simulations to predict the spatial densities of binaries across the galaxy. OCARINA can co-evolve the orbits of binaries in tandem with its galaxy. It can also provide a valuable insight into preferential environments, the fraction of binaries that can escape the galaxy, and potentially, metal enrichment (related work). In this talk, I will be focusing primarily on the nature of neutron star binaries (NS+NS and Spidery Pulsars – a pulsar with an ablated companion).

Throughout this seminar, I will also demonstrate some work that I have done in terms of scientific communication using artistic methods. Including building tools to visualise simulation outputs, creating press releases, and creating an interdisciplinary environment.

Semester 1

Semester 2