DiStefano This award supports the PI, Rosanne DiStefano, a postdoctoral, and a graduate student from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in a collaboration with Jochen Greiner of the Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, Germany. The research focus is on discovering new sources of super-soft x-rays (x-rays close to the ultra-violet part of the spectrum) and testing a new close-binary supersoft source model. The PI is an expert in such models, and the German group is known for its facilities, and the German PI is credited with playing a leading role in the discovery of super-soft x-ray systems . A large amount of new and planned data will provide strong tests for the new model which will then be of use to the entire astrophysics community.
