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| Hypervelocity Stars Ejected from the Galactic Center |
| Dr. Warren R. Brown - Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory |
| Thursday, Apr 10, 2008 at 8:00 PM |
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Hypervelocity stars leaving the Galaxy at ~1000 km/s (2 million mph)
are a natural consequence of a massive black hole in a dense stellar environment. In 2005 Dr. Warren Brown, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, discovered the first such hypervelocity star: a 3 solar mass B star, similar to stars seen in the Galactic Center, but 110 kpc (360,000 lightyears) distant and moving away at over 700 km/s! A follow-up survey has resulted in seven further hypervelocity star discoveries, plus evidence for a class of hypervelocity stars on bound trajectories.
In his talk, Hypervelocity Stars Ejected from the Galactic Center, Dr. Brown will discuss how the observed velocity and spatial distributions are linked to the ejection mechanism. The hypervelocity stars place quantitative constraints on the types of stars orbiting near the central black hole and the history of stellar interactions with the black hole.
Join us for what promises to be an exciting talk on this cutting edge discovery, one that will no doubt add to our understanding and unraveling of the mysteries of our galaxy.
Please join us for a pre-meeting dinner discussion at Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA at 6:00pm before the meeting. |
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