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Barlow, Brad
Associate Professor


Contact

Office: 288 Phillips Hall
Email: bbarlow@unc.edu
Phone:
Web page: https://tarheels.live/bbarlow/group/

Background

Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2024-present)
Associate Professor, High Point University, High Point, NC (2019-2024)
Assistant Professor, High Point University, High Point, NC (2013-2019)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA (2011-2013)
Ph.D., Physics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2011)
M.S., Physics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2008)
B.S., Physics, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS (2006)

Research

Prof. Barlow’s stellar astrophysics research group focuses on objects located between the tip of the white dwarf cooling sequence and main sequence in the H-R diagram. Collectively referred to as hot subluminous stars, several types of objects have evolutionary tracks passing through or near this location, including pre-extremely low mass white dwarfs (pre-ELMs), core He-fusing hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars on the extended horizontal branch (EHB), post-EHB sdO/Bs, post-blue horizontal branch stars (post-BHBs), cataclysmic variables (CVs), subdwarf A stars (sdAs), and more. Essentially all hot subluminous stars share one common theme: binary interactions are necessary for their formation. Barlow’s group works on a variety of research projects that leverage this fact to gain insights into stellar evolution, Roche lobe overflow processes, common envelope ejection, and other interesting astrophysical phenomena. The broader impacts of this work touch on gravitational wave physics, Type 1a supernovae, the impact of late-stage stellar evolution on exoplanets, and more. Barlow’s group has also begun work to develop low-cost, low-resolution spectrographs to assist in these studies and follow-up observations of transients generated by the Argus array, Rubin’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), and other photometric surveys. More information can be found on his personal webpage at https://tarheels.live/bbarlow/

Publications

Visit Google Scholar for a complete, up-to-date list of Prof. Barlow’s publications. Some recent publications are listed below:

A Spectroscopic Survey of Fast Hot Subdwarfs

Geier, S., Bastian, A., Heber, U., Kupfer, T., Bloemen, S., Kreuzer, S., Schneider, D., Schindewolf, M., Moeller, L, Pelisoli, I., Schaffenroth, V., Barlow, B.N., Irrgang, A., Raddi, R., Dorsch, M., Geier, S., Reindl, N., Rauch, T., Ziegerer, E., Nemeth, P., Gaensicke, B.T., 2024, Astronomy & Astrophysics, accepted.

Hot subdwarfs in close binaries observed from space III: Reflection effect asymmetry from relativistic beaming

Barlow, B.N., Parker, I.*, Smith, B.A.*, Kupfer, T., Schaffenroth, V. 2024, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 686, A126.

OGLE-BLAP-009 — A Case Study for the Properties and Evolution of Blue Large-Amplitude Pulsators

Bradshaw, C., Dorsch, M., Kupfer, T., Barlow, B.N., Heber, U., Bauer, E., Bildsten, L., van Roestel, J., 2024, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 527, 10239.

TIC 378898110: A Bright, Short-Period AM CVn Binary in TESS

Green, M.J., Hermes, J.J., Barlow, B.N., Marsh, T.R., Pelisoli, I., Gaensicke, B.T., Kaiser, B.C., Romero, A., Antunes Amaral, L., Corcoran, K., Grupe, D., Kepler, S.O., Ashley, R.P., Baran, A., Breedth, Elme, Brown, A., Dhillon, V.S., Dyer, M.J., Kerry, P., King, G.W., Littlefair, S.P., Parsons, S.G., Sahman, D.I., Wild, J. 2024, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 527, 3445.

An Eclipsing 47-minute Double White Dwarf Binary at 400 pc

Munday, J., Tremblay, P.-E., Hermes, J.J., Barlow, B.N., Marsh, T.R., Parsons, S.G., Jones, D., Kepler, S.O., Brown, A., Littlerfair, S.P., Hegedus, R., Baran, A., Breedt, E., Dhillon, V.S., Dyer, M.J., Gaensicke, B., Green, M., Kennedy, M., Kerry P., Lopez, I., Pelisoli, I., Romero, A.D., Sahman, D., Worters, H. 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 535, 1814.

Discovery of periodic variables in the hot subdwarf catalogue through a systematic search in Zwicky Transient Facility data

Wang, K., Kupfer, T., Barlow, B.N., 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 524, 3769.

Hot subdwarfs in close binaries observed from space II: analysis of the light curves

Schaffenroth, V., Barlow, B.N., Pelisoli, I., Geier, S., Kupfer, T. 2023, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 673, A90.

V907 Sco Switched to the Eclipsing Mode Again

Zasche, P., Vokrouhlicky, D., Barlow, B.N., Mavsek, M. 2023, Astrophysical Journal, 165, 81.

Hot subdwarfs in close binaries observed from space I: orbital, atmospheric, and absolute parameters and the nature of their companions

Schaffenroth, V., Pelisoli, I., Barlow, B.N., Geier, S., Kupfer, T. 2022, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 666, A182.


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