Astrophysics Seminars

Sep
11
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar - TITLE UPDATED

The Formation of the First Stars
Thomas Greif
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall, Astrophysics Library

One of the final frontiers in modern cosmology is the formation of the first stars at the end of the cosmic dark ages, when the Universe transitioned from its simple initial state to one of ever increasing complexity. I will discuss how the first...

May
15
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar

Liquid Crystals of Stars and Black Holes at the Centers of Galaxies
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall, Astrophysics Library

Galactic nuclei are the densest stellar environments in the Universe. The observed stellar distribution within the innermost 0.5 pc of the Milky Way exhibits spherical and counter-rotating disk structures. Existing theoretical models cannot...

May
13
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Astrophysics Seminar

Quantum Information in Experiments: There and Back Again
Shlomi Kotler
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall Astrophysics Library

The field of experimental quantum information started with the first realization of an entangling gate in 1995. Tools originally developed for precision spectroscopy, turned out extremely useful for generating Bell pairs and storing quantum...

May
06
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Astrophysics Seminar - TITLE CHANGED

Confirming and Constraining Kepler Planets Via Transit Timing Variations
Matt Holman
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall Astrophysics Library
Of the Kepler planets that have been reported to date, a significant fraction are in systems with multiple transiting planet. In some cases, the signature of the gravitational interactions between planets in these systems can be seen in the...
Apr
29
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Astrophysics Seminar

Probing Cosmic Acceleration with the Dark Energy Survey
Josh Frieman
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall Astrophysics Library

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2011 was awarded for the discovery that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. Yet the physical origin of cosmic acceleration remains a mystery. The Dark Energy Survey (DES) aims to address the questions: why...

Apr
24
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Informal Astrophysics Seminar

Quantitative Predictions for Galaxy Formation
Andrew Benson
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall, Astrophysics Library

ABSTRACT: Galaxy formation involves a complex interplay of many nonlinear, poorly understood physical processes. This fact has limited progress in the field. Recent work has made significant steps forward by systematically surveying model parameter...

Apr
22
2014

Institute for Advanced Study Astrophysics Seminar

The Vast Polar Structures Around the Milky Way and Andromeda, and the Implications Thereof for Fundamental Physics
Pavel Kroupa
11:00am|Bloomberg Hall Astrophysics Library

The current cosmological model rests on Einstein's theory of general relativity. In order for it to be consistent with large-scale structure data, the existence of cosmologically relevant physical processes need to be postulated: inflation, cold or...