Princeton University Special Seminar

Gravitational dynamics is playing an increasingly prominent role in interpreting astronomical data. For instance, (i) the gravitational waves detected by LIGO/Virgo/Kagra, (ii) the wide binary star revolution led by GAIA, and (iii) the Milky Way’s remarkably cool dynamical history as revealed by APOGEE, have all thrown up profound observational puzzles which require a dynamical explanation. In this talk, I will show how a cocktail of analytic and numerical tools have allowed us to make progress on several of these puzzles. Throughout I will highlight a common theme: how previously unexplored synergies between secular and stochastic dynamics have led to insights relevant across vastly different length and time scales. Though much remains to be done, these insights already have important implications for the origin of black hole mergers, for the theory of star formation in the turbulent ISM, and for the history of our Galaxy.