Physics & Astronomy - Astronomy Seminar - Joseph Rodriguez, Harvard University

Title: "The Mysterious Dimmings of the Young Stars PDS 110 and V1334 Tau"

February 6, 2018
2 pm - 3 pm
Location
Wilder 102
Sponsored by
Physics & Astronomy Department
Audience
Public
More information
Tressena Manning
603-646-2854

Abstract:  We have only a limited understanding of the evolution from circumstellar material to the diverse planetary systems discovered to date. One means to constrain the size and composition of this planet-forming material is to observe it in eclipse when it passes in front of its young stellar parent star. Such occultations are very rare but have already led to discoveries that include dense planet-forming structures within the tidally disrupted disk of a young binary star system; Saturn-like rings and gaps in the disks surrounding two young sub-stellar companions; and stratified dust coagulation within young protoplanetary disks. As part of our Disk Eclipse Search with KELT (DESK) Survey, we discovered a possible sub-stellar companion surrounded by a large circumplanetary disk in orbit about the young star PDS 110. Additionally, we uncovered two extended dimming events of the young star V1334 Tau that could be caused by an occulting body, or perhaps a significant change in the star’s magnetic field flux. I will present our discovery and follow-up on these targets and discuss how we are developing the framework to search for similar systems in future surveys such as LSST.
 

Location
Wilder 102
Sponsored by
Physics & Astronomy Department
Audience
Public
More information
Tressena Manning
603-646-2854