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| Date | Speaker | Topic |
|---|
| April 4th |
Rachel Bean
(Cornell) |
Testing gravity on cosmic scales with large scale structure. |
| While the properties of gravity are well understood on solar system scales, at cosmic scales the constraints are comparatively weak, and yet understanding gravity on these scales could be the key to explaining cosmic acceleration. I consider how current and upcoming large scale structure surveys can constrain both the universe's expansion history and growth of structure and provide an insight into how gravity behaves on cosmic scales. I discuss the importance of modeling systematic and statistical uncertainties, both instrumental and astrophysical, and the essential role of cross-correlating complementary observations for realizing the full potential of upcoming surveys to test gravity on cosmic scales. |
| April 18th |
Alison Laird
(York University) |
Fingerprints of nucleosynthesis |
| Observations of isotopic abundances from astrophysical environments
can provide crucial information on the physical conditions during particular stages
of stellar evolution, from hydrostatic burning stages in AGB or massive stars to
explosive events such as novae and supernovae. To interpret these data however
a good understanding of the underlying nuclear reaction rates is necessary.
This talk will describe recent measurements, involving both stable and
radioactive isotopes, and outline how these data can improve our understanding
of stellar conditions as well as the chemical evolution of the galaxy. |
| April 25th |
Jonathan Oppenheim
(Cambridge) |
Schuster Colloquium - The Uncertainty Principle determines the non-locality of Quantum Mechanics |
| No abstract available! |
| May 2nd |
Graham Woan
(Glasgow) |
Spinning neutron stars - striking the right tone. |
| Neutron stars have enough rotational energy and structural rigidity to be powerful and continuous emitters of gravitational radiation. When seen as radio pulsars, these sources hold a particular fascination and their radio emission may itself be the key to the first detection of gravitational waves. Here we review how gravitational radiation may be generated by neutron stars, and some of the methods currently used to detect it directly using data from the LIGO, GEO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors. |
| May 9th |
David Jess
(QUB) |
What's in a name? The controversial nature
of waves in the solar atmosphere |
| Waves
manifesting in the solar atmosphere have been known since the 1960s. In subsequent years, more
types of wave, and
structures which can support their propagation, have appeared in the literature. Responsible for
this are a wealth of new,
high-resolution ground- and space-based telescope facilities which have opened the door to these
new discoveries. However,
the controversial naming of particular solar oscillations have created a significant divide
within the solar community. Here,
I will address this controversy with new observations, and shine some light on their
significance when determining the future
of the solar community. |
| May 16th |
Haley Gomez
(Cardiff) |
The origin of dust in galaxies in the Herschel era |
| The origin of dust in galaxies is poorly understood, particularly the contributions from supernovae and stellar winds of low-intermediate mass stars. Significant amounts of cool dust have been discovered in the ejecta of core-collapse supernovae including Cas A and SN1987A. Here, I will discuss recent results investigating dust production in supernova ejecta using Herschel, including the remnants of the historical young Type Ia supernovae Kepler and Tycho.
Recently, it's become possible to investigate the origin of dust in galaxies on a more statistical footing using data from the H-ATLAS. The most massive H-ATLAS galaxies show a large increase in the dust content five billion years ago compared to the present epoch. These observations are difficult to explain using standard dust models and I will discuss possible explanations for this evolution in the dust mass in recent cosmic history.! |
| May 30th |
David Moss
(Manchester) |
Modelling multiscale magnetic fields in spiral galaxies |
| Spiral galaxies host large-scale (regular") magnetic fields, typically of 5-10 microgauss strength, often organized into spiral structures. A disordered small-scale ("turbulent") component is also present. Modelling of galactic fields by dynamo theory has largely concentrated on the large-scale component. After an introductory summary, recent work that attempts to include both components simultaneously will be described. Future developments, both theoretical and potentially from observations with SKA, will be discussed. |
| June 13th |
Paolo Padovani
(ESO) |
The deep radio sky and
the solution to a 50-year old puzzle |
| I will present some recent results on
the sub-mJy radio source populations
at 1.4 GHz based on the Chandra Deep Field South VLA survey, with details
on their evolution and luminosity functions. I will also illustrate our
unprecedented classification scheme based on radio, far- and near-IR,
optical, and X-ray data to disentangle star-forming galaxies from active
galactic nuclei (AGN) and radio-quiet from radio-loud AGN. I will then
present the solution to a problem, which has been unsolved since the
discovery of quasars in 1963, that is the mechanism responsible for radio
emission in radio-quiet AGN. The relevance of our results to future, deeper
radio surveys, including those with the SKA, will be finally touched upon.
|
