Astrophysics

The importance of star formation “feedback” to the energetics of the interstellar medium (ISM) has been appreciated throughout the modern history of astronomy. Star formation is inefficient in gas consumption because feedback efficiently maintains...

Super star clusters with masses > 1e6 Msun are thought to be progenitors of globular clusters (GCs). Their births however are seldomly seen in the local Universe. Given radiation and kinetic feedbacks that regulate star formation, contribution to...

The understanding of strongly-correlated quantum matter has challenged physicists for decades. The discovery four years ago of correlated phases and superconductivity in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene has led to the emergence of a new...

Abstract: One of the unique features of quantum gravity is the lack of local observables and completeness of boundary observables (e.g. S-matrix in flat space or CFT correlators in AdS). I will show that the existence of such boundary observables is...

Abstract: The bootstrap program leverages symmetry and positivity to carve out the space of consistent quantum theories. In this talk I will highlight some of its recent successes, ranging from the numerical solution of statistical models at...

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.

The Event Horizon Telescope has allowed us to obtain direct images of two
black holes, the one in the center of the M87 galaxy and the one in the center of the
Milky Way, with horizon-scale resolution, full polarization, and timing information.
In...

Electron-only reconnection is a variant of magnetic reconnection without significant ion involvement. Such reconnection has recently been observed in the terrestrial magnetosheath and has received considerable attention due to its likely role in the...