I am working with Prof Rachel Mandelbaum, and am a member of the DESC (Dark Energy Science Collaboration). I am working on testing the impact of PSF (Point Spread Function) modelling errors for weak lensing with LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope). I am using the Galsim code to model galaxies and will use PSF models specific for the LSST. This work is in collaboration with the DESC’s WL (Weak Lensing) group; PSF effects can mimic shear effects which obscures the true lensing effect and figuring out the PSF modelling errors is vital to measuring the shear signal from weak lensing to extreme accuracy, which is one of the major science goals of the LSST.

I work with Dr Matt Pitkin in gravitational wave data analysis and use Bayesian inference to search for gravitational waves from the sun using LIGO data. Some theoretical motivation for this due to an MHD dynamo at the core of the sun exists (see this recent paper). Check out this talk for some very preliminary resuts, and this poster for an outline of our search method, and watch this space for more results soon.