Astrophysics Seminars

ABSTRACT: In this talk I consider two questions. First, I investigate the formation of molecular clouds from diffuse interstellar gas. It has been argued that the midplane pressure controls the fraction of molecular hydrogen present, and thus the...

Abstract: I introduce a general method for constraining the shape of the inflationary potential from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization power spectra. This approach relates the CMB observables to the shape of the...

Chandra has detected optically thin, thermal X-ray emission with a size of ~1 arcsec and luminosity ~10^33 erg/s from the direction of the Galactic supermassive black hole (SMBH), Sgr A*. We suggest that a significant or even dominant fraction of...

ABSTRACT: Measurements of the matter power spectrum provide an unparalleled opportunity for constraining the mass of the neutrino, due to the damping effect of the neutrino thermal velocity on the growth of cosmic structure. I will discuss recent...

ABSTRACT: Gravity theories and large-scale cosmological tests have been actively pursued in recent years. This talk will focus on a new arena for astrophysical tests of gravity: dwarf galaxies and stars in the nearby universe. Theoretical...

The lecture will present new techniques that will be employed over the coming decade to probe strong field gravity in the vicinity of black holes. Advances in technology (in the form of long baseline interferometry at a wavelength of ~1 millimeter)...

ABSTRACT: As a low- or intermediate-mass star evolve to the final white dwarf stage, it often loses more than 50% of its original mass. Consequently, its planetary system expands, and the collision rates among the subplanetary bodies, such as...