ASX Symposium: Stellar Graveyard
Hear talks by three of the world's leading astrophysicists as they explore the astronomy and physics of the origin, life and ultimate fate of stars. Learn about white dwarves, supernovae, gravitational waves, neutrinos, high-energy observatories, and more.
Dr. Christian Ott, California Institute of Technology
The Theory of Stellar Death and Explosion: Massive stars die in spectacular core-collapse supernova explosions and leave behind neutron stars or black holes. The explosions eject the products of stellar nucleosynthesis into the interstellar medium from which planets form and life is made. Dr. Ott will discuss the physics of massive stars, their evolution towards collapse, and the complex and rich physics of core collapse and the subsequent explosion as elucidated by new three-dimensional supercomputer simulations. He will outline how observations with new messengers — gravitational waves and neutrinos – can yield new insights and test our theories about the highly dynamical processes occurring at the heart of the next core-collapse supernova that may explode in the Milky Way.
Prof. Samar Safi-Harb, University of Manitoba
Prof. Safi-Harb will highlight the importance of studying supernova remnants and associated high-energy phenomena, including the growing diversity of neutron stars from X-ray observations and the physics we learn from these extreme objects. He will also highlight outstanding questions in the field, and future directions to be pursued with high-energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) observatories, including the upcoming ASTRO-H mission (of which he is a member).
Prof. Harvey Richer, University of British Columbia
White dwarf stars are the end product of stellar evolution for stars up to about 8 times the mass of the Sun. About 98% of all stars will end their lives as white dwarfs, thus demanding that we understand them in detail. We have been observing these stars in ancient star clusters and are using them to study a number of interesting questions. Among these are:
1) What are the ages of the oldest visible stars?
2) Can we use white dwarfs as dynamical clocks?
3) What can we learn about the interior physics in white dwarfs?
Most of our data come from observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. Prof. Richer will describe why we choose to use this instrument and provide a primer on how to get time on it.
Admission
Students: FREE (with ID and pre-registration) from ANY university, college or school
Public: $20
Ticketing: Eventbrite
University of Toronto - St. George Campus
JJR MacLeod Auditorium, Room 2158
Medical Sciences Building
1 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
http://asx.sa.utoronto.ca/symposium/