CGCA Seminars

What’s Feeding Terrestrial Planets? JWST Observations of Protoplanetary Disk
Dr. Abygail Waggoner
University of Wisconsin-Madison

The formation of terrestrial, or earth-like, planets is thought to occur in the inner few au of protoplanetary disks, but what is the composition of the dust and gas that forming-planets may inherit? In this talk, we’ll discuss how the James Webb Space Telescope can be used to measure the chemical composition of protoplanetary disk gas and how models can be used to understand the evolution of material throughout planet formation.

Detecting Gravitational Wave Signals - Methods, Challenges, and Opportunities
Shio Sakon
Pennsylvania State University

The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration’s fourth observing run (O4) produced a remarkable expansion of the gravitational-wave transient catalog, with nearly three times as many significant detections as were known at the start of the run. Among these were several first-of-their-kind events that challenged existing theories, and the increased rate of detections reflected the improvement in detector sensitivity and analysis capabilities over the past decade.

Neutron Star–Black Hole Binaries: Predictions and Observations
Debatri Chattopadhyay
Northwestern University

Neutron star–black hole (NS–BH) binaries have emerged as key targets for multi-messenger astrophysics following the first gravitational wave detections of such systems. In this talk, I present population synthesis predictions for the Galactic NS–BH population, models that interpret the first observed mergers, and forecasts for future radio, gravitational-wave, and electromagnetic discoveries.

Unraveling the origins of fast radio bursts and using them as probes of extreme plasmas
Kenzie Nimmo
Northwestern University

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration flashes of coherent radio emission originating from extragalactic distances, offering a unique view into the physics of compact objects and their surrounding environments. Despite their brief and unpredictable nature, precise localizations of a small number of FRBs have already revealed a striking diversity in host galaxies, local environments, and burst properties - suggesting multiple progenitor channels linked to extreme compact objects. However, the nature of FRB sources remains one of the most exciting mysteries in astrophysics.