Departmental Colloquium
Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Spring 2022 – Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil (University of Chicago) Title: The Smallest and Faintest Galaxies: The New Frontier in Dark Matter and Galaxy Formation Studies Abstract: The smallest and faintest galaxies around the Milky Way are the most ancient, most metal-poor, and most dark-matter-dominated systems known. These extreme objects offer unique access to small scales where the stellar and dark matter content can be studied simultaneously. They hold
Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Spring 2022 – Chris Ashall
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Chris Ashall (University of Hawai'i) Title: The Variety of Thermonuclear Supernova Abstract: Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) mark the demise of white dwarfs (WD). These cosmic explosions release as much luminous energy as the sun produces over its entire lifetime. As cauldrons of nucleosynthesis, SNe Ia provide the interstellar medium with Fe-group elements and
Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Spring 2022 – David Nataf
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: David Nataf (Johns Hopkins University) Title: On the Milky Way’s Extinction Curve and Oldest Stellar Populations Abstract: The study of Galactic astronomy is being revolutionized by the plethora of incredible data from various new surveys, facilities, and the use of modern probabilistic methods. In this talk of two parts, I first describe efforts to
Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Spring 2022 – Svea Hernandez
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Svea Hernandez (Space Telescope Science Institute) Title: Uncovering the History of Galaxies and Metals by Exploiting the Power of Nearby Laboratories Abstract: Precise metallicities and chemical abundances of the different components in galaxies are critical for understanding galaxy formation, feedback and interstellar/intergalactic chemical enrichment. I take advantage of the unique FUV spectroscopic capabilities of
Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Spring 2022 – Chao-Chin Yang
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Chao-Chin Yang (UNLV) Title: From Pebbles to Planets: A Tale of Protoplanetary Disks and Planetsimal Formation Abstract: Even though thousands of extrasolar planetary systems have been detected, a comprehensive picture of how planets are formed from their natal protoplanetary disks remains to be drawn. One of the most challenging stages is the formation of kilometer-scale planetesimals from
Colloquium – Atreya Acharyya – Astronomy at the Highest Photon Energies
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Dr.Atreya Acharyya (University of Alabama) Astronomy at the Highest Photon Energies Abstract: Most astronomical telescopes observe thermal radiation. However, this does not include the most energetic gamma-rays photons, produced by large particle accelerators in space, which also act as tracers for cosmic-ray sources. While gamma-rays can be observed using space-based detectors, their relatively small
Colloquium – Leandro e Silva – Co-formation of the Milky Way’s thin and thick discs
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Dr. Leandro Beraldo e Silva (University of Michigan) Title: Co-formation of the Milky Way's thin and thick discs Abstract: Thin disc stars are younger than thick disc stars on average, and some models predict the thin disc to start forming only after the thick disc has formed, around 10 Gyr ago. According to these
Special Colloquium – Hunter Waite – Exploration of Jupiter and the Galilean Moons
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Dr. Hunter Waite Jr. (NASA, SwRI) Title: Jupiter and the Galilean Moons: The Ongoing NASA Juno Mission to Jupiter and Future Exploration of Europa by the NASA Clipper Mission Abstract: New results and future plans for planetary missions exploring the Jupiter system will be presented. Juno has been exploring the system for several years
Colloquium – Sukanya Chakrabarti – Towards Precision Measurement of Dark Matter
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Sukanya Chakrabarti (University of Alabama, Huntsville) Title: Towards Precision Measurement of Dark Matter Abstract: For more than a century now, our inference of the mass distributions (including dark matter) in galaxies has been based on modeling the positions and velocities of stars, i.e., using kinematic analyses, which assume equilibrium. These kinematic estimates can be
Colloquium – Jason Terry – Analyzing Planet Forming Environments with Deep Learning
227 Gallalee Hall 514 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesSpeaker: Jason Terry (University of Georgia) Title: Analyzing Planet Forming Environments with Deep Learning Abstract: Protoplanetary discs - the birthplaces of planets - offer unique opportunities to advance our theories of planet formation. Observing these rich physical environments reveals mechanisms and conditions that lead to stellar systems, but the overall process is still poorly understood.