Astrophysics Seminars

A microquasar is a black hole X-ray binary with outflowing jets. Conventional theory predicts alignment between three axes of a microquasar system: the black hole spin axis, the jet axis, and the rotational axis of the inner disk regions. However...

Upcoming surveys will map the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization with unprecedented precision. These observations will allow for huge strides forward toward well established scientific targets and will create...

CHIME will use Intensity Mapping of the 21cm line of neutral hydrogen to map large-scale structure between redshifts of 0.8 and 2.5. By measuring Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) we will place constraints on the dark energy equation of state as it...

Multi-messenger astronomy coupling gravitational waves and light was born with the detection of the first neutron star merger, GW170817. This discovery signaled a wealth of firsts in physics and astronomy and represents only the tip of the iceberg...

This informal seminar will highlight results obtained recently with the transformational instruments MUSE and GRAVITY on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal. For MUSE, the focus will be on an ongoing study of the internal dynamics, stellar...

The Event Horizon Telescope recently revealed the first picture of the black-hole shadow in the center of the M87 galaxy. I will discuss the technological and theoretical advances during the last decade that led to this result. I will then focus on...

State-of-the-art local and primordial measurements of the Hubble constant (H0) are currently in tension at the 4.4 sigma level. New physics and systematic errors have been invoked as potential explanations. I will discuss two new, independent...

There is now ample evidence of large quantities of planetesimal material present in orbits extending outwards from Jupiter and beyond. Several research groups have shown that as much as 15% of such material currently in orbits residing between...

The alpha Centauri system contains the Solar System’s closest stellar neighbors. If an earthlike planet is present in the system, it could in principle be detected using a small space-based telescope. As alpha Centauri is billions of years old...

From gas-poor Earths to gas-rich Jupiters, planets come in a variety of sizes. I will describe the physics behind the diversity of exoplanets---how the core and gas assembly processes give rise to the observed distribution of radii and orbital...