The research activities of my group span a broad range of topics in modern astrophysics, from numerical modelling and physics of stellar atmospheres to quantitative spectroscopy, nucleosynthesis, and studies of chemical and dynamical structure of the Milky Way and star forming galaxies.
Theoretical astrophysics is in one focus of our work. We develop non-equilibrium (Non-LTE) radiative transfer models and 3D radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of stellar atmospheres. Lifting the canonical approximations of 1-D geometry, hydrostatic equilibrium, and local thermodynamic equilibrium, our models open new avenues for studies of physics and structure of stars.
Observational astrophysics is in the other focus of our activities. We are actively involved in major large-scale astronomical programs, including the Gaia-ESO survey, the high-resolution Galactic Archeology survey of the disc and bulge on 4MOST, and the PLATO space mission.
With these high-quality multi-million datasets, our 3D Non-LTE models, and novel machine-learning (e.g. ANN) based diagnostic methods, we address diverse open problems in studies of the origins of chemical elements, clusters, multiplicity, Galactic structure and extragalactic stellar populations, and star-planet connection.
Among various topics, we are interested in
- What is the role of extreme events - compact binary mergers and high energy supernovae -, in Galaxy evolution?
- What are the astrophysical conditions responsible
for the formation of Fe-group and heavy trans-iron elements? - What is the growth history of the Milky Way? How was it shaped by gas flows, mergers and secular
evolution? How did the Galactic bulge form? - What is the chemical make-up of the Sun and Sun-like stars? How does the chemical composition of stars influence their evolution and habitability of their planetary companions?
Figure credits
top: (c) Steffen Brinkmann and Maria Bergemann
middle: (c) ESA/ESO
bottom: (c) Greg Stinson and Maria Bergemann; ESO