The formation of compact objects--neutron stars including pulsars and magnetars, and black holes--and their evolution in stellar systems make them a unique resource to study their emission and interaction with the interstellar medium (ISM), and ionospheres and magnetospheres of planetary systems including Earth.
To understand the phenomenon above and the mystery of the universe, Jun Yang started her career by studying the Earth’s atmosphere. Inspired by the Earth’s magnetosphere, she looked further towards more extreme magnetic environments, including the magnetosphere of pulsars and magnetars. Currently, she studies metal composition of the ISM, which perfectly bridges the ionospheric and pulsar sciences.
The whole picture of her research is focusing on three main aspects:
extract science from the pulsar library she has built for Magellanic Cloud pulsars, classify neutron stars and black holes in M33 and IC10, and establish Si gas and dust absorption columns towards different lines of sight in the Galactic Bulge and eventually with future X-ray telescopes in Galaxies of the Local Group.
Her expertise in neutron star is complemented by her broad study of interstellar medium and space physics, which also defines her interest and plans:
First, she questions what the difference of the emission mechanisms from a pulsar or magnetar is based on different companion stars, such as pulsar planets or pulsar black hole binaries, and how their absorption features look after traveling through the ISM and ionosphere.
Second, the ionospheric scattering of pulses emitted by radio pulsars can be measured by radio telescopes. While the pulsar radio waves propagate through interstellar matter, dispersion and scattering occur.
Third, a stochastic superposition of gravitational waves from pulsar black hole system will modulate the arrival times of pulses. To search for pulsars near the Galactic Center (GC) in multi-wavelength observations (Gamma-ray, X-ray, optical, infrared, and radio) would provide exciting opportunities for probing gravitational potentials, axions dark matter, and magnetoionic environments near the GC.
Please email Jun Yang ( junyangpro at gmail.com ) if you would like to know more about her research, and she is eager to collaborate.