February 11, 2008
3pm in Howey Physics Lecture Room 5

 

Thomas Maccarone
School of Physics & Astronomy
University of Southampton, U.K.

 

"Compact objects in globular star clusters"

Globular clusters are region of space with hundreds of thousands of stars packed into a region within a radius similar to the distance between the Sun and its nearest neighbor.  In such environments, stellar interactions and even actual stellar collisions become important processes.  Large overabundances are seen of several classes of exotic single and binary stars - especially neutron stars in close orbits which accrete gas to give off X-rays, eventually being spun up to millisecond rotational periods.  I will show which properties of clusters have the strongest impact on formation of these sources, and will discuss possible theoretical interpretations.  I will also discuss the controversy about whether these clusters can contain black holes, and recent observational evidence proving for the first time that they can.