I am a PhD student at the Argelander Institut für Astronomie at the University of Bonn, where I am a member of the the Emmy Noether group on The formation and evolution of Milky Way starburst clusters led by Dr. Andrea Stolte.

Short CV

Education

PhD student, University of Bonn, 2009 - present
– Thesis title: Starburst clusters near the center of the Galaxy, Supervisor: Dr. Andrea Stolte

M.Sc. Theoretical Physics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran, 2007 - 2009
Thesis title: Studying caustics in multiple gravitational lens systems using inverse ray shooting method, Supervisors: Dr. S. Ravar, Dr. A. H. Fathollahi

B.Sc. Physics, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, 2003 - 2007
– Undergraduate Thesis: Calculating half-life of heavy elements by simulation of time-dependent Schroedingers equation, Supervisor: Dr. Saman Moghimi.

High School Diploma in Mathematics and Physics, National Organization for Developing of Exceptional Talents (NODET) & Pre-University, Qazvin, Iran, 1999 - 2003

Awards & Honours:
•Member of The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2009-present
• Ranked as top student among Master students of the Theoretical Physics Group at Alzahra University, 2007-2009
•Awarded for one of the best student research projects aint high school level during the Javan-Kharazmi Festival, awarded by the Ministry of Education

Research

current projects

 My research during the PhD project center around the study of young, massive star clusters, so called starburst clusters. I particularly work on the young Arches cluster which is located at a projected distance of 25 pc from the Galactic center.

I analyzed high-resolution near-infrared adaptive optics data in combination with seeing-limited observations of the Arches cluster to derive the stellar mass function up to the cluster’s tidal radius for the first time (Fig.1, left). As a major part of my research on the GC star clusters, I studied the effects of the extinction law on the stellar mass function. Comparing the previously used ”standard” near-infrared extinction law with the steeper wavelength dependence suggested by new studies, I showed that a moderate change in the extinction law causes substantial change in the derived stellar masses of up to 30%.

We also found that the derived present-day mass function of the cluster steepens toward the outskirts of the cluster. I compared the derived slope of the mass functions in different annuli of the cluster with a series of dynamical N-body simulations performed by Harfst et al. (2010). The comparison showed that the observed mass function of the Arches cluster is consistent with dynamical evolution of the cluster, and that no top-heavy IMF is required to explain the present cluster mass function.

Currently I investigate the contribution of known clusters in the GC to the Galactic center environment by studying the distribution of ejected sources in the simulations.

callaborators: Andrea Stolte, Wolfgang Brandner, Benjamin Hussman, Stefan Harfst, Adriane lierman `

Research interests

-Stellar mass function and dynamical evolution of starburst clusters

-Star clusters and the reciprocal impact with the host environment

-High mass star formation and the origin of the mass function

-Circumstellar disks and planet formation, observations of exoplanets

-Astrobiology