Ignacio Araya and Ximena Ramos, academics from the Multidisciplinary Center for Physics at Universidad Mayor (CMF), have been awarded a project under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges (MSCA-SE) call, which promotes collaborations between institutions in Europe and other countries in America.
The Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences is the lead institution, and along with 16 others, including Universidad Mayor, they will analyze in detail the physical properties of massive stars and see how their evolution is affected in binary systems.
The director of CMF, who holds a PhD in Astrophysics, commented that "there are areas of massive stars that are not well understood. By studying their physical properties, we could understand how they evolve over time or how they behave if they are accompanied by another star. Knowing this is extremely important because massive stars play a fundamental role in the evolution of a galaxy."
The project will begin in January 2025 and last for four years. During this time, the academic will travel to the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (Spain) and the Institute of Astronomy of the National Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, two researchers from the Czech Republic and one from Germany will travel to Chile to conduct internships at our university. They will work with Dr. Ramos on the FARGO3D hydrodynamic code and with Dr. Araya on deriving the physical parameters of massive stars.
The director highlighted the awarding of this astronomy project, noting that "this is an area that is just starting at the University, and this news represents an opportunity to continue strengthening it."
Read the new here (spanish):
