UofT AstroTour: Whispers from the Cosmos
The recent discovery of gravitational waves marks the dawn of a new field of astronomy and provides new opportunities to study several elusive systems in the Cosmos. Compact binaries, made up of pairs of stellar remnants, are difficult to observe with traditional astronomical observations, but they are the most prolific source of gravitational waves. In this talk, Dr. Katie Breivik will give an overview of gravitational-wave astronomy and the exciting astrophysics we have uncovered from the 11 gravitational-wave detections to date.
Katie Breivik is a CITA Fellow and recently finished her PhD at Northwestern University. She is excited about gravitational waves and all kinds of dead stars, especially those that form in stellar pairs called binary stars. Her research focuses on trying to understand how gravitational wave observations can be used to study how binary stars evolve throughout their lives. She does this using simulations which evolve binary stars, from birth to death, and predict the gravitational wave signals they emit along the way. Katie’s skills are not limited to astrophysics: in high school, she competed in Irish dance at the champion level!
Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Registration: Not required
Organized by: U of T Graduate Astronomy Students Association. AstroTours are generously supported by the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto.
Location: University of Toronto, McLennan Physical Laboratories (MP 103), 60 St George St., Toronto, ON