There have been many attempts to apply the powerful tools of statistical mechanics to self-gravitating N-body systems such as star clusters, galaxies, and planetary systems. I will describe why this is difficult, some notable failures and successes, and recent work on two arenas where these tools may offer new insight: the distribution of young stars in the central parsec of our Galaxy, and the distribution of orbits of exoplanets.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
March 17, 2016 7:30 BPB-102. Russell Frank Astronomy Lecture: Scott Tremaine, Institute for Advanced Study. Is the Solar System Stable?
The planets in the solar system have completed a few billion orbits since they were born. The behavior of planetary orbits over such long times was not understood until recently despite three centuries of study. Computers now allow us to follow the motion of planets reliably for the lifetime of the solar system. We will see how the Earth's orbit has evolved throughout geological history, and learn of the Earth's ultimate fate. We will also discuss what determines the number and spacing of the planets and whether there are lost planets
This talk is intended for a general audience including enthusiasts of all backgrounds and ages.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Gravitational wave mystery discussed in Quanta Magazine highlights work by UNLV Astrophysicist Bing Zhang.
With LIGO's announcement last month that it discovered gravitational waves, astronomers are speculating on whether or not a nearly coincident detection of gamma rays could be an "electromagnetic counterpart" to the binary black hole merger event. It is still unclear if and how merging black holes can be accompanied by gamma ray emission. Quanta Magazine's article discusses this issue and of the three theories put forth, one is that of Professor Zhang.