David McDavid, Research Scientist

Email: dam3ma@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 924-7494
Fax: (434) 924-3104
Office: 249 Astronomy Building
Address:
   Department of Astronomy
   PO Box 400325
   Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325

Curriculum Vitae: B.S., Physics, Stanford University, 1972; M.A., Astronomy, University of Virginia, 1977; Teaching Associate, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1977-1993; Guest Observer, McDonald Observatory, 1984-1993; Ph.D., Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, 2001; Research Associate, University of Virginia, 2002-2006; Presently:; Research Scientist, University of Virginia; Webmaster, The Be Star Newsletter

Research Interests: Stellar Polarimetry; Be Stars; Instrumentation

Courses Taught: Astronomy 3130: Observational Astronomy

Work in Progress: Be Stars in the Open Cluster NGC 663; Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows; The Polarization of Achernar; ASTR3130 Class Observes Be Stars with FOBOS [2004] [2009]; The Upper Main Sequence of the Open Cluster NGC 2169; CN Abundances in the SMC Be Star NGC330-B12; Near Infrared Polarimetry with FanCam; Norfolk State University's Rapid Response Robotic Telescope (RRRT); ASTR3130 Color AstroImages from the RRRT (2009)

Favorite Science Quote: "We now find ourselves in the beautiful position of having developed a machine so powerful that we can just stand back and pile up our profits."
... Melvin Schwartz, in Principles of Electrodynamics

I am part of the group responsible for maintaining the 1-m telescope and its instrumentation at the University's Fan Mountain Observatory. My favorite research interest is precision optical polarimetry of early emission line stars: massive hot stars that spin so rapidly they are practically flying apart, making their outer atmospheres unstable in very mysterious and unpredictable ways. For fun I enjoy playing the saxophone with a wacky assortment of Charlottesville rhythm 'n blues musicians.

Comparing the Sun and a rapidly rotating B-type star (Regulus), according to recent interferometry from CHARA.

Monte Carlo simulations of the limb polarization produced by electron scattering in the extended atmosphere of a rotationally distorted early-type star.

Selected Recent Papers and Preprints
Properties and nature of Be stars. 26. Long-term and orbital changes of ζ Tauri: Ruždjak, D., Božić, H., Harmanec, P. et al. 2010, A&A, 506, 1319; Abstract
Towards an understanding of the Of?p star HD 191612: optical spectroscopy: Howarth, I.D., Walborn, N.R., Lennon, D.J. et al. 2007, MNRAS, 381, 433; Abstract
A Study of pi Aquarii during a Quasi-normal Star Phase: Refined Fundamental Parameters and Evidence for Binarity: Bjorkman, K.S., Miroshnichenko, A.S., McDavid, D., and Pogrosheva, T.M. 2002, ApJ, 573, 812; Abstract
On the polarimetric variability of bright O-type stars: Clarke, D., McDavid, D., Smith, R.A., and Henrichs, H.F. 2002, A&A, 383, 580; Abstract
A Useful Approximation for Computing the Continuum Polarization of Be Stars: McDavid, David 2001, ApJ, 553, 1027; Abstract
Multicolor Polarimetry of Selected Be Stars: 1995-1998: McDavid, David 1999, PASP, 111, 494; Abstract
More publications...

Department of Astronomy - P.O. Box 400325 - University of Virginia - Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325
Tel: (434) 924-7494 - Fax: (434) 924-3104
© 2011 by The Rectors and Visitors of The University of Virginia.
Maintained by David McDavid - last update: 28 November 2011.