Physics PhD Thesis Defense: Mason Ng

Building 37, Marlar Lounge, #37-252

Dear Colleagues,You are cordially invited to attend the following thesis defense."Multifaceted Understanding of Accreting Neutron Stars and their Environments" Presented by Mason Ng (Abstract is below)Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Time: 10 am Location: Marlar Lounge, #37-252 Also available on Zoom at https://mit.zoom.us/j/98450869392 (no password)Committee: Deepto Chakrabarty, Erin Kara, Matthew EvansBest of luck to Mason!Regards, The MIT Physics Graduate Program _____________________________________________________________________________Abstract:Accreting neutron stars are cosmic laboratories featuring some of the most extreme processes in the universe, hosting an accretion disk that supplies material that is magnetically channeled onto the magnetic poles of neutron stars. The emission from these accreting neutron stars peak in the X-rays, owing to gravitational potential energy loss as the accreting material falls under the strong gravitational well of the neutron star. The community has been utilizing X-ray timing and spectroscopy for decades to unravel the mysteries of these objects, with X-ray polarimetry being a recent development providing two additional observables.In my defense, I will showcase a multifaceted approach to studying accreting neutron star binaries, employing X-ray timing, spectroscopic, and polarimetry with many X-ray instruments to advance our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of these systems. I have also developed an end-to-end pulsation pipeline tool that is designed for rapid characterization of new X-ray transients, particularly for neutron stars. In the analyses undertaken as part of my thesis, I have incorporated multiple techniques and instruments to develop a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenology of many neutron star systems, such as accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars, ultraluminous X-ray pulsars, ultracompact X-ray binaries, and Z/atoll-state sources. It is through this multifaceted application that we can reveal a holistic description of neutron star binaries.