Joint IAS Princeton University Astrophysics Colloquium

The last decade of ALMA has transformed our view of planet-forming environments in all respects. High resolution images have revealed a diverse array of structured belts of millimeter-sized dust and a variety of distinct molecular compositions both...

Abstract: Planetary systems are shaped as much by destructive processes --- N-body instabilities, catastrophic impacts, and atmospheric loss --- as by accretionary ones. We examine the histories of violence written in: (a) the orbital architectures...

Neutrinos are the second most abundant particle in the known Universe yet they remain mysterious. While they played an important role in the early Universe, today they contribute at most 1-2% of the energy budget and leave only faint signatures. A...

The recent breakthrough in the detection of gravitational waves (GWs) from merging black hole (BH) and neutron star (NS) binaries by advanced LIGO/Virgo has generated renewed interest in understanding the formation mechanisms of merging compact...

There is a revolution afoot in our understanding of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), that is reshaping our view of their formation, growth and influence on cosmic architecture. This talk will spotlight three recent breakthroughs that have enriched...

Asteroseismology uses the natural oscillation modes of stars to study their interiors. The wonderfully precise measurements by NASA's Kepler and TESS missions are ideal data sources for the technique. These space telescopes have been monitoring the...

Abstract: In extreme astrophysical systems, such as black hole coronae and pulsar magnetospheres, the process of magnetic reconnection is significantly modified by strong radiative cooling. This cooling removes internal energy faster than it is...

Dramatic rises in ground-based light pollution in recent years as well as increasingly congested low-Earth orbits are leading to brightening night skies worldwide, with consequences reaching far beyond this decade. I share calculations of the...

Good estimations of stellar ages are important for a wide range of science cases, from understanding the evolution and habitability of exoplanetary systems to tracking back the cosmic history of our own and other galaxies. These ages, however, are...

Stars in nearly all globular clusters show complex relations among the abundances of light elements (up to Na).  Many also show anti-correlations of Mg and Al.  Until now, only one cluster (M15) conclusively showed any star-to-star variation in...