Colloq Abstract - Monnier
Feb 14
11:00am Mountain
J. Monnier (UMich)
Imaging the Surfaces of Stars
Abstract
Using long-baseline infrared interferometry, we can beat telescope diffraction and atmospheric turbulence to image stars and their environments with sub-milli-arcsecond resolution. The Georgia State University CHARA Array on Mt. Wilson boasts the longest baselines of any optical/infrared array in the world and this talk will summarize the major results from Michigan Infrared Combiner, including the first resolved images of main sequence stars besides the Sun. We can now also resolve the interacting components of close binary stars, image magnetic spots on active stars, and watch novae explode in real-time. Taking advantage of recent breakthroughs in infrared detectors, we are now imaging the inner regions of planet-forming disks around very young stars and using astrometry to hunt for new exoplanets. Lastly, I will introduce the Planet Formation Imager (PFI, www.planetformationimager.org) project -- a next-generation facility that could transform our understanding of planet formation and exoplanet system architecture.
