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Differential reddening introduces spatial variations in extinction, distorting colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and affecting the analysis of star clusters. It is typically corrected using a single colour (i.e. the difference between magnitudes in two photometric filters), and only rarely by exploiting information from multiple filters simultaneously.

This project aims to develop improved correction methods using statistical and spatial modelling techniques. The student will first learn standard approaches for correcting differential reddening, and will then explore and test alternative methods to improve these corrections. This work will be particularly relevant in the context of upcoming large-scale survey data releases, such as those from Gaia and the Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).