In September 2017 Frederik got his master’s degree in physics from the Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen University.
– My focus was on computational astrophysics, and my thesis was about solar simulations with a combination of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and particles.
Back to Solar physics
Frederik joined the RoCS's crew on September 17th 2018, after eight months job in a bioinformatics research group in Copenhagen.
– I am very happy to be working in my own field again, says Frederik.
– What is the aim of your research?
– I am going to study reconnection in the solar atmosphere. Reconnection does not follow the assumptions of the MHD-approximation, so it makes sense to model it with particles instead.
In a MHD approximation plasma is treated as a fluid. On the other hand, in the particle-in-cell approximation the plasma is considered as a collection of particles.
– The MHD approach requires much less processing power and is therefore preferable in many cases, but when we are studying something that affects the individual particles (as magnetic reconnection does) we would like to use the particle-in-cell approach, explains Frederik.
Using numerical simulations, Frederik will advance the study of the magnetic reconnection process combining MHD and particles.
Norway vs Denmark
– Why the Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics (RoCS)?
– During my master’s my supervisor (Åke Nordlund, who has strong ties to the solar group) kept me updated on the status of RoCS and the Centre of Excellence grant, so when the possibility to come here and do a PhD came, I was happy to apply.
So far living in Oslo and working at ITA has turned out to be a positive experience for Frederik, where "everyone is so nice!", he says.
– Also, I had wanted to try living in another country for a while, and even though Denmark and Norway have many similarities, there are significant differences as well.
– Your expectations?
I expect to learn a lot, both within my field and about how the academic world works in general. And I hope to make some scientific discoveries, that will expand on our knowledge further.