I completed my PhD project at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and successfully defended my dissertation at the Technical University Munich. In my thesis, which is available at the online library of the University, I describe the Monte Carlo radiation hydrodynamical technique, MCRH, which I have been developing during the last years, establish its accuracy in a series of standard test calculations and discuss its utility for astrophysical studies at the example of radiation hydrodynamical processes in supernova Type Ia ejecta and in line-driven hot-star winds. In particular, the investigation of hot-star winds demonstrates the advantages of this Monte Carlo-based method to determine self-consistently the radiative force exerted by the stellar radiation onto the wind material in a multitude of atomic line interactions.

I’ve joined the core development team of the open-source Monte Carlo radiative transfer code TARDIS. With this method we aim to provide a fast, open and easy-to-use tool to calculate synthetic spectra for supernovae, particularly for Type Ia explosions. Ultimately, TARDIS should be used as part of the DALEK suite to automatically fit observed supernova spectra and derive the elemental composition and stratification of the underlying ejecta!

Concluding the research project on modelling the mass outflows of two nova-like variables, which I have carried out at the StScI with Knox Long, we published our results in a paper on ApJ.