About Me
I am a lecturer in Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina Asheville.
My teaching focus is using pedagogy based practices to improve student success and belonging.
My research focus is on studying Type Ia supernovae progenitor scenarios by
simulating supernova remnants in different circumstellar environments and comparing their spectra to observed Chandra spectra.
Outside of science, I love to cook, read, and brew beer.
Education:
2025: PhD in Physics from University of Pittsburgh
2021: MS in Physics from University of Pittsburgh
2018: BS in Physics from Allegheny College, Minor in Psychology
Publications:
ADS link
Research
A Classification Scheme for X-Ray-bright Type Ia Supernova Remnants Based on Their Circumstellar Interaction
We simulate supernova remnants while varying the circumstellar structure to create a grid of models. Shown above
are simulations varying the mass loss rate and wind velocity for steady isotropic winds. The Type Ia explosion models are propagated through the wind blown bubbles for our remnant simulations. After simulating the hydrodynamics,
we create synthetic spectra for comparison to observations. We find that roughly 55% (7/13) of young X-ray-bright Type Ia SNRs in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud had progenitors that did not substantially modify their surroundings on ∼parsec scales.
Court, et al. 2026
Do Type Ia Supernovae Explode Inside Planetary Nebulae?
We simulate supernova remnants within common envelope cocoons consistent with bipolar planetary nebulae. Comparing the bulk properties of the remnant simulations
with uniform ambient medium simulations, we find there must be a significant delay time on the order of 10,000 years between a common envelope ejection and supernova.
Court, et al. 2024
Multiplicity Statistics of Stars in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy: Comparison to the Milky Way
We compare the statistics of stars in the Sgr dSph to analogs from the MW by creating analog samples using a k-d tree selecting for relevant stellar properties. We find that the Sgr dwarf spheroidal has systematically
higher multiplicity than similar stars in the Milky Way.
Bonidie, Court, et al. 2022
Contact
Email: tcourt@unca.edu
Address: Rhoades/Robinson Hall 124A University Heights, Asheville, NC 28804
