(With Shuyu, Fall '04)

Marten van Kerkwijk Professor of Astronomy Tel.: +1-416-946-7288 Fax.: +1-416-946-7287 E-mail: mhvk@astro Dept. of Astronomy & Astrophysics Univ. of Toronto Office: MP 1203B Mail: 50 Saint George Street, AB 101 Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada

CV | research | group | teaching | my page with useful links

Curriculum Vitae

Short CV (A4) and list of publications (A4); long CV; publications via ADS (refereed).

Research Interests

I am interested generally in compact objects, stars and binaries, their structure, formation and evolution, and their use to infer fundamental physical properties. My research is based on observations, but includes interpretation, theory and numerical modelling as required. I generally try to make progress using key observations and/or physical considerations of individual, carefully selected objects. Currently, I am particularly excited by the possibilities of using neutron stars to study high-density and high field-strength physics, in conditions out of reach of terrestrial experiment (and theory, as yet), and to solve associated astronomical puzzles. I am also starting in a new direction, in which I try to tackle problems associated with the formation of stars, in particular binary stars. For brief descriptions, see my long CV.

Favourite recent publications:

• Lafrenière, D., Jayawardhana, R., van Kerkwijk, M.H., 2008, Direct imaging and spectroscopy of a planetary mass candidate companion to a young solar analog, ApJL, accepted (arXiv:0809.1424)
• Van Kerkwijk, M.H., Ingle, A., 2008, Reconstructing the Guitar: blowing bubbles with a pulsar bow shock back flow, ApJ 683, L159
• Van Kerkwijk, M.H., Kaplan, D.L., Pavlov, G.G., Mori, K., 2007, Spectral and rotational changes in the isolated neutron star RX J0720.4–3125, ApJ 659, L149–L152
• Durant, M., van Kerkwijk, M.H., 2006, Distances to Anomalous X-ray Pulsars using red clump stars, ApJ 650, 1070–1081
• Van Kerkwijk, M.H., Kaplan, D.L., Durant, M., Kulkarni, S.R., Paerels, F., 2004, A strong, broad absorption feature in the X-ray spectrum of the nearby neutron star RX J1605.3+3249, ApJ 608, 432–443.
• Van Kerkwijk, M.H., Kulkarni, S.R., 2001, An unusual H-alpha nebula around the nearby neutron star RX J1856.5–3754, A&A 380, 221–237.

Collaborators, students, postdocs

My joy in science is greatly enhanced when I am collaborating with one or two others, and/or while supervising undergraduate and graduate students (I am always interested in discussing possible projects, be it for AST 425, Summer Jobs, short projects or PhD theses).

My collaborators are easily identified via ADS. Current students and postdocs are:

• David Lafrenière (postdoc with Ray Jayawardhana and me since 2007): multiplicity of young stars (ApJ 683, 844); exo-planet detection (arXiv:0809.1424).
• Duy Nguyen (PhD student with Ray Jayawardhana and me): multiplicity of young stars. (Previously a short project on probing dark-matter haloes around elliptical galaxies with globular clusters; together with Bob Abraham and Stefan Mochnacki).
• Alana Rivera Ingraham (short project): distance and reddening to anomalous X-ray pulsars from scattering haloes.
• Jackie Radigan (short project): the mass of the white dwarf in U Sco.
• Serguei Ossokine (undergraduate research assistant): Guitar fever and a pulsar's speed.

• Kaya Mori (postdoc 2006/07, now associate research scientist at Columbia): Spectral and rotational changes in the isolated neutron star RX J0720.4–3125 (ApJ 659, L149).
• Alexis Brandeker (postdoc with Ray Jayawardhana and me from 2004 to 2007, now research associate in Stockholm): multiplicity of young stars (papers).
• Jerry Orosz (postdoc with me in Utrecht, now associate professor at SDSU): Our most fun result was The eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR J1740-5340 and its red straggler companion (A&A 397, 237).
• Martin Durant, PhD 2006, Toronto (now PDF at IAC): Magnetars: distances, variability and multi-wavelength observations (papers in thesis; joint papers).
• Ferdi Hulleman, PhD 2003, Utrecht: Anomalous X-ray pulsars at visible and infrared wavelengths (papers in thesis).
• Rubina Kotak, PhD 2002, Lund (after stints at Imperial College and ESO, now lecturer at Queens University, Belfast): Inside pulsating white dwarfs: Clues from time-resolved spectroscopy (papers in thesis).
• Cees Bassa, PhD 2006, Utrecht (main supervisor Frank Verbunt; now PDF at SRON, after a stint at McGill): Optical studies of compact binaries in globular clusters and the Galactic disk (thesis papers; joint papers since MSc)
• Erin Mentuch (2004/05 Summer research project with Ray Jayawardhana, Alexis Brandeker and me, continuing with first short-term project for her PhD): Lithium depletion of young stellar associations (ApJ, accepted).
• Thom Janssen, MSc 2004, Utrecht (now working at TNO [applied sciene institute]): The companion to the pulsar PSR B1718-19: the role of tidal circularisation (A&A 439, 433).
• Cees Bassa, MSc 2002, Utrecht: Temperature and cooling age of the white dwarf companion of PSR J0218+4232 (A&A 403, 1067).
• Ashleigh Ingle (undergraduate project 2007/08): Reconstructing the Guitar: blowing bubbles with a pulsar bow shock back flow (ApJ 683, L159)
• Caroline D'Angelo, BSc 2004, Toronto (currently PhD student at MPA): Contact binaries with additional components: A spectroscopic search for faint tertiaries (with Slavek Rucinski; AJ 132, 650)

Teaching

• AST 221H: Solar system and stellar astronomy (also taught in 06/07, 07/08).
• AST 320H: Introduction to astrophysics (also taught in 02/03, 04/05, 05/06, and 06/07).
• AST 201H: Stars and galaxies (together with Stefan Mochnacki; also taught in 03/04 and 04/05 with Bob Abraham and Barth Netterfield, and in 05/06 with Ray Jayawardhana).

• AST 101H: The Sun and its neighbours (taught in 03/04 and 04/05 with Bob Abraham and Barth Netterfield, in 05/06 with Ray Jayawardhana).
• SCI 199Y: Astronomy at the frontier (in 07/08, together with Yanqin Wu)
• Mini-course: Star and planet formation (in 04/05, with a slew of others).
• Mini-course: Statistics in astronomy (in 06/07, together with Barth Netterfield).