Beatriz María González García

ESA XMM-Newton Instrument Controller
INTA LAEFF Collaborator


I work as Instrument Controller for XMM-Newton since 2001. The
Instrument Controller team care for the instruments and
observations in real time (24h/day, 7days/week), taking actions (as
per procedures) and informing the scientist/engineers in case of
any anomalies.

I also do research at LAEFF:
- I did my Masters Thesis (2000-2003) under the supervision of
  Enrique Solano, in coordination with the UCM, developing an
  automatic method for determining chemical abundances in stars,
  applying it to Tau Boo, a star where an extrasolar planet was
  discovered. The determination of the fundamental stellar
  parameters, in particular the stellar chemical abundances,
  requires the analysis of a large volume of data from high
  resolution spectra. The development of a method like the one
  developed in that work is essential for obtaining results in
  an efficient and systematic way.

- From 2004-2006 my research has been focused on the study of
  sub-stellar objects, collaborating with Maria Rosa Zapatero
  Osorio. 
  The sub-stellar objects (Brown dwarfs and Planets) have not
  enough mass to start the ignition of hydrogen in their nuclei and
  contract and cool down throughout their life. The advantage of
  searching for objects in clusters is that from the most massive
  stars we know their age, distance and chemical composition, so we
  can establish a connection between luminosity and mass. We have
  conducted a deep iz-CCD study with wide field cameras (at the
  3.5-m CAHA and 5-m Monte Palomar telescopes) centered in two open
  star clusters: the young Sigma Orionis(~3 Myr) and the mid-age
  Praesepe cluster (500-1000 Myr). The sub-stellar cluster
  candidates were studied photometrically in the NIR (at the 4.2-m
  WHT, Roque de los Muchachos). The study of both clusters
  (http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609283) has provided new
  substellar objects, among them the first L-type candidate in a
  mid-age cluster, the most complete IMF for Sigma Orionis cluster
  and the possible evolution of substellar objects with age
  (comparing both clusters IMF). 

- Currently I have just started to study variability in those
  cluster candidates for substellar objects, this could be generated
  by hot/cold spots of magnetic origin, photospheric clouds due
  to condensed grains over these objects, circumstellar discs
  around them or by low mass companions orbiting close to them.