Astrophysics Seminars

ABSTRACT: We consider the Roche accretion in an Extreme Mass-Ratio Inspiral (EMRI) binary system formed by a star orbiting a massive black hole. The ultimate goal is to constrain the mass and spin of the black hole and confirm general relativity...

ABSTRACT: Recent surveys have established increasingly precise correlations between star formation rates (SFRs) and the gas, stellar, and dark matter contents of galaxies. Outer galactic disks are dominated by atomic gas and have steep Kennicutt...

ABSTRACT: DDTs are observed in terrestrial combustion flows, and are inferred to occur in supernova explosions of type Ia. The physical mechanism responsible for DDT, in both chemical and nuclear combustion, is a long standing open question. We...

Abstract: Over 150 years after their discovery, astronomers still lack a complete theory for the origin of the beautiful spiral patterns in disk galaxies. I will review the various ideas that have been proposed and describe some recent...

Observations of the structure and kinematics of different stellar populations in the Milky Way's disk provide a unique perspective on disk formation and evolution. I will discuss how current and future data sets that provide detailed kinematics and...