Nadia Blagorodnova (University of Barcelona) has obtained an ERC Starting Grant 2021. During her project CET 3PO (Common Envelope Transients – Progenitors, Precursors and Properties of their Outbursts) she will study how pairs of massive stars interact and how these close interactions shape their lives.

Dr Nadejda (Nadia) Blagorodnova earned her BSc in Computer Science at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.  Her passion for astronomy started during her job as a software engineer for the European Space Agency mission Gaia. After obtaining her MSc in Astrophysics at the University of Barcelona, she moved to the UK to pursue her PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK), which focused on the discovery and characterisation of astrophysical transients using the daily stream of Gaia data. 

During her postdoctoral studies, Dr Blagorodnova worked at the California Institute of Technology (USA), where she commissioned the robotic operations of a low-resolution spectrograph for fast transients classification and led the study of astrophysical transients related to stars disrupted by supermassive black holes (tidal disruption events), and stellar mergers (also known as luminous red novae). This last group is also the focus of her current research at the University of Radboud (The Netherlands), which was funded by the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme VENI fellowship, awarded by the Dutch Research Council. In October 2022 she will initiate her position as a group leader at the University of Barcelona for the ERC funded project CET-3PO.

Which are the main objectives of CET-3PO?

The main goal of CET-3PO, Common Envelope Transients – Progenitors, Precursors, and Properties of their Outbursts is to understand how pairs of massive stars interact and how these close interactions shape their lives. In particular, the project will study the so-called common envelope (CE) phase, when two stars orbit within the same gaseous envelope while spiralling towards each other. At the termination of this phase, if the binary pair has not merged, it will have a much shorter orbit, becoming a source of gravitational waves, and other high-energy astrophysical phenomena.

From the theoretical point, the CE phase is one of the most challenging, but also the least understood aspects of binary stellar evolution. CET-3PO will use observations of astrophysical transients related to stellar mergers to answer the following questions about CE: Which binary pairs are more likely to merge, and which ones to survive the CE phase? Which physical mechanisms are responsible for the merger? How the merger remnant evolves? Does the rate of merged stars and binary survivors match the predictions from theory? Combining multi-wavelength observations and theoretical modelling, CET-3PO will provide the first coherent observational study of the CE phase for massive stars.

Why did you decide to carry out your research at the University of Barcelona?

The research group at the University of Barcelona offers broad expertise in key areas related to the nature of this project like gravitational waves, high-energy astrophysics, and stellar populations. It is also a member of several international scientific consortia and projects, such as the Virgo gravitational wave detector, the Gaia astrometric space mission, and the MAGIC / CTA high-energy astrophysics telescopes. Finally, working at a Spanish institution will give me privileged access to observational resources (telescope time) located in Spain.

How do you expect this grant will affect your professional career?

This grant will bring me the opportunity to start my own research group and consolidate myself as a leader in this field.

Are you planning to open research positions in your group?

Yes, currently I am opening two positions, one for a postdoctoral researcher with experience in large transient surveys, and a PhD position for a student, related to the observational analysis of the transients and their progenitor systems.

Are you planning any collaborations?

Yes, this project will be developed in collaboration with observational groups leading large time-domain surveys, which are based in the USA and The Netherlands, and theoretical groups leading studies of binary stellar evolution, simulations of common envelope, and binary populations. In this last area, I plan to collaborate with Dr Robert Izzard, Lecturer at the University of Surrey (UK). Dr Izzard is an expert in studies of binary stellar populations, disk and planet formation, and nucleosynthesis.

Where can we learn more about you and your project?

Personal webpage: https://nblago.github.io

Enquiries about the project can be sent to: cet3po@gmail.com

Selected publications

The luminous red nova AT 2018bwo in NGC 45 and its binary yellow supergiant progenitor, Blagorodnova, N.; Klencki J.; Pejcha O.; et. al. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 653, 134 (2021)

Common Envelope Ejection for a Luminous Red Nova in M101, Blagorodnova, N.; Kotak, R.; Polshaw, J.; Kasliwal, M. M.; et. al. The Astrophysical Journal, 834, 107 (2017)

During the following weeks, we will be presenting those researchers working at Spanish institutions that have obtained an ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant 2021 and their projects. You can check their profiles HERE.