Events

KICP Coffee, Cookies and Conversation

3:00–3:30 pm Zoom Room (online)

Sep 22

A&A and KICP Outreach Symposium

2:00–5:00 pm Zoom Room (online)

Sep 28

Autumn Quarter Begins

All day

Sep 29

A&A Colloquium: Mariska Kriek (University of California - Berkeley)

3:30–4:30 pm Zoom - TBA

“The Many Phases of Massive Galaxies”

In past years, large and deep photometric and spectroscopic surveys have significantly advanced our understanding of galaxy growth, from the most active time in the universe (z~2) to the present day. In particular, the evolution in stellar mass, star formation rate, and structure of complete galaxy samples have provided independent and complementary insights into their formation histories. In addition, detailed studies of the properties of individual distant galaxies have lead to a better apprehension of the physical processes which govern galaxy growth. Nonetheless, many outstanding questions remain. In this talk I will give an overview of our current picture of galaxy growth over the past 11 billion years, discuss current challenges and outstanding questions, and introduce new and ongoing efforts to further unravel the formation histories of massive galaxies.

Sep 30

KICP Colloquium: Lindsey Bleem (Argonne)

3:30–4:30 pm Zoom Room (online)

Oct 7

A&A Colloquium: Lisa Kewley (Australian National University)

3:30–4:30 pm Zoom - TBA

“ASTRO 3D”

The ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) isa $40M Centre of Excellence, which is producing a comprehensive picture of the build up of mass, angular momentum, and the chemical elements from the first stars, to (and including) the Milky Way. Our surveys include the measurement of the power spectrum at the Epoch of Reionization with the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), large HI surveys with the Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), the ongoing Australian optical integral field surveys of 10^5 galaxies (SAMI, followed by HECTOR), a large galaxy evolution program combining HST, Keck, and ESO spectroscopy of galaxies from z=6 to z=0.5, and the major Australian Galactic Archaeology program (GALAH) to track the chemical history and accretion history of our Milky Way through GAIA and the HERMES instrument on the Anglo Australian Telescope. I will describe the recent discoveries made in ASTRO 3D, as well as providing an update on our ambitious equity and diversity programs, and our nationwide education and public outreach programs.

Oct 14

KICP Colloquium

3:30–4:30 pm Zoom Room (online)

Oct 21

A&A Colloquium: Sara Vigeland (University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee)

3:30–4:30 pm Zoom - TBA

“Supermassive Black Holes and Merging Galaxies: Low-Frequency Gravitational Wave Detection with Pulsar Timing Arrays”

Observations have shown that nearly all galaxies harbor massive or supermassive black holes at their centers. Gravitational wave (GW) observations of these black holes will shed light on their growth and evolution, and the merger histories of galaxies. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) use observations of millisecond pulsars to detect low-frequency GWs with frequencies ~1-100 nHz, and can detect GWs emitted by supermassive black hole binaries, which form when two galaxies merge. In this talk, I will discuss the current status of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) PTA, with an emphasis on results from our most recent search for the GW background. I will also discuss future prospects for detecting and characterizing GWs from individual supermassive binary black holes with PTAs.

Oct 28