Dusty models of stellar outbursts triggered by stellar interactions

Our aim is to explain increasingly observed numbers of astronomical outbursts and explosions emitting electromagnetic radiation and gravitational waves. The underlying cause of these phenomena is the interaction and merging of stellar pairs, but a viable model does not yet exist. Our current calculations ignore the effects of dust that forms in the expanding and cooling gaseous layers. Without dust we cannot accurately model the outburst dynamics nor the light emitted by these events. We will capitalise on a decade of simulation code development paired with a team of world experts of dusty winds. The inclusion of dust in our modelling code will also benefit studies of dusty plasmas, from stellar winds to planet formation.