Modelling galactic bulges? For my 3rd year project.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and requirements of a third-year project focused on modeling galactic bulges and their relationship with supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The scope includes theoretical understanding, computational simulations, and programming skills necessary for the project.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant outlines the importance of understanding bulge formation in relation to SMBHs and describes the project as suitable for high-achieving students with strong computer skills.
  • The original poster expresses concern about their average performance and programming skills, seeking insights into the project's difficulty and requirements.
  • Another participant suggests consulting the project supervisor for detailed requirements and assessment of the original poster's potential for success.
  • A different participant indicates that the project will likely involve extensive coding with minimal analytical work, advising the original poster to inquire about the programming language used in existing code.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that consulting the project supervisor is advisable, but there is no consensus on the specific challenges of the project or the necessary skills required.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of familiarity with the topic and project requirements, indicating potential gaps in knowledge and experience that could affect the original poster's approach.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering projects in astrophysics, particularly those involving computational modeling and programming, may find this discussion relevant.

great_sushi
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Galactic Modelling - Bulge formation

The bulges at the centres of galaxies often host supermassive black holes (SMBHs), with masses as large as 10^9 M sun. The masses of SMBHs correlate with properties of bulges. Therefore it is important to understand how bulges form in order to understand how they can control the SMBHs that form within them. Classical bulges are thought to form from the mergers of pre-galactic clumps. In this project the student will use simulations to explore how classical bulges evolve and how this impacts SMBHs. This project area is only suitable for a high-achieving student that has a good knowledge of computers and linux.

I want to know if people think this is too hard? I am an average achieving student.. although I know I could be a high achiever but I don't put in anywhere near enough time into my study. Which I plan to change for my 3rd year.. i need at least 71% to get a 1st and I want a 1st.

I am not a great programmer, my last project I did was about chaos... luckily for me, I had a module that was about chaos and simulating chaotic behavior... so I had plenty of help with it.

Can anyone give me any insight as to what this project may involve? If they have done anything similar and how they found it etc
Or just some advice on the topic.

Thanks
 
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Unfortunately, I have no experience with this topic. However, have you tried approaching the member of staff who is supervising the project? I'm sure they will be more than happy to discuss what will be required in more detail, and to assess your potential to be successful.
 
You should definitely speak with the project supervisor. But I can tell you that it's very likely to be entirely coding, with little or no analytical work. A good question to ask would be which language existing code is written in, since if you're not familiar with that you have some catch-up to do.
 
Ok thanks for the feedback. I will send an email
 

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