Early Researcher Prize winner likes to chase pulsars, slam dunk and dreams of a discovery that changes the field
Here we are introducing one of Sparrho’s first Early Researcher Prize Winners. Aaron Pearlman, PhD student at the California Institute of Technology who is passionate about pulsars won £500 in July to present at the 232nd American Astronomical Society Meeting, Denver, USA in June 2018. We asked Aaron about how he got into science, why he loves his field and what he thinks of Interstellar.
AP: As a young child I had a great fascination with computers and programming. I got started very early in life with IBM machines when memory was measured in mere megabytes. I started tinkering around and discovered I really enjoyed doing stuff on computers. In grade school I started focusing more on science because that was more interesting to me. And then I went to university and I thought I was going to be a computer scientist writing software all day, but I found that computer science was missing the big picture of the world.
“I was looking for something that was a bit more interesting than just writing software, and then I discovered Physics.”
Physics is one of these things… you know, when I was a kid I always asked these questions like “Why does everything behave in a certain way, how can we describe it, how can we understand it?
Sparrho: And how did you get into Physics? A lot of people are scared of it.
AP: It was actually my dad who got me interested. He was not a scientist, but rather the traditional ‘Einstein memoirs reader’. He became interested in the theory of relativity and he turned me onto it and he would ask me questions, because I was interested in maths and science. But I did not know the answer to a lot of his questions at the time.
“I started to merge my skill set of using computing, software and data analysis and that’s how my love of astrophysics has flourished.”
Astrophysics is a really Physics-intense field, where you do a lot of calculations and trying to understand nature. There is also a heavy emphasis on the ability to write software, to look at data, to interpret it and make conclusions of your results.
Sparrho: It’s a bit like flying an airplane with the instruments only, you can’t really touch the object of your observation, right?
AP: I always view astrophysics as looking at the world through a lens, because you’re not directly interacting with it as an experiment per se, but you are looking at something as a snapshot in time, how the universe was it’s millions or billions of years ago. In my case it’s pulsars and when you observe them you see something that was going on some time ago.
Sparrho: Are you intrigued by creation and how the Universe came about?
AP: Of course, I would not be a scientist if I did not ask these fundamental questions of where did the universe come from or if there is a Creator…
Sparrho: And what’s your stance on it? Was there a Creator?
AP: Well, I don’t think believing in God per se and doing science are mutually exclusive. I think there is some overlap and there is a lot of room for people who do believe in God to say, “Hey, here is the data to say…” I give you an example: a typical thing that people in science who try to argue that God exists do is to mention that there are certain physical constants in the Universe like the gravitational constant, something called the Planck constant. These constants are so precise, so fine! If they were off by one digit in a million then the Universe and matter and life as we know it would have never formed.
“So then you ask the question then, “what are the chances of it just happening randomly?” But then on the other side you find atheists, who say they can write down an equation for everything and they can predict things.”
There is definitely no scientific evidence to conclusively prove if there is or isn’t a Creator, however I think there is definitely room for people who are theists and atheists to make their arguments based upon the science.
Sparrho: Why are you specifically passionate about pulsars, what’s so amazing about them?
AP: Pulsars are pretty incredible objects, because they are at the last stage before a star dies. They start out as smaller objects that grow into Red Giants and eventually these pulsars run out of fuel and they die in this massive supernova explosion. So looking at them is like seeing the end stage of a star, but they are not dense enough yet to become a black hole. What’s really interesting about pulsars is that they are the most energetic objects in the universe.
I look at objects called magnetars, they have magnetic fields that are like a trillion times larger than the Earth’s magnetic field.
“The type of events that go on in a neutron star are unique, in the sense that you cannot reproduce these events in physics or these environmental conditions anywhere else in the universe. So if you’re interested in studying this stuff, you really have to look at pulsars.”
For example ‘pulsar timing arrays’ became a hot topic. This is the observation of the fastest spinning pulsars in the universe. They spin at the order of one rotation every millisecond. They are very fast objects and they’re very stable. There is a technique called pulsar-timing which is basically every time you see a pulse here on Earth, you record the time. Researchers are trying to detect perturbations in these rotation frequencies due to gravitational waves. This is energy that is going to be released due to gravitation that was predicted by Einstein in the 1900s.
This has gained interest, because in the past couple of years gravitational waves were discovered here at Caltech. It was a huge breakthrough about a 100 years after Einstein made his discovery about general relativity.
There are other applications for pulsars. For example, I’m working on this long-standing enigma. In the centre of our galaxy there is a supermassive black hole. What’s interesting is that you would expect a large number of pulsars in the centre of the galaxy. However, we have only detected a handful. So, if you can detect a pulsar in the centre of the galaxy, it’s already a monumental discovery. But now, if you detect a pulsar that’s close enough to the centre of the black hole, you can probe different regimes of strong gravity and Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and you cannot do it anywhere else in the universe.
