Joint IAS Princeton University Astrophysics Colloquium

In recent years, the number of known galaxy clusters has grown dramatically, thanks in large part to the success of surveys utilizing the Sunyaev Zel'dovich effect. In particular, surveys like the South Pole Telescope 2500 deg^2 survey have...

The accuracy in the direct measurement of distances to galaxies has continued to improve dramatically over the past decade. Local measurements of the Hubble constant based on Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope observations of astrophysical standard...

In the Solar system, the planets follow orbits that are aligned with the Sun's equatorial plane to within about 7 degrees. But what about planets around other stars? Many techniques are now available to measure the obliquities of planet-hosting...

Building a comprehensive picture for the evolution of galaxies from early times through present epoch requires understanding a huge dynamic range of physical processes. With observations ranging from detections of galaxies less than a billion years...

Massive galaxies reside in the densest and most evolved regions of the Universe, yet we are only beginning to understand their formation history. Once thought to be relics of a much earlier epoch, the most massive local galaxies are red and dead...

Hierarchical structure formation in a LCDM cosmology gives rise to virialized dark matter halos that contain a wealth of subtructure. Being able to accurately predict the abundance and demographics of dark matter subhaloes is of paramount...

During its brief period of operation, the Hitomi X-ray observatory (known as Astro-H prior to launch) has observed the Perseus galaxy cluster as a first-light target. This has been a long-awaited first look at a galaxy cluster with an X-ray...

Pulsars are some of physics and astrophysics' most exotic objects, and they have already earned two Nobel Prizes. We currently know of about 2500 of them in our Galaxy, but a small subset, the millisecond pulsars (MSPs), are truly remarkable. These...

Over the past two decades ongoing surveys have detected thousands of new planetary systems around nearby stars. These systems include apparently single gas giant planets on short period orbits, closely packed systems of up to 5-6 “mini-Neptunes”...