Series: Astronomy Colloquium
Date: Wednesday 11-Nov-2009
Time: 16:00-17:00 (4:00-5:00 pm)
Location: CSS 2400
Speaker: Dr. Jason Tumlinson (STScI)
Title: "The First Stars and the Fossil Record"
Understanding the first stars and galaxies is a major goal of astrophysics now and in the coming decade. We now recognize that the truly first stars may lie beyond the view even of JWST, so I am investigating how we can use the "fossil record" of star formation preserved in old, extremely metal-poor stars in the Milky Way to probe star formation in the first few billion years of cosmic time. I will describe the new type of chemical evolution modeling developed to study this fossil record, evaluate several places where the record of the first stars can be sought, and speculate about what we might find out when we look there.
Colloquia are usually preceded by espresso and ice cream at 1:45 pm in the first floor lobby of the Astronomy Department and followed by an informal reception in room CSS 0254. Anyone interested in having lunch or talking with the speaker should contact the colloquium organizer given below. The hour immediately after lunch will normally be reserved for the speaker to talk to graduate students. Students are urged to contact the coordinator to arrange this.
Colloquium Organizer:
Prof. Richard Mushotzky
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS:
Special accommodations for individuals with disabilities can be made by calling (301) 405-3001. It would be appreciated if we are notified at least one week in advance.
