IAS Waves Workshop Makes a Splash

"Physics has found no straight lines. Instead, the physical universe consists of only waves undulating back and forth allowing for corrections and balance."
– R. Buckminster Fuller

Sharon Meidt IAStrophysical Waves workshop
Maria O'Leary
Sharon Meidt of Ghent University spoke to the workshop participants about the growth and characteristics of spiral features in galactic disks.

Waves are a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysics. The throbbing of stars, the swirling gas around black holes, and the warps of galactic disks are all examples of wave phenomena that sit at the forefront of modern research. Astrophysicists who study waves in these diverse systems tend to use very similar mathematical and computational techniques, but may rarely talk to one another or attend the same conferences.

This month, an effort to unite the three research communities who exploit common techniques to understand waves in gaseous disks, galaxies, and stars, was made by three scholars from the Institute's School of Natural Sciences: John N. Bahcall Fellow Chris Hamilton and Members Callum W. Fairbairn and Uddipan Banik. The trio organized a workshop titled IAStrophysical Waves from January 13–17. Over thirty astrophysicists from across the globe were in attendance.

Keynote presentations from James Stone, Professor in the School of Natural Sciences; Jerry Sellwood, Member (2003) in the School; and Jim Fuller, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at Caltech, introduced central themes and ideas from the fields of gaseous disks, galactic disks, and stars respectively, in order to allow connections between these areas to be clearly elucidated. The workshop also saw attendees deliver a range of other short talks focused on shared techniques surrounding linear and nonlinear perturbation theory, fluid/kinetic theory, dispersion relations, resonances, and numerical simulations, with emphasis on how methods from one sub-field can be translated to solve problems in another.

"The workshop has already acted as a catalyst for new collaborations across normally distinct astrophysical communities," stated Hamilton. "After five days of lively conversations, several participants identified problems in previously unfamiliar research contexts upon which they could make rapid and meaningful progress."

 

Uddipan Banik IAStrophysical Waves workshop
Maria O'Leary
Uddipan Banik delivered a talk titled "Perturbation theory for the relaxation of collisionless self-gravitating systems."

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