Top
Skip to Content
LOGO(small) - Queen's University Belfast
  • Our facebook
  • Our twitter
  • Our
  • Our
LOGO(large) - Queen's University Belfast

School of

Mathematics and Physics

  • Home
  • Study
    • Undergraduate Maths
    • Undergraduate Physics
    • Postgraduate Taught
    • Postgraduate Research
    • International
    • Student Handbook
    • Scholarships
    • Visiting Students
  • Research
    • Research Showcase
    • Outreach & Engagement
    • Research Culture and Seminars
    • Consultancy and Knowledge Transfer
    • Research Centres
    • Postgraduate Research
    • Facilities
  • International
  • Business / Careers
  • Discover
    • About the School
    • Gender Equality
    • Outreach
    • Green Impact
    • Safe Harbour Scheme
    • Mental Health Ambassador Scheme
  • Connect
    • Staff
    • Get in touch
  • News
    • News Archive
  • Events
    • Events Archive
  • Home
  • Study
    • Undergraduate Maths
    • Undergraduate Physics
    • Postgraduate Taught
    • Postgraduate Research
    • International
    • Student Handbook
    • Scholarships
    • Visiting Students
  • Research
    • Research Showcase
    • Outreach & Engagement
    • Research Culture and Seminars
    • Consultancy and Knowledge Transfer
    • Research Centres
    • Postgraduate Research
    • Facilities
  • International
  • Business / Careers
  • Discover
    • About the School
    • Gender Equality
    • Outreach
    • Green Impact
    • Safe Harbour Scheme
    • Mental Health Ambassador Scheme
  • Connect
    • Staff
    • Get in touch
  • News
    • News Archive
  • Events
    • Events Archive
  • Our facebook
  • Our twitter
  • Our
In This Section

  • Home
  • School of Mathematics and Physics
  • Research
  • Research Culture and Seminars
  • PhD Research Students
  • Matthew McCollum - Student Profile

Matthew McCollum - Student Profile

Current Research Project:

Fast optical transients in wide-field surveys: giant flares and extragalactic searches

M-Dwarfs are by far the most numerous and faintest stars, but are also some of the most magnetically active main sequence stellar bodies. This manifests in frequent, fast flare events, lasting from under a minute to only several hours. These cause a broad increase in flux across the entire spectrum, but notably in the UV and blue frequencies. These flares are apt candidates to study in All-Sky surveys, such as ATLAS, Pan-STARRS, and future LSST. The population of galactic M-Dwarfs should mean that flares in these surveys should be common, allowing larger photometric datasets to be built for statistical analysis

My project works with ATLAS data in conjunction with deeper Pan-STARRS data to build an analytical framework for M-Dwarf flare detection in such surveys, including energetics, frequency, volumetric rate etc, with the long term aim to cross ref with exoplanet transit programmes e.g. NGTS, to estimate the likely effects of such flares on the conditions of M-Dwarf planetary systems

Research interest

  • Fast Transients
  • Flare Star Dynamics
  • High Energy Systems
  • Exoplanet-Star interactions
  • Exobiology
  • ML implementation

 

PhD Research Students
  • PhD Research Students
Queen's University Belfast - Logo (small)
Contact Us

School of Mathematics and Physics

Main Physics Building
University Road
Belfast
BT7 1NN

GET DIRECTIONS

General School Enquiries:

E-mail: mp@qub.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 1386/5293

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Study
  • Careers
  • Research

 

© Queen's University Belfast 2023
Privacy and cookies
Website accessibility
Freedom of information
Modern slavery statement
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Manage cookies