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Astrophysics Seminars

The CASS Astrophysics Seminar features world-class astrophysicists from around the world speaking on current topics of research. Presentations are aimed at the graduate and post-graduate level, but are open to the general public. CASS seminars take place on Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. in 383 SERF (Marlar Seminar Room), unless otherwise noted. You can watch a live stream of the talk or prior talks at the CASS Seminar YouTube Channel. The organizers are Prof. Quinn Konopacky and Dr. Alexei Kritsuk.

Upcoming Seminars

Fall 2018

November 14, 2018

"Cold Gas Giant Exoplanets: From Detection to Characterization"

Paul Dalba

Postdoctoral Scholar

UC Riverside

It is now common knowledge within the astrophysics community that the Galaxy is teeming with exoplanets. With an ever-growing sample of known exoplanets to draw from, the focus of many investigations has begun to shift from detection to characterization. However, this transition is shaped by observational biases. Limited observational baselines and detection efficiencies have so far restricted the majority of characterization efforts to exoplanets with short-period orbits that are strikingly different than the Solar System planets. Yet, the fundamental questions surrounding exoplanetary science—ones of formation, evolution, and even habitability—cannot be addressed without probing the outer reaches of planetary systems as well as the inner regions. In this talk, I will discuss the challenges facing the detection-characterization transition for cold giant exoplanets akin to Jupiter and Saturn. I will present observations dedicated to recovering long-period exoplanets originally discovered in transit and radial velocity surveys. Although somewhat risky, these efforts are necessary to prevent us from "losing track" of known exoplanets. Moving into characterization, I will present research that utilizes Solar System data sets to simulate atmospheric observations of cold giant exoplanets. This work identifies a new method of exoplanet atmospheric characterization and emphasizes the amenability of cold giant exoplanets to characterization.