Sparrho: Let me steer you away from the hard science. What is the practical application of your research?
AP: Here’s how I’d frame it: if you asked Einstein “what is your practical application for General Relativity?” He would say “I want to describe gravity”, but if you look at how General Relativity is incorporated into our everyday lives, the reason why our GPS works is due to General Relativity.
For me studying pulsars, the primary interest is discovering new Physics. And new discoveries can lead to applications.
Pulsars are known to be very stable clocks and the best cosmic clocks and they offer applications for space.
“I think it is important to understand the structure of our Universe, so when hopefully one day we become a multi-planetary or even a multi-galactic civilisation, we know what’s out there, what the risks are, what type of physics we are walking into, so we know how to protect ourselves.”
Of course, the technology still has to go a long way before we get there.
Sparrho: Does anyone ask you “how close can I fly to a black hole?”
AP: Well, you don’t want to get too close. There is an interesting movie about what happens if you go too close to a neutron star. Neutron stars are less dense than a black hole. If you got close to either of them, the gravity is so strong that you’d be pulled apart atom by atom, and when your atoms would hit the neutron star there would be this violent explosion.
Sparrho: Speaking of movies, what did you think of the science in Interstellar?
AP: I would say the simulations, when the main character falls into a black hole are based on real models, but some of the other science related to the movie was a little bit science fiction!
Sparrho: How do you think the relationship between the public and scientists is changing? There’s a growing number of people who appear to simply ignore facts…
AP: I think in general people are becoming more aware of the importance of science. For example, if we speak about global warming, people are starting to understand that the scientists are showing data about problems that need to be addressed. The respect for science is there. Of course you will have stubborn people who refuse to educate themselves, they don’t think the science is right.
Sparrho: Would you argue with them or walk away?
AP: I think you have to educate them. Some of the stuff is pretty serious. For example, if something is not done about global warming then maybe not my children or your children, but your great-grandchildren will face problems, because the habitability of the planet will be in question.
“I think in order to make a change, the first step is education. The next step is once everyone understands that there is an issue, they do something about it.”
Sparrho: You’re a young researcher and many of your peers will face the same question, although you may be luckier than others because you work in the US. How does funding affect you?
AP: It depends on what field you’re in. Funding has always been tight for science, which is unfortunate, because there is a great need for more scientists to do the more technological things. But that being said, there is funding. In the US the government gives funding and there are private funds and corporations that sponsor research. So I would say to someone who is feeling deterred, because there is no funding, not to worry about it. If you’re really passionate about it, if you’re really interested in it, don’t let money stop you.
Sparrho: So what you are saying is that you can always find a way to secure funding?
AP: Yes!
Sparrho: At Sparrho, we provide a platform to create a community of scientists. Do you find it important to be part of a bigger community or happy within your circle?
AP: Absolutely. It is very important to communicate these technical things to people who aren’t in scientific fields, because a lot of times this is how collaboration on practical applications develop. You are working on some project and then you go present your results at a conference. And then someone who may not be an expert in your field says “Hey, I’ve been working on this other thing, I have a very good application for this, maybe we can work together” and then it ends up helping thousands and millions of people. So I think it is very important to stay plugged in and stay connected to the global community and to disseminate scientific research.
Sparrho: So how vital is it for you to attend conferences?
AP: It is very important, but depending on what conferences you go to, you might see more people who are experts in your field. So you have to tweak your presentation for the audience. For sure, there are conferences where you want to go to present to people with less of a scientific background. And there are those, where you are presenting to the experts in your field. This is important, because
“…if you want to be on top of what the latest research in your field is and what the new techniques are, you have to go the experts and talk to them.”
Sparrho: What’s your dream research and what would you like to achieve?
AP: Any scientist would be lying if they said they did not want to receive the Nobel Prize.
“I’d like to make some discovery that completely changes the field and how we think about the Universe and physics.”
But I think, if you go into science with that goal [getting the Nobel Prize], it’s a mistake. Because if you look at the people who won the Nobel Prize, it’s kind of serendipitous. They’ve been working on something that they were passionate about and it just so happened that they were voted on and their work was significant enough that they won the prize. So what that discovery may be for me? I’m not sure yet. Maybe it will be related to pulsars hopefully!
Sparrho: And is there something non-scientific on your bucket list?
AP: I’d like to travel to every country in the world and see the sights. I’ve been to a few as research lets me travel, but I would like to see more and experience new cultures.
Sparrho: And finally how do you switch off and let you mind wander?
AP: Two things — I like to read, that greatly relaxes me. But I can’t just sit around all day, I have to run around, so I like sports and playing basketball. Sporting activity is important!
Read more about Aaron’s research here.
