Early in its formation, a solar system consists of a protostar and circumstellar disk. Most numerical modeling of these systems includes the central object as a point mass, focusing on oscillatory modes that arise in the disk. We advance the physics by computationally resolving the protostar. This allows gravitational coupling between modes in the star and modes in the disk, affecting the evolution of the system. I will discuss our recent work on this topic, highlighting contributions made by students in the Physics Department of OSU.

Biography: Dr. Kathryn Hadley has been teaching and doing research with undergraduate students in the OSU Physics Department since 2016. She earned her PhD in physics from the University of Oregon in 2011 in the field of computational theoretical astrophysics, working on evolution of early protoplanetary systems and magnetohydrodynamic shocks.

Location: Participate by Zoom or join colleagues in Wngr 149. Masks required. Please use all the space in the room and ask already-seated people before claiming an adjacent seat if they prefer a more distance. The colloquium speaker will present remotely.