Colloquia Schedule Fall 2016

Colloquia are on Tuesdays (unless otherwise indicated) at 3:30 pm in RLM 15.216B


Aug. 30	*Setting Stellar Chronometers: The PTF(+) Open Cluster Survey* abstract Marcel Agueros Columbia University host: Adam Kraus
Sep. 6	*Exploring Galaxy Formation in the Epoch of Reionisation* abstract Stephen Wilkins University of Sussex host: Steve Finkelstein
Sep. 13	*The Milky Way Laboratory* abstract Cara Battersby Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics host: Neal Evans
Sep. 20	No talk scheduled
Sep. 27	Spin and Magnetism in Cool Stars abstract Elisabeth Newton Massachusetts Institute of Technology Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research host: Andrew Mann
Oct. 4	A Story of Stellar Nurseries abstract Nia Imara Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics host: Caitlin Casey
Oct. 11	Network Cosmology: What can we learn from galaxy Facebook? Sungryong Hong Comet Update! Adam McKay The Fossil Record of Binary and Planetary Orbits Trent Dupuy UT Postdocs (Three talks)
Oct. 18	Formation and Compositions of Planet Interiors and Atmospheres: Discoveries from Kepler, K2, and beyond abstract Erik Petigura California Institute of Technology host: Brendan Bowler
Oct. 25	The Future of Exoplanet Science at McDonald Observatory abstract Paul Robertson Penn State University host: Greg Mace
Nov. 1	Building Supermassive Black Hole Binaries abstract Kelly Holley-Bockelmann Vanderbilt University host: Craig Wheeler/Eva Noyola
Nov. 8	Towards the Characterization of Potentially Habitable Planets with High Resolution Spectroscopy abstract Matteo Brogi University of Colorado Boulder host: Dan Jaffe
Nov. 15	Controlling Star Formation: From Clouds to Galaxies Because star formation results from the ascendancy of gravity over other physical forces in the ISM, it is often thought that the natural timescale for gas to be converted to stars is the gravitational free-fall time. While this expectation holds in extremely dense gas at very small scales, the gas depletion times at larger ISM scales in the molecular and atomic ISM are orders of magnitude larger than corresponding free-fall times. Both observations and theory suggest that “feedback" from star formation — i.e. the energy returned to the ISM by young stars — is crucial in limiting gravitational collapse and reducing star formation rates. Recently, it has become possible to study the physics of star formation and feedback directly, using numerical magnetohydrodynamic and radiation hydrodynamic simulations. I will discuss results from our models of both cluster-forming clouds and the large-scale ISM that focus on the effects of stellar radiation and supernova explosions. These models show that radiation is less effective at preventing collapse and dispersing gas than simple estimates suggest, but that the momentum input from supernovae (both isolated and clustered) is able to drive the turbulence that limits gravitational collapse and controls star formation at observed levels. In the self-regulated ISM, star formation timescales are set not just by gravity, but by the balance between energy gains (mainly from massive stars) and losses. close Eve Ostriker Princeton University host: Volker Bromm
Nov. 22	Drilling the Chicxulub Impact Structure: Study of large impact formation and effects on life abstract Sean Gulick The University of Texas at Austin Institute for Geophysics host: Bill Cochran

Nov. 29	Dust-obscured star formation at the Cosmic Frontier : New observations from the Large Millimeter Telescope abstract Alexandra Pope University of Massachusetts Amherst host: Caitlin Casey
Dec. 6	Moving Near Field Cosmology Beyond the Local Group abstract David Sand Texas Tech University host: Kristy McQuinn