Project description
From super-massive stars to gravitational waves
Gravitational waves are invisible changes in the curvature of spacetime, like ripples in a pond caused by some of the most violent and energetic events in our universe. They are created by the merger of two black holes, in turn created by the collapse of massive stars at the end of their lifetimes. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PROGENITOR project is profiling the most massive and exceedingly rare stars we know, Wolf-Rayet stars, which are at an advanced stage of evolution and losing mass at a very high rate. Studies will enable better understanding of massive star evolution and the distant origins of gravitational waves.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomyoptical astronomy
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomygravitational waves
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomystellar astronomyneutron stars
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical physics
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsdynamical systems
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrophysicsblack holes
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsmathematical model
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinator
1012WX Amsterdam
Netherlands
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