Binary stars in the new millennium
by
S541 Lecture Hall, TDLI
Stellar structure and evolution is a major theory in astrophysics, which is based on hydrostatic equilibrium and energy supply from thermonuclear reactions; and gives the internal physical structure and evolution of stars and explains many of the observed phenomena and the general law of the stellar world. However, half of the stars are in pairs, in which the two stars orbit each other due to gravitation. Binary interactions complicate stellar evolution, leading to the appearance of most exotic celestial objects and strange observational phenomena. Binary stars are the cornerstone of the understanding of stellar evolutionary theory and play an essential role in cosmic distance measurement, galactic evolution, nucleosynthesis and the formation of objects such as millisecond pulsars, X-ray binaries, Type Ia supernovae, double black holes, double neutron stars, and double white dwarfs. In this talk, I will focus on the recent progress in binary interactions, the formation of type Ia supernovae (cosmological distance indicators), and the formation of double white dwarfs (gravitational wave sources for future space-borne gravitational wave detectors). I will also discuss how binary evolution impacts our understanding of galaxy evolution and cosmic reionization.
Zhanwen Han, born in 1965, received his BSc degree from Hebei University (1984), MSc degree from the Yunnan Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (1987), and PhD degree from the University of Cambridge (1995). He is currently a Chair Professor at the Yunnan Observatories, CAS and an Academician with CAS. Prof. Dr Han served as the Director of the Yunnan Observatories, CAS, from 2009 to 2014 and the Founding Director of the Key Laboratory for the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects, CAS, from 2009 to 2013. He chaired the Finance Committee of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) from 2015 to 2018 and was a Member of the Organizing Committee of the IAU Stellar Evolution Commission from 2012 to 2018. Prof. Dr Han is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and the President of the Chinese Astronomical Society. He is also an Associate Editor of Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A) and one of the two Editors-in-Chief of Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA). He holds a Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation (HK) Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, 2016 and a 2nd Prize of the State Natural Science Award, 2013, issued by China's State Council. His research interests include binary evolution; binary-related objects (type Ia supernovae, hot subdwarfs, double degenerates, etc.); binary population synthesis; evolutionary population synthesis, far-UV excess of early-type galaxies.
Recorded video: https://vshare.sjtu.edu.cn/play/4478f0673b6724428ec7c453732239fb.
