Probing Plasma Flows and Magnetic Fields in a Sunspot Chromosphere with DKIST

Supervisor: Dr Ryan Campbell

Sunspots are concentrations of extremely strong magnetic fields on the Sun, often spanning regions comparable in size to the Earth. Understanding how these magnetic fields interact with plasma flows in the solar atmosphere is a central problem in solar physics.

Recent observations from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) — the world’s most advanced solar telescope — provide an unprecedented view of sunspots, resolving fine structure on scales of tens of kilometres. This project will analyse high-resolution observations of a sunspot in the Hβ spectral line, which forms in the lower chromosphere and carries information about both plasma motion and magnetic fields. Spectral lines arise from quantum transitions in atoms, and their shape and polarisation encode the physical conditions of the plasma in which they form. The chromosphere marks the transition from a gas-dominated to a magnetically-dominated plasma, where magnetic forces begin to control the dynamics. The chromosphere plays a key role in transporting and dissipating energy, and is central to understanding how the outer solar atmosphere is heated. 

The student will:

- Work directly with state-of-the-art DKIST spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric data
- Measure plasma velocities by analysing how the spectral line shape shifts and distorts
- Estimate properties of the magnetic field from polarised light (Stokes profiles)
- Investigate how these signals vary across different regions of the sunspot (e.g. dark umbral cores, filamentary penumbrae, and light-   bridges)

There may also be an opportunity to compare the observations with simple synthetic spectra, helping to connect the observed signals to the underlying physical conditions in the solar atmosphere.

This project provides hands-on experience with cutting-edge solar spectropolarimetric data and introduces key techniques used to study magnetised plasmas in astrophysics. The results will contribute to ongoing research within the group.

Mapping the transient sky with NGTS

Supervisors: Dylan Magill, Toby Rodel, Ryan Lyttle & Dr Matt Nicholl

The night sky may look static, but it is full of objects which change rapidly or appear and disappear over short timescales. In astronomy, these are called ‘transients’ and include solar system asteroids, Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) where a star is ripped apart by a black hole, and supernova explosions. The Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) is an observatory in Paranal, Chile, consisting of 12 independent robotic telescopes. NGTS is primarily designed to search for exoplanets using the Transit method, but its wide field allows it to observe plenty of transients too. While there are dedicated facilities for transient searches, NGTS’s fast 13 second observing cadence means it can detect changes in the brightness of objects on short timescales that other facilities cannot. The summer project will involve checking a list of known supernovae against NGTS observing fields and analysing photometry of those observed to look for interesting features on short timescales. The project also offers the opportunity to contribute to real-time supernova discovery with ATLAS. The project could also extend to looking at asteroid photometry depending on progress. The work from this project may contribute to a future publication, on which the summer student would be an author.

3D Printing as a tool for STEM Outreach

Supervisor: Dr. Aaron Monson

A major challenge in STEM education and public engagement is the cost of providing equipment and experiment setups that allow audiences to explore key physical concepts firsthand. In recent years, the Astrophysics Research Centre has invested in developing 3D-printed learning resources as versatile tools for visualising and explaining astrophysical concepts.

This project aims to expand on that work by designing a range of 3D-printed experiment demonstrations that are low-cost, accessible, and effective for education and outreach. The project draws inspiration from initiatives such as CERN’s S'Cool LAB (https://scoollab.web.cern.ch/classroom-activities). While the focus of the project is to create physics-based demonstrations, there is scope to expand into other STEM topics depending on the applicant’s interests and experience.

Responsibilities:

• Create 3D model files from scratch using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software or similar tools.
• Design models that can be easily 3D printed and assembled for educational demonstrations.
• Collaborate with the outreach team to refine designs for maximum effectiveness in public engagement.

Requirements:

• Previous experience in 3D model creation using CAD software or similar methods is essential.
• Ability to iterate on designs based on feedback.
• Strong teamwork and communication skills.
• Familiarity with physics concepts is beneficial but not required.

How do we communicate science? Designing STEM Public Engagement Activities.

Supervisor: Dr Aaron Monson

Science public engagement and outreach is constantly evolving, with a continued need for new and effective ways to communicate scientific ideas to a wide range of audiences. The Astrophysics Research Centre is seeking a summer intern to design, develop, and document a new astronomy-based public engagement activity.

