Mami Deka
Nice to meet you! I am Mami (Maw-mi), a postdoctoral reseracher at INAF - ‑Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Naple, Italy. My research focuses on leveraging variable stars to advance our understanding of stellar properties, galaxy structures, and the Universe, in general. More specifically, it has focused on using the recently obtained archival data in conjunction with theoretical stellar models to get deeper insights into the classical pulsators and their host galaxies. The classical pulsators can also be used as excellent distance indicators as they exhibit strict period-luminosity relations (PLR). I use the PLR to unravel the three-dimensional structure of their host galaxies.
I've had a diverse academic journey that started with basic physics and led me to the exciting fields of astrophysics and cosmology. My love for mathematics has been a constant and guiding force throughout my academic pursuits. I did my B.Sc. in Physics from Nalbari College, Assam, India. After that, I did my Master's in Physics with specialization in Astrophysics & Cosmology from Gauhati University, Assam, India.
I enjoy teaching and outreach, and I would like to improve my experience in these areas as I move forward. In my free time, I really enjoy doing crafts like designing dresses, paintings, and making wall arts. I also love going to new places, especially to see and learn about old architectures.
Research Interests
- Pulsating variable stars
- Eclipsing binaries
- Stellar astrophysics
- Galactic structure and evolution
- Extragalactic distances
Publications
ADS | Google Scholar
Refereed Articles
- Mami Deka, Earl P. Bellinger, Shashi Kanbur, Sukanta Deb, Anupam Bhardwaj, Hugh Riley Randall, Selim Kalici, Susmita Das. Bridging theory and observation in stellar pulsation models: The impact of convection and metallicity on instability strip boundaries for Classical and Type-II Cepheids, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 530, Issue 4, June 2024, Pages 5099–5119.
- Gautam Bhuyan, Sukanta Deb, Shashi Kanbur, Earl P. Bellinger, Mami Deka, Anupam Bhardwaj. Geometry of the LMC based on multi-phase analysis of multi-wavelength Cepheid light curves using OGLE-IV and Gaia DR3 data, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 527, Issue 3, January 2024, Pages 8671–8686.
- Kerdaris Kurbah, Sukanta Deb, Shashi M Kanbur, Susmita Das, Mami Deka, Anupam Bhardwaj, Hugh Riley Randall, Selim Kalici. A multiphase study of theoretical and observed light curves of classical Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 521, Issue 4, June 2023, Pages 6034–6052.
- Mami Deka, Shashi M Kanbur, Sukanta Deb, Susmita Das, Kerdaris Kurbah, Earl P Bellinger, Anupam Bhardwaj. Period-Colour and Amplitude-Colour relations for OGLE-δ Scuti stars in the Galactic Bulge and LMC, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, stac2457.
- Mami Deka, Sukanta Deb, Kerdaris Kurbah. An MCMC approach to the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way bulge using OGLE-IV δ Scuti stars, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 514, Issue 3, August 2022, Pages 3984–3992.
Conference Proceedings
- Mami Deka, Shashi M. Kanbur, Sukanta Deb, Susmita Das. “A Study of Stellar Photosphere – Hydrogen Ionization Front Interaction in 𝛿 Scuti Stars
- Kerdaris Kurbah, Sukanta Deb, Shashi M Kanbur, Susmita Das, Mami Deka, Anupam Bhardwaj, Hugh Riley Randall, Selim Kalici. A multiphase study of classical Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds‑Models and Observations
Achievements
- 2023 Selected in the Kavli Summer Program In Astrophysics 2023: ”The lives, deaths and afterlives of interacting stars” organized by MPA, Garching, Germany
- 2023 International Travel Grant by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India to attend the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Symposium 376 ”At the cross-roads of astrophysics and cosmology: Period–luminosity relations in the 2020s”, Hungary
- 2021 Qualified State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) conducted by SLET Commission, Assam (PHs).
- 2020 Qualified GATE Exam conducted by Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) (PH).
- 2020 Qualified NET-LS in Physical Science conducted by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India.
- 2019 Qualified NET-LS in Physical Science conducted by CSIR, with All India Rank 70.
- 2016-2018 Received NEC Merit Scholarship.
Research Schools Attended
- 2023 Participated in the IAU International Spring School "Modern methods of cosmic distance determination" organized by Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary.
