I graduated in October 2024, earning a master’s degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics at “La Sapienza” University of Rome. My thesis, supervised by Dr. Alessandro Papitto and Dr. Arianna Miraval Zanon, focused on the accretion properties of the Accreting Millisecond X-ray Pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 at low accretion rates.
I am a Ph.D. student at the INAF-OAR under the supervision of Dr. Alessandro Papitto. My Ph.D. project focuses on millisecond pulsars in compact binary systems and aims to study their emission properties through multi-wavelength observations. By using advanced instruments like the SiFAP2 fast optical photometer, operated at the INAF Galileo Telescope, I investigate optical pulsars in different states and explore the mechanisms behind their radiation, testing models that examine the interaction between accretion, magnetospheres, and electromagnetic emission.
If you want, feel free to contact me at caterina.ballocco(@inaf.it)!