Physics & Astronomy Seminar: Binary Stars

The Physics & Astronomy Department Seminar on November 8 features Professor Larry Molnar.

All are invited to join us at 3:00 on November 8 for a special cake reception for Alex Dragt in SB 157. and then hear a lecture at 3:15 in SB 110, entitled "The Formation of Contact Binary Stars." This presentation has been prepared by Professor Larry Molnar, and students Levi Carr and Jenn Feng Lau.

Abstract: Contact binaries are pairs of stars orbiting so closely they share a common atmosphere. They are remarkable for the violent explosion that accompanies their final merger. To understand how they come (after billions of years) to that pass, the questions of how they form and evolve must be addressed first. This summer we computed the details of a two-step theory of formation: dynamic interactions with a third star followed by the torque of a powerful magnetic field. Our computations allow us to test this theory against observed properties of contact binaries for the first time. We will present the results in this seminar

Location details

Science Building 110