- 2022 Participated in the "7rd Indo-French Astronomy School" on "Spectroscopy, Treasures in the voxels" jointly organized by Lyon (LIO, CRAL CNRS UMR5574, UCBL1) and IUCAA in Pune, India.
Project Title
Chemical composition of neutral gas in a distant galaxy.
Advisor: Jens-Kristian Krogager (CRAL, Lyon, France)
- 2018 Participated in "Pulsar Astronomy with uGMRT Boot-Camp & Multi-Wavelength Neutron Star Workshop" at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Hyderabad Campus.
Talks/Conferences
7. 42nd meeting of the Astronomical Society of India
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), India, February, 2024
Oral Presentation: The impact of convection and metallicity on instability strip boundaries of Classical Cepheids
6. North East Meet of Astronomers (NEMA – IX)
Mizoram University,Mizoram, November, 2023
Oral Presentation: The impact of convection and metallicity on instability strip boundaries of Classical Cepheids
5. MPA‑Kavli Summer Programme in Astrophysics
Max Planck Institue for Astrophysics,Garching, Germany, August, 2023
Oral Presentation: A new model* for turbulent convection: Implications for Cepheid models
4. International Astronomical Union (IAU) Symposium 376
"At the cross-roads of astrophysics and cosmology: Period–luminosity relations in the 2020s"
Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary
Oral Presentation: A Study of Stellar Photosphere – Hydrogen Ionization Front Interaction in δ Scuti Stars
3. 41st meeting of The Astronomical Society of India
Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, 1-5 March, 2023
Poster Presentation: The HIF-stellar photosphere interaction theory: δ Scuti Stars
2. 7RD INDO‑FRENCH ASTRONOMY SCHOOL ” ON ”SPECTROSCOPY, TREASURES iN THE VOXELS
IUCAA, Pune, India, November, 2022
Oral Presentation: Chemical composition of neutral gas in a distant galaxy
1. National Conference on Physical Science (NCPS)
Dibrugarh University, Assam, India, April, 2022
Oral Presentation: Galecto‑Centric Distance using Galactic bulge RR‑Lyrae Stars.
Teaching Experience
6. IUCAA Refresher Course & Summer School 2024
Getting Started with MESA (Introduction + Hands-on Session)
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India
May 2024
5. Pedagogic Workshop on Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
Tutorial (Introduction + Hands-on Session) on MESA
Gauhati University, India
January 04-10, 2024
4. Teaching Assistant - Higher Secondary Physics Laboratory
Cotton University, India
2023
3. Tutorial (Introduction + Hands-on Session) on MESA-RSP
With Prof. Shashi Kanbur
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, India
2022
2. Postgraduate Astrophysics Tutorial
Tutorial on MESA-RSP
Cotton University, India
2022
1. Teaching Assistant - Undergraduate and Higher Secondary Physics
Nalbari College, India
2019
Courses: Classical Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Mathematical Physics, Laboratory Practicals (Undergraduate); Optics, Magnetism, Mathematical Physics, Laboratory Practicals (Higher Secondary)
Computational Skills
Data Handling
Experience in handling data from various sources including OGLE, Gaia, TESS, Kepler and ASAS-SN.
Languages
Python, IDL, Bash, R, and FORTRAN.
Statistical Techniques
Experience with MCMC, Bayesian analysis, and F-test.
Other Tools
Experience with MESA, Phoebe, IRAF, VOSA (SED fitting), DS9, parallel computation tools such as OpenMP and MPI, High Performance Computing cluster, machine learning, LaTeX, and MS-Office.
Students Supervised
-
6. Krisha Soni
High School student (Co-supervised with Prof. Shashi M. Kanbur)
The Bronx High School of Science, USA
2023 - present -
5. Lucas Mac
High School student (Co-supervised with Prof. Shashi M. Kanbur)
The Bronx High School of Science, USA
2023 - present -
4. Anurag Baruah
MSc project (Co-supervised with Dr. Sukanta Deb)
Cotton University, India
2022 - 2024 -
3. Hugh Riley Randall
Undergraduate student (Co-supervised with Prof. Shashi M. Kanbur)
State University of New York, USA
2022 -
2. Liza Devi
MSc project (Co-supervised with Dr. Sukanta Deb)
Cotton University, India
2021 - 2023 -
1. Snigdha Sarmah
MSc project (Co-supervised with Dr. Sukanta Deb)
Cotton University, India
2021 - 2023
Contact Me