Team: Prof. Brynmor Haskell (PI), Prof. Sebastiano Bernuzzi (Co-PI), Dr. Raj Kishor Joshi (PostDoc).

The MERLIN project will provide the theoretical foundations for future observations by investigating the magnetic field dynamics in neutron star interiors and the role of turbulence in its evolution. We employ Einstein's general relativity to model the development of the super strong magnetic fields and create accurate astrophysical models using the GR-MHD code Athena++. The project will develop in Jena (Germany), Warsaw (Poland) and Milan (Italy) in the groups of Prof.dr.Haskell and Prof.dr.Bernuzzi. More details on the project and progress updates can be found on the Merlin website.

Team: Prof. Lars Mattsson (PI), Dr. Frederick Gent, Dr. Florian Kirchschlager.

The project focuses on the dust destruction effects caused by SN-generated shock waves. MHD simulations of SN explosions are run at different ISM densities with the Pencil Code, and the dust grains are applied via the post-processing code PAPERBOATS. The primary publications can be found here and here.

Supervisor: Prof. Lars Mattsson.

A persistent dilemma in the field of interstellar dust research involves the large discrepancy between the timescales for dust formation from late-stage stars and its seemingly more rapid destruction within interstellar shocks. A full 3D treatment of a blast wave propagating through an inhomogeneous, turbulent ISM is performed onto a high-density region reproducing a dense clump in a molecular cloud. The purpose of this investigation is to quantify the impact of ambient gas and dust density on the cleansing effect of a SN on surrounding dust particles. The magneto-hydrodynamic simulations are run with initial conditions emulating a realistic ISM and post-processing calculations include dust processing due to ion sputtering, accretion, and grain–grain collisions.