Decomposing maser spectra: the implications for current hypotheses for periodic behavior, and beyond

Project Description:

The quality of the fits of the colliding wind binary (CWB) model that was proposed by van der Walt 2009 has been found to suggest that the periodic methanol masers’ behavior of the star- forming regions with flare profiles similar to the star-forming region G009.62+0.20E are due to the presence of a binary system of which the stellar winds collide to produce copious amounts of ion- izing radiation which drives the free-free emission variability. VLBI observations, however, show that there are several maser spots close to the velocity of the most prominent periodic velocity channel, this project will aim to decompose the maser spectrum into its individual maser spots obtained from VLBI observations, to test whether the maxima obtained from Gaussian fits still retain the periodic behavior.

Research Area:

Astrophysics

Project Level:

Masters

This Project Is Offered At The Following Node(s):

(NWU)

Special Requirements:

Advanced programming skills