Some recent results in massive binary evolution

The evolution of massive stellar binaries plays a key role in the formation of a range of transients: gravitational-wave sources, gamma ray bursts, some supernovae, luminous red novae, etc.  Unfortunately, a variety of key steps in the evolutionary process are poorly understood.  I will discuss some recent theoretical work on a range of processes, from common envelope physics to wind-driven mass loss, and show the impact of new observational constraints.

Speaker: 
Ilya Mandel (Monash University)
Place: 
Remote Talk Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/86332626010?pwd=QlhhL3dSS0VDM0V4K2FlS0NudXhYUT09 Meeting ID: 863 3262 6010 Passcode: 295742
Host: 
Kohei Inayoshi
Time: 
Thursday, September 30, 2021 - 3:30PM to Thursday, September 30, 2021 - 4:30PM
Biography: 
Ilya Mandel received a PhD in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 2008, with a specialization in gravitational-wave astronomy, under the supervision of Kip S. Thorne. He carried out postdoctoral research at Northwestern University and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a National Science Foundation astronomy and astrophysics postdoctoral fellow. Ilya arrived at the University of Birmingham, UK as a Lecturer in 2011, and was promoted to Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics in 2016. During this time, Ilya established himself as one of the leaders in the emerging field of gravitational-wave astrophysics, focusing on sources of gravitational waves, data-analysis challenges posed by current and planned gravitational-wave detectors, astrophysics of compact-object binaries and ways in which upcoming observations of gravitational waves can aid our understanding of this astrophysics. In 2019, Ilya joined Monash University as a Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy.