[SoP Review] PhD - AstroPhysics

[Nikhil Doshi]

Hi, Here's my SoP for applying to PhD in Astriphysics mainly in European Universities.

Thanks in advance for helping me out with the review.

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Being an ardent lover of science, I always wondered about the underlying physical processes in the universe. I spent a considerable amount of learning about astrophysics which predisposed me to want to get into Astrophysics research.

 

I enrolled myself in a BSc Physics program at Ramnarain Ruia College followed by the University of Mumbai for MSc in Physics. At both the institutes, I had an experience of both education and research going hand in hand creating a stimulating environment where one gets the flavour of scientific research very early in their careers. I went to two of Astronomy and Astrophysics courses outside of my curriculum which introduced me to various branches of the subject including stellar physics, planetary sciences and active high energy astrophysics.  

 

As a subject, physics continues to dazzle me. I think my interest in physics is mainly because I have a knack for understanding the basic structure of things. I am particularly intrigued by how fundamental physical laws can be used to explain the underlying physical processes behind the formation and evolution of the universe. In recent times, I have been doing research internships focused on exploring observational and computational aspects in astronomy and astrophysics. These internships have opened up for me the fascinating world of complex astrophysical phenomena and their understanding from a physicist’s point of view

Here are the Astrophysics and Space Physics projects I worked on during my BSc and MSc program:

 

● Stellar Polarimetry (June 2018-July 2018):

 

As a part of the research fellowship on Observational Astrophysics organised by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS), I worked on a project involving Optical Polarimetry, where I measured distances to the molecular clouds of Taurus and Ophiuchus using polarimetry. For this, I had used data from the data release DR2 of Gaia satellite as well as Heiles 2000 catalogue. Furthermore, I also tried to point the magnetic field directions in the map of these clouds with the same data. This project was done using Python.  

 

● Convection-diffusion Forbush Decrease (FD) study (April 2017-March 2018):

 

In my MSc project at the University of Mumbai, I worked on a phenomenon of cosmic rays called Forbush Decrease (FD). I studied the variation of solar wind speed and magnetic field along the FD profiles using a convection-diffusion model with the help of WIND satellite data. From the results of the study, I concluded that this is the first attempt to reproduce the complete FD profile of both types of events (ICME-induced and CIR-induced) using the diffusion-convection model. The project is under review with the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).    

 

 

● Very High Energy (VHE) detection of Fermi AGNs (May 2017-June 2017):

 

I did a project in the Astrophysical Sciences department of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The main objective was to investigate how many sources will be detectable by the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (MACE) situated in Hanle, Ladakh. I used the 3FGL catalogue from NASA’s Fermi satellite for the source detection. The project was done using the C language and I used two models of PowerLaw and LogParabola models.

 

● Radio Astronomy Research Camp (December 2014):  

 

I was selected for a Radio Astronomy research camp held in New Delhi in December 2014 in which I worked with radio images of GMRT in the FITS format and used SAO Image DS9 software for its analysis to identify which galaxies belonged to the class of radio galaxies of FRI and FRII.  

 

The Observational Astrophysics research fellowship at IIA covered a variety of Astrophysics branches via lectures from experts in the field, mainly from IIA and some from ISRO and NCRA, along with an introduction to different tools of IDL (Interactive Data Language), Spectra Cyber, powspec and HeaSoft and gave a basic idea of how spectroscopy is practically measured and how analysis of astronomical data is done. This is precisely what made me interested in various astrophysics branches, stellar astrophysics being one of them. The PhD position at the Physics of Stellar Objects (PSO) of the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies interests me because it focuses on one of the very important aspects in Astrophysics of the Mach number. How Mach number simulation for stellar evolution provides an easy way to study the entire life cycle of a star capturing its temporal evolution, which otherwise is computationally challenging, interests me the most.  

 

I have also worked with magnetic fields for my project during my MSc while studying the effects of the magnetic field and its components on Forbush Decrease. Magnetohydrodynamics was a part of my curriculum as part of my Plasma Physics course. Additionally, although it was not extensively used in my project on FDs, I needed to have a basic understanding of MHD equations, which is what makes me a suitable candidate for this project.

 

Moreover, the position requires experience in numerical methods. Apart from my projects in Astrophysics and Space Physics that included numerical methods, like the Trapezoidal method for integration and the Lagrange method for Interpolation for my project at BARC, I have had an entire course on Numerical Methods in the third semester of my MSc which exposed me to a number of major numerical techniques useful in Physics.    

 

The PhD position at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies suits my preference as it provides an ideal climate to pursue my interests. I believe that the kind of training that I had through my course work and internships will prove an asset in pursuing my research career at the PSO group. It would be a perfect environment for me to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in summer schools and projects to the research in an area of my choice. The knowledge and skills that I would gain from this experience would go a long way to help my aim to achieve a greater understanding of astrophysical processes and equip me with the necessary ingredients to keep working in this highly exciting field.

 

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