Searching for the hidden population of binary black holes.
Where can we find the hidden population of non-accreting black holes? How massive can neutron stars get? How do strong magnetic fields affect the evolution of white dwarfs? Since 2013, I've tried to help answer these questions. I completed my PhD in 2017, which was focused on identifying accreting white dwarfs with strong magnetic fields, and studying these systems during critical moments of their life cycles. Following this, I was awarded a Newton International Fellowship to work at the University of Manchester. The project, titled "Exploring the magnetic fields and accretion mechanisms in cataclysmic variables", let me continue my work on magnetic white dwarfs, but also introduced me to the field of "spider" pulsars, through studying the canonical transitional spider PSR J1023+0038. The project concluded in 2019, after which I joined Rene Breton's team as postdoctoral researcher. As part of his team, I worked on measuring the masses of the neutron stars in "spider" systems. In 2021, I was awarded a Govnerment of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship. The project, titled "Invisible Monsters: Searching for the hidden population of galactic black holes", is focused on using all sky optical surveys to look black holes around stars in our Galaxy. In 2022, I joined the Department of Physics at University College Cork as a temporary lecturer below the bar.
