My name is Dr. Peter Craig, and I'm a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University (MSU). I work with Proffessor Laura Chomiuk working on classical novae. My research focuses on multi-wavelength observations of classical novae, especially with a focus on using archival data to build statistics across many novae. Our group is interested in uncerstanding the mechanisms behind mass ejection during nova eruptions, especially in relation to the properties of internal shocks that form inside the nova ejecta. These shocks are thought to be responsible for the emission of γ-rays and the formation of dust within novae. In general however, the details of the shocks and mass ejection mechanisms and geometry are not very well understood, so there remains a lot to be learned here.
Recently we released a paper that measured the distribution of the optical colors of Galactic novae across eruptions between 2008 and 2022. This is an update on a classic result that nova colors are relatively consistent between eruptions, which has considerable utility for estimating reddenings. Our work finds that this is generally true, and that the colors are especially consistent at t2, when the nova has declined by 2 magnitudes. More recently, I've been working on a paper that studies the γ-ray properties of the same sample of Galactic novae, especially studying how the γ-ray properties of novae relate to their optical properties, to study the γ-ray producing shocks. We compare the γ-ray properties to the ejecta velocities measured in the optical spectra, as well as features of the optical light curves like the formation of dust. This project is ongoing, but we anticipate releasing a paper soon.
If you're interested in learning more about my research, check out my research page which goes into a bit more depth (and includes some side projects and older work as well). Alternatively, if you'd like to see the papers directly, here is a Nasa ADS Library page that lists my publications. If you'd like to get in touch, my contact information is at the bottom of this page, and on the contact page. Or you could see my CV here or on the about me page.
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