I am a PhD student working on the indirect measurement of radiative-capture cross sections at low energies of astrophysical interest. In this approach, photo-dissociation, the time reversed equivalent of radiative capture, is employed to infer cross sections which are too small to be measured directly at the relevant energies.
In particular, I am working on the development of a silicon detector setup for the measurement of the 6Li(e,e',α) reaction at MAMI-A1. This detector will be used to detect the α particles in coincidence with the scattered electron whose momentum can be measured precisely with the existing spectrometer setup at A1.
This will serve as a proof of principle for employing photo-dissociation as a tool to infer radiative-capture cross sections relevant for nuclear astrophysics.
Before joining AG Sfienti, I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, from which I graduated with a Masters Degree (MPhys) in Computational Physics in July 2025. For my Masters Thesis, I analysed data from the n_TOF experiment at CERN with the aim of determining the neutron capture cross section of 29Si, a quantity relevant for our understanding of the slow neutron capture process in AGB stars and of the Si abundancies observed in presolar grains.
Scientific CV
| Since 09/2025 | PhD student at the Institute for Nuclear Physics, JGU Mainz |
| 2020-2025 |
Physics studies at the University of Edinburgh (UK) Awarded degree of Master of Physics (Hons) in Computational Physics Masters Thesis on determining the neutron capture cross section of 29Si using data from the n_TOF experiment @ CERN
Further research projects include: -Senior Honours Project on molecular dynamics simulations to obtain the relative stabilities of Ice Ih and Ice Ic within the AMOEBA model of Ice with Dr. Ciprean Pruteanu at the University of Edinburgh (09-12/2023) -Summer Research Project in Educational Physics with Prof. Thomas Trefzger at the University of Würzburg (06-07/2024) -Summer Research Project in modelling the evolution of protoplanetary discs with Dr. Allison Young at the University of Edinburgh (06-07/2023) |
Research Interests
- Experimental nuclear astrophysics: Big Bang Nucelosynthesis and the s-process
- Detector development: silicon strip detectors