LaTeX source for the Master's (M.Sc.) Thesis in Physics by Vaibhav Shukla, submitted on 30 November 2024 at the Dr. Karl Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg / Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics (ECAP), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Manami Sasaki.
📄 Final published PDF (host institute): https://www.sternwarte.uni-erlangen.de/docs/theses/2024-11_Shukla.pdf
This repository contains the source that produces that PDF — shared for transparency and reproducibility, and as a worked example for others writing a thesis in LaTeX.
The thesis studies the X-ray emission and dynamical evolution of supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). In short, it:
- Confirms a new SNR: performs XMM-Newton EPIC X-ray imaging and spectral analysis (using XMM-ESAS and xspec) of the optical SNR candidate MCSNR J0500−6512, showing its plasma properties match a typical old LMC remnant.
- Models SNR evolution: applies an adapted Python evolution calculator (SNRpy, after Leahy & Williams 2017) and the analytical Sedov–Taylor, Truelove–McKee, and Cioffi et al. models to characterise the remnant's evolutionary phase.
- Studies the population: compiles an up-to-date list of confirmed and candidate LMC SNRs and applies statistical methods (maximum likelihood, kernel density estimation) to their size distributions, symmetry, and age–size relations.
The document is organised into two parts: Part I (Review), covering the theory of the ISM, supernovae, SNRs, their evolution, and X-ray observation; and Part II (Research), covering the data analysis, evolutionary modelling, and population study. A conclusion and an appendix of supplementary figures follow.
This is a cleaned-up, build-ready snapshot of the original Overleaf project that produced the submitted PDF. No substantive content was changed. The goal of the initial commit is to reproduce the published 2024-11_Shukla.pdf from a tidy, self-contained, version-controlled source. The cleanup consisted of:
- Local build setup: added
.latexmkrcso the project compiles withlatexmkoutside Overleaf (XeLaTeX plusmakeglossaries). - Image reorganisation: sorted figures into per-chapter subfolders under
images/, and moved figures not used in the final document out of the build tree. - Bibliography cleanup: consolidated the bibliography into a single
references.bibcontaining only the entries actually cited. - Ignoring clutter: a
.gitignorekeeps LaTeX auxiliary and output files, along with unused material, out of version control.
Future commits are expected to carry only minor corrections — typos, figure renames, formatting — not changes to the scientific content.
MThesis/
├── main.tex # Document root: \documentclass, frontmatter, parts, backmatter
├── preamble.sty # All package loading and formatting (fonts, headers, glossaries, bib, …)
├── acronyms.tex # Acronym/glossary definitions (glossaries package)
├── references.bib # Bibliography (only the cited entries)
├── aas.bst # AAS bibliography style (natbib)
├── .latexmkrc # Build configuration (XeLaTeX + makeglossaries)
├── .gitignore
│
├── frontmatter/
│ ├── titlepage.tex
│ └── abstract.tex
├── mainmatter/
│ ├── part_Review.tex # Part I (Review): Ch.1 Introduction … Ch.5 X-ray Observation
│ └── part_Research.tex # Part II (Research): Ch.6 X-ray Data Analysis … Ch.8 Conclusion
├── backmatter/
│ ├── appA.tex # Appendix A: supplementary figures
│ ├── acknowledgements.tex
│ └── declaration.tex # Declaration of authorship
│
├── images/
│ ├── Ch1/ … Ch7/ # Figures grouped by chapter
│ ├── ChA/ # Appendix A figures
│ ├── FAU_Seal_2022.png # Title-page seal
│ └── wordcloud.pdf # Closing word cloud
└── fonts/
└── EBGaramond/ # EB Garamond TrueType fonts (bundled, see License)
Chapters: 1. Introduction · 2. Supernovae · 3. Supernova Remnants · 4. Supernova Remnant Evolution · 5. X-ray Observation · 6. X-ray Data Analysis · 7. Population Evolution Analysis · 8. Conclusion · App. A Supplements.
Auxiliary files, build outputs (main.pdf, *.aux, *.log, glossary intermediates, …), and unused source material are deliberately not tracked; see .gitignore.
The document requires XeLaTeX (it uses fontspec with the bundled EB Garamond .ttf files); it will not compile with pdfLaTeX.
- A modern TeX distribution: TeX Live 2022+ or MiKTeX, with the standard package set (MiKTeX will fetch missing packages on demand).
latexmkand a Perl interpreter (bundled with TeX Live; available for MiKTeX).makeglossaries(ships with theglossariespackage) for the List of Acronyms.- Ghostscript, only if you rebuild the few
.eps/.psfigures: the preamble loadsauto-pst-pdf, which needs shell-escape (already set in.latexmkrc).
No system font installation is needed: EB Garamond is bundled under fonts/.
With the bundled configuration, a single command does everything (XeLaTeX → BibTeX → makeglossaries → reruns):
latexmk main.texIn VS Code + LaTeX Workshop, use the latexmk recipe; it picks up .latexmkrc automatically. In TeXstudio, the sequence confirmed to work is XeLaTeX → BibTeX → makeglossaries → XeLaTeX (set this as the default build, or run the steps in that order).
To clean up generated files:
latexmk -c # remove auxiliary files (keeps main.pdf)
latexmk -C # also remove main.pdfFirst-run tip: if the List of Acronyms is empty, delete stale
main.acn/main.acrand rebuild solatexmkre-triggers the glossary dependency.
| Concern | Choice |
|---|---|
| Engine | XeLaTeX ($pdf_mode = 5 in .latexmkrc) |
| Main font | EB Garamond via fontspec (bundled TTFs) |
| Bibliography | natbib + BibTeX, aas.bst style, references.bib |
| Acronyms | glossaries + makeglossaries (custom dependency in .latexmkrc) |
| Page/layout | report class, geometry, fancyhdr, fncychap, custom \part |
This repository mixes material under different rights, so please read before reusing. Full terms are in LICENSE.md; in summary:
- Thesis text and the author's own figures and plots: © 2024 Vaibhav Shukla, released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). The final PDF is also publicly available through the university (linked above).
- Build and configuration files (
preamble.sty,.latexmkrc, themain.texskeleton, and the directory layout): released under the MIT License, so they may be reused freely as a starting skeleton. - Third-party figures: several figures in
images/are reproduced or cropped from textbooks and published papers (Draine 2011, Vink 2020, Hillebrandt 2013, Truelove & McKee 1999, and others). These remain the copyright of their original authors and publishers, appear here under academic citation as in the thesis, and are not relicensed. Reusing them elsewhere requires permission from the original rights holders. - EB Garamond font in
fonts/EBGaramond/: bundled under the SIL Open Font License 1.1; seefonts/EBGaramond/OFL.txt. aas.bst: the AAS BibTeX style, distributed by the American Astronomical Society for general use.
If you reference this work, please cite the thesis:
Shukla, V. (2024). X-ray Evolution of Supernova Remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud. M.Sc. Thesis, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. https://www.sternwarte.uni-erlangen.de/docs/theses/2024-11_Shukla.pdf
This work was carried out at the Dr. Karl Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg / ECAP, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, supervised by Prof. Dr. Manami Sasaki. The XMM-Newton observation of J0500−6512 was obtained under PI M. Sasaki. See the thesis acknowledgements for full credits.