Special Talk

• Special Talks

  Speaker: Alex Malz (STScI)
  Title: Leveraging Information Theory for Time-Domain Astrophysics
  Abstract: New analysis techniques are needed to fully exploit the potential for time-domain astrophysics with Rubin and Roman. In this talk, I will discuss a few promising applications of information theory to achieve ambitious goals for time-series classification, anomaly detection, and follow-up selection strategy.

  Speaker: Rebecca Levy (STScI)
  Title: Small but Mighty: Young Massive Star Clusters in Nearby Starburst Galaxies
  Abstract: In extreme starbursting systems, the majority of the star formation is concentrated in compact, young massive star clusters (YMCs). Feedback from these YMCs sets the cluster’s star formation efficiency, shapes the surrounding ISM, and powers multiphase large-scale outflows. I will present multiwavelength observational results of YMCs and feedback in the prototypical starburst galaxy NGC253. Gas flows in along the bar fueling a circumnuclear starburst. The youngest YMCs are still heavily embedded, only visible with ALMA and recently JWST MIRI, but already have extremely strong feedback. Massive star clusters like these fuel the galaxy's superwind.

  Speaker: Chen Xie (JHU)
  Title: Transmission Spectroscopy of Terrestrial Planet Formation Zones Using Disk Shadows
  Abstract: Terrestrial planets are expected to form within the inner few au of protoplanetary disks, where solids and ices assemble into the building blocks of rocky planets.  While IR interferometry has probed inner-disk thermal emission, and Mid-IR spectroscopy has traced surface molecules and warm dust, the inner-disk midplane, where terrestrial planets form, remains poorly constrained. A transmission spectrum of a disk provides direct access to its dust properties: dust mass, grain size, size distribution, and composition. In this talk, I will present a complementary way to probe these hidden inner regions in transmission rather than emission, using disk shadows.

  Misaligned or warped inner disks (e.g., <5 au) can cast shadows on the outer disk. The shadowed regions encode the wavelength-dependent attenuation imposed by the inner disk, while unshadowed regions provide a reference. Comparing the two can isolate the transmission signal from inner-disk dust. This shadow transmission spectrum provides direct access to dust extinction through the inner disk, including the dust column density, grain size, composition, and potentially ice absorption features. Furthermore, the morphology of the shadow, such as its depth and width, can also be used to identify the presence of ice.