Astrophysics

One of the strongest predictions of the standard cold dark matter paradigm is the hierarchy of structure down to Earth-mass scales.  However, individual self-bound clumps of dark matter--"halos"--are difficult to detect directly.  Instead, we use...

We argue that light sails with nanometer-scale thicknesses that are rapidly accelerated to relativistic velocities by lasers must be significantly curved in order to reduce their intrafilm mechanical stresses and avoid tears. Using an integrated...

The Bahcall Lunch follow the astrophysics colloquium lecture. Registration is required by 3pm the previous Friday so a meal can be provided. Please contact Amanda Cenker with questions.

A satisfying theory for star or planet formation should not consider these processes in isolation. With the power of recent observational surveys, we are well positioned to test detailed theoretical models of multiple-star formation and orbital...

Dynamical Chern-Simons gravity (dCS) is a four-dimensional parity-violating extension of general relativity. Current models predict the effect of this extension to be negligible due to large decay constants f close to the scale of grand unified...

Abstract: Pure 3d gravity in AdS has only boundary degrees of freedom. I will show that these interact nontrivially if spacetime is restricted to a finite size. Their dynamics can be obtained equivalently by TTbar deforming the infinite volume...

High energy stellar irradiation is believed to control atmospheric chemistry in and mass loss of short-period planets. These effects are intensified in the earliest stages of planetary evolution because young stars are more active and produce...

Each week, we hold a relatively informal seminar/discussion series with an emphasis on extra-galactic and large-scale structure astrophysics.

During Galread a leader/visitor presents a recent paper to the discussion group. The PDF of the paper is...