Date

Speaker

Title

Aug 28

Shardha Jogee

University of Texas at Austin

Organizational meeting.

Sep 4

No talk scheduled.

Sep 11

Sarah Tuttle

University of Texas at Austin

"Star Formation in Surprising Places: Investigating Blue Bulge/Red Disk Galaxies"

Sep 18

No talk scheduled.

Sep 25

Dr. Niall I. Gaffney & Dr. Weijia Xu

University of Texas at Austin: Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

"Supporting Data Research at TACC"

Oct 2

Chao-Ling Hung

University of Hawaii, and Harvard/SAO

(host: Steve Finkelstein) "Origin and Evolution of High-Redshift Infrared-Luminous Galaxies"

abstract

Oct 9

Jeff Silverman

University of Texas at Austin

"High-Velocity Features in the Spectra of Type-Ia Supernovae"

Oct 16

No talk scheduled.

Oct 23

Brett W. Salmon

Texas A&M University

"Star-Forming Galaxies in the z>4 Universe"

Oct 24
Fri
2 PM

Mimi Song

University of Texas at Austin

(note: special rescheduled day and time) "Early Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn and Cosmic Noon"

Oct 30

Elena D'Onghia

University of Wisconsin-Madison

(host: Shardha Jogee) "Phase Wrapping in the Galactic Disk and Formation of the Thick Disk"

abstract

Nov 6

Daniel Perley

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

(host: Jeff Silverman) "13 Billion Years of Cosmic History as Seen by Gamma-Ray Bursts"

Long-duration GRBs - the relativistic explosions of rare, massive stars - are the most luminous objects in the universe: GRBs have been observed out to z=8-9 and even higher-z events are likely to exist. Thanks to their close connection with massive star formation, GRBs also provide a unique window into the star-formation history of the Universe and the evolution of galaxies. However, any attempt to make use of this in practice must pay special attention to potential biases, both intrinsic and observational. I will summarize some early results from the ongoing Swift Host Galaxy Legacy Survey, by far the largest and most comprehensive unbiased survey of the GRB host galaxy population ever conducted (130 targets spanning from z=0 to z=6, observed intensively at optical through mid-IR wavelengths). These observations confirm that GRBs are almost completely absent in moderate- to high-mass galaxies in the nearby universe (probably due to an aversion from high-metallicity environments) but also demonstrate that they are abundant in comparable-mass systems at z>1, indicating a significant transition in the nature of massive galaxies over this period and (partially) alleviating some concerns about their ability to trace star-formation accurately at higher redshifts. GRBs are already providing new constraints on the contributions to star-formation from various galaxy populations (SMGs, LBGs, and undetectably faint galaxies) and on the nature of dust obscuration in distant galaxies.

close

Nov 13

No talk scheduled.

Nov 20

Brandon Bozek

University of Maryland

(host: Shardha Jogee) "Constraints on Axion Dark Matter"

abstract

Nov 27

Thanksgiving Day Holiday: Staff Holiday. No classes scheduled.

Dec 4
NHB 1.720
4 PM

C. Megan Urry

Yale University, and DeVaucouleurs Medalist

UT College of Natural Sciences 'Women in Science' Lecture: "Why so Few? The Dearth of Women in Science"