Events at Physics |
Events on Thursday, April 16th, 2026
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Title to be announced
- Time: 10:00 am
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Maxim Khodas , Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Host: Alex Levchenko
- Astronomy Colloquium
- Single-lined Eclipsing Binary Stars: A Stellar Astronomy Multi-Tool
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place: 4421 Sterling Hall
- Speaker: Prof. Daniel Stevens, UMN-Duluth
- Abstract: Precisely and accurately measured stellar properties such as mass and radius are important for a wide range of science cases, from characterizing nearby exoplanets to inferring properties of distant galaxies. Double-lined eclipsing binary stars (DLEBs) have long been the gold standard for making such measurements, as the two similar-luminosity stars’ individual masses and radii can routinely be measured to percent-level precision. By combining space-based observations from the TESS and Gaia space telescopes with archival datasets, it is now possible to measure fundamental stellar parameters precisely and accurately for single-lined EBs (SLEBs), in which only the more luminous star’s spectrum is seen. I will summarize the advantages of studying SLEBs for specific science cases, focusing on recent efforts by my research group and others to resolve the longstanding problem of radius inflation in low-mass stars. I will also highlight a few “superlative” SLEB discoveries and their potential for probing stellar physics across the HR diagram. I will discuss the obstacles we have encountered to characterize SLEBs to percent-level precision and accuracy, then preview the near-term prospects for overcoming them.
- Host: Thomas Beatty