Forging Connections: From Nuclei to the Cosmic Web a JINA-CEE workshop

Home

 

Vision

From Nuclei to the Cosmic Web strengthens interactions amongst the astrophysics and nuclear physics communities to facilitate scientific understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies.

 

Motivation

Roughly half of the elements in the universe that are heavier than helium are in stars and the interstellar medium, and the rest is in the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium.  All of these elements are produced in stars or their remnants, and they are critical to both structure formation (i.e., star and galaxy formation) and stellar evolution.  The purpose of Forging Connections: From Nuclei to the Cosmic Web is to bring together observers, experimentalists, and theorists whose expertise spans the range of subjects necessary to understand the full life cycle of the baryonic content of the universe, and to forge connections to address the challenges relating to studying chemical enrichment in the era of large stellar and IGM surveys.
 

Rationale

The fundamental connections between chemical elements and the cosmos remain a rich site of fascinating challenges that include the interplay between stars, chemical evolution, galaxies, the intergalactic medium, and large scale structure. This bonanza of physical puzzles is closely linked with the generation of gravitational waves, the r-process from compact objects, and the diversity of exoplanet atmospheres. 

Recent observational and experimental clues that challenge conventional wisdom coupled with the expectation of large quantities of data from upcoming surveys and experiments, coupled with new advances in modeling and simulations offer significant improvements in our quantitative understanding of the connections between nuclei and the cosmic web. An international and interdisciplinary meeting, Forging Connections: From Nuclei to the Cosmic Web is designed to promote collaboration to solve a range of open questions.


 

Invited Speakers and Scientific Advisors*

Almudena Arcones (U. Darmstadt, Germany)*
Timothy Beers (U. Notre Dame, USA)*
Joss Bland-Hawthorn (U. Sydney, Australia)*
Rongmon Bordoloi (MIT, USA)
Charlie Conroy (Harvard U., USA)*
Iris Dillmann (TRIUMF, Canada)
Marius Eichler (U. Darmstadt, Germany)
