Date of Award
Spring 2024
Project Type
Dissertation
Program or Major
Physics
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
First Advisor
Francois Foucart
Second Advisor
Kai Germaschewski
Third Advisor
Mark McConnell
Abstract
Binary neutron star mergers are some of the most extreme events to happen in our universe. From observations of these mergers, we can obtain information about the properties of matter at densities much larger than those accessible within the solar system, as well on the origin of heavy elements. Studying these events poses challenges, so we use simulations to model the merger. State-of-the-art methods and models still have to make assumptions or simplifications, so new methods improving either the accuracy of the simulations, or reducing the computational cost are desired. My research contains three projects, aiming to improve simulations by approximating magnetohydrodynamical effects via a large-eddy formalism viscosity, testing the accuracy of a new description of dense matter in the neutron stars, and using a Monte-Carlo neutrino transport method.
Recommended Citation
Knight, Alexander Lee, "Binary Neutron Star Mergers: Magnetohydrodynamics and Neutrino Physics of General Relativistic Simulations of Binary Neutron Star Mergers" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations. 2832.
https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2832