Stockholm university
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Research group Computational Astrophysics group

At the Department of Astronomy, the development of computational tools spans research areas from solar physics to cosmology.

Volume rendering of the stalled accretion shock in a core-collapse supernova.
Volume rendering of the stalled accretion shock in a core-collapse supernova. The thin cyan sphere is the supernova shock, the purple core at the center is the newly formed protoneutron star and the volume filling reddish-orange material is the turbulent gain region where neutrino heating is driving convection and working to revive the stalled shock. Credit: YT/O'Connor, E/Pan, K.-C.
Volume rendering of the merger of two neutron stars.
Volume rendering of the merger of two neutron stars. Only the lower half (below the orbital plane) is rendered to allow to “look inside” the merger remnant. At the interface between the neutron stars a string of Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices emerges. Credit Stephan Rosswog

Group description

We specialize in the development of computational tools for gas dynamics (with and without magnetic fields) and radiative transfer. Simulations using these computer models are typically run on parallel systems and supercomputers. The research of members in this group connects closely to the research of the supernova and galaxy groups.

The researchers at the department are collaborating with the physics departments at Stockholm University and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) within the Oskar Klein Centre.

Group members

Group managers

Evan Patrick O'Connor

Assistant Professor

Department of Astronomy
08-553 785 37
Evan O'Connor
evan.oconnor@astro.su.se
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Members

Haakon Andresen

Postdoc

Department of Astronomy
haakon.andresen@astro.su.se
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Bhaskar Biswas

Guest researcher

Department of Astronomy
Bhaskar Biswas
bhaskar.biswas@astro.su.se
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Axel Brandenburg

Professor

Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA)
08-553 787 07
axel.brandenburg@su.se
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Oliver Eggenberger Andersen

PhD student

Department of Astronomy
oliver.e.andersen@astro.su.se
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Ivelin Georgiev

Research assistant

Department of Astronomy
ivelin-g
ivelin.georgiev@astro.su.se
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Liubov Kovalenko

PhD student

Department of Astronomy
liubov.kovalenko@astro.su.se
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Garrelt Mellema

Head of the department

Department of Astronomy
08-553 785 52
Picture of Garrelt Mellema
garrelt.mellema@astro.su.se
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Olof Petter Nils Axel Nebrin

PhD student

Department of Astronomy
olof.nebrin@astro.su.se
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Evan Patrick O'Connor

Assistant Professor

Department of Astronomy
08-553 785 37
Evan O'Connor
evan.oconnor@astro.su.se
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Stephan Rosswog

Professor

Department of Astronomy
08-553 785 29
stephan.rosswog@astro.su.se
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Research projects

Black Holes from Core Collapse Supernovae

Black holes are formed deep within dying massive stars and they signal a special evolution away from the canonical picture where the star explodes and leaves behind a neutron star. To probe these special evolutions and the formation pathways of black holes is a crucial link between our understanding of stellar evolution and gravitational wave astrophysics.

Numerical simulation of a supernova
Explorations of the Epoch of Reionization

The Epoch of Reionization is the period when the first stars and galaxies formed, some 13 billion years ago. During this period ionizing light produced in these galaxies escaped into the medium inbetween the galaxies. This resulted in a gradual ionization and heating of the entire Universe.

Radiative transfer simulations
Gravity Meets Light

When neutron stars collide they create both light and gravitational waves. Researchers at Stockholm University are studying these collisions in the hope they will find the answer to fundamental questions – such as how the heaviest elements are formed, and how fast the universe is expanding.

superluminal relativisitic jet