Title: Observing the evolution of stars and planets
Speaker: Elisabeth Newton, Assistant Professor of Physics & Astronomy, Dartmouth College
When: Friday, April 8th, 2022 at 3 pm
Where: Zoom https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/93057274155?pwd=SmFHN2lyU3k4ZlVaenhpcy9MU3IvZz09
Abstract: Our galaxy teems with stars and their planets. The evolution of the two are intimately linked: stellar high energy radiation is thought to drive atmospheric evolution in close-orbiting exoplanets. However, studying their evolution is challenging as most changes occur on million-to-billion year timescales. I will discuss two complementary avenues in the study of stellar and exoplanetary evolution. I will examine the evolution of spin and magnetism in M dwarf stars, the smallest and most common type of star in the galaxy and the most promising stars for the study of temperate planets. I will then turn to the discovery and characterization of young exoplanets, which may still be in the throws of dynamical and atmospheric evolution.