Joint IAS Princeton University Astrophysics Colloquium

We recently detected an isolated stellar-mass black hole (BH) unambiguously for the first time, and measured its mass, distance and velocity. We used HST to carry out precise astrometry of the source star of the long-duration, high-magnification...

The Event Horizon Telescope has allowed us to obtain direct images of two
black holes, the one in the center of the M87 galaxy and the one in the center of the
Milky Way, with horizon-scale resolution, full polarization, and timing information.
In...

For the first time, the entire visible sky is being surveyed for the violent, variable, and transient events that shape our universe by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN). Combined, ASAS-SN, Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert...

Much about dark matter remains unknown and much can be learned about its nature from its distribution on sub-galactic scales. I will discuss measurements of the small-scale structure of dark matter in elliptical galaxies and in the Milky Way from...

In our LCDM paradigm, galaxies form and reside in dark matter halos. Establishing the (statistical) relation between galaxies and dark matter halos, the `Galaxy-Halo connection', therefore gives important insight into galaxy formation, and also is a...

Much of existing plasma (astro)physics is done hovering in the vicinity of a Maxwellian equilibrium, which is the maximum point of the standard Gibbs entropy and is achieved dynamically by means of two-particle collisions. In this seminar, I would...

A satisfying theory for star or planet formation should not consider these processes in isolation. With the power of recent observational surveys, we are well positioned to test detailed theoretical models of multiple-star formation and orbital...

After decades of preparation, the era of gravitational wave astronomy has begun. The gravitational wave detectors, LIGO and Virgo, have published a catalog of 90 events of coalescing compact objects including black holes and neutron stars. I will...

A primary scientific outcome of the Apollo program was the giant impact theory for lunar origin, in which a collision at the end of Earth’s main accretionary phase creates a disk from which the Moon forms.  In the past decade, the nature of a Moon...

Millimeter-wave surveys of the sky have the potential for yielding a wealth of information about our universe from the first instants of its existence to our own solar system. I will describe how modern measurements of the cosmic microwave...