Detection and Characterization of Exo-Asteroid Belts
| Date/Time: | Monday, 06 Nov 2017 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm |
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| Location: | Phys 0003 |
| Phone: | 515-294-5441 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Abstract: Debris disks are tenuous disks consisting of dust replenished by collisions of leftover planetesimals and cometary activity. They often have a structure analogous to that of minor body belts in the solar system with asteroid- and/or Kuiper-belt components. Their large surface area makes these disks detectable through infrared thermal emission or optical scattered light, providing insights into the nature of unseen minor-body populations and the underlying planetary architecture. Their resemblance to the solar system (exo-asteroid and exo-Kuiper-belt analogs) lets us study them to constrain our models of how our solar system formed and evolved. In my talk, I will discuss recent work on the detection and characterization of exo-asteroid belts, focusing nearby debris systems whose proximity allows unambiguous detection of inner debris using spatially resolved images. I will conclude with a brief discussion of planned debris disk studies with JWST and highlight some of the science that can be done with the Origins Space Telescope, one of the four large Mission Concept studies initiated by NASA for the 2020 Decadal Survey.
Bio: I am an associate astronomer at Steward Observatory, in University of Arizona. My research broadly focuses on dust around all different kinds of stars (especially in a disk form). Lately, my emphasis has been on planetary debris disks and comprises interpretation of data obtained from space facilities like Spitzer, Herschel and WISE, the airborne observatory SOFIA, and the Atacama Large millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) with the goal of understanding the origin, evolution and fate of our solar system.
You can find more information on my website: http://katherine.as.arizona.edu/Homepage/