The goal of this project is to produce at least one fully developed activity that can be used in future outreach delivery, including school visits (primarily secondary level) and large-scale public events such as the Northern Ireland Science Festival. The format of the activity is open, and could include a hands-on experiment, interactive demonstration, physical model, game, or digital tool. The key requirement is that it is engaging, accessible, and clearly communicates a core concept in astronomy or physics.

A major focus of the project is ensuring the activity is practical and reusable, with clear documentation so that it can be delivered by other members of the outreach team.

Responsibilities:

• Design and develop an astronomy-themed outreach activity from initial concept through to a completed, usable product.
• Prototype, test, and refine the activity based on feedback.
• Produce clear documentation (setup instructions, delivery notes, supporting materials) to allow others to run the activity.
• Work independently to manage the development of the project.

Requirements:

• Familiarity with physics or broader STEM concepts.
• A demonstrable skillset that can be directly applied to developing an outreach activity (e.g. creative design, programming, CAD/modelling, electronics, experimental design).
• Ability to clearly explain how these skills would be used to create an activity.
• Ability to work independently and develop ideas from concept to completion.
• Strong communication skills.

It is not necessary to propose a detailed design or concept as part of the application, but applicants should clearly explain how their skills or experience would be applied to developing a suitable activity.

ARC Outreach Intern Developing Promotional Materials

Supervisor: Dr. Meg Schwamb

The Astrophysics Research Centre is focused on four main research areas including exoplanets, astrophysical transients, modeling of astrophysical explosions and how elements are generated within the explosion and debris left over, solar physics, and Solar System astronomy. This project would focusing on helping to develop templates for social media and print communication of the projects within ARC and and new results that PhD students, MPhys students, summer interns, researchers within ARC are generating. The project is very open-ended and can be tailored to the interests of the student. This could be incorporating more video work or focusing more on developing finalized posters of ARC research that can be displayed within the Main Physics building. This project is ideally suited for someone who has just finished second year but an experienced first year student would also be a good fit. It is expected that tools like  MS Powerpoint, text editor (like MS Word), and Canva would be used.

Examining the First Solar System Data From Rubin Observatory

Supervisor: Dr. Meg Schwamb

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is currently undergoing the last stages of commissioning in Chile. This international facility will radically transform our view of the changing night sky. Rubin Observatory will contain an 8.4-m telescope equipped with the world’s largest optical imager, a 3.2-gigapixel camera capable of capturing a roughly 10 square degree patch of the night sky (~40 times the size of the full moon) in a single exposure. Starting at the end of 2025, the Rubin Observatory will carry out the widest and deepest optical survey to date, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), scanning the entire visible sky approximately once every three nights for ten years.

In addition to discovering millions of various types of explosive transients per night, the LSST will provide an unprecedented dataset to explore the Solar System’s small body inventory. The LSST will enable the discovery and monitoring of nearly 3.8 million new Main Belt asteroids, over 89,000 new Near Earth Objects (NEOs), ~ 32,000 new Kuiper belt objects (KBOS), tens of interstellar objects, and thousands of comets. This is an order of magnitude more Solar System objects than known of today.  Each Solar System object will receive hundreds of photometric and astrometric measurements, divided across the 6 filters. LSST will go beyond just discovery, with a 10-year baseline LSST will be able to measure broad-band optical colours and phase curves, and monitor these objects capturing episodes of cometary activity, changes in orbit, asteroid collisions, rotational breakup events, and rotational brightness variations. Planetesimals are the bricks and mortar left over after the construction of planets. Their compositions, shapes, densities, rotation rates, and orbits help reveal their formation history, the architecture of their parent planetary system, the conditions in the planetesimal-forming disk, and the processes active in the Solar System today. Rubin Observatory and the LSST will completely transform our view of the Solar System. 

The early sets of Solar System discoveries are now available from Rubin Observatory as commissioning ends and the LSST starting date nears. The aim of this project would be to perform some early analysis, exploring the quality of the Rubin observations as well as comparing to predictions of expected Solar System small body discovery rates. The student will analyse the early LSST Solar System detections, particularly focusing on exploring how many data points/observations are needed to accurately measure colours, rotation rates, identify cometary activity, and measure phase curves (how the brightness of the small body changes as a function of the angle between the object, Earth, and the Sun) for some of the small body reservoirs within the Solar System.