Astrophysics

Abstract 1: The electron heating physics in collisionless shocks imprints upon micro-scale dissipation and waves seen in situ by heliospheric spacecraft, as well as X-ray emission from supernova remnants and galaxy clusters. How much do electrons...

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is proceeding with its mission of discovering transiting, small exoplanets hosted by bright stars that are amenable to mass measurements, and hence, bulk and atmospheric characterization. Accordingly...

The giant impact theory for the formation of the Moon suggests that a planetary impactor struck the proto-Earth in an oblique collision shortly after the formation of the solar system. This collision produces liquid and vapor debris, drawn from the...

Local star formation thresholds proposed in the literature typically refer to a gas density above which star formation occurs. There has been plenty of debate regarding the existence of such a threshold. I will discuss how we can search for a...

Cosmic rays, the relativistic component of diffuse astrophysical plasma, exchange energy and momentum with the thermal gas collisionlessly, mediated by the ambient magnetic field. Some but not all models of this interaction show that cosmic rays can...

The interaction of charged particles with the local plasma environment is of interest in a variety of space applications. This talk will focus on two specific applications: 1. the design of new technologies to detect orbital debris and 2. the...

Over the past years, electromagnetic and gravitational observations have been used to understand the nature of compact objects and the matter around them. However, our ability to learn about the underlying fundamental physics depends heavily on our...

The prospect of an ultra-light dark matter particle (also known as Fuzzy Dark Matter, or FDM) has recently drawn attention as a promising alternative to standard Cold Dark Matter (CDM). When the mass of the particle reaches below 10^-21 eV, quantum...

Dynamical tracers of planets, such as their eccentricity, inclination, orbital obliquity, and spin rate, can be used to constrain and refine planet formation and evolution processes. I will begin the talk with mature planetary systems and show how...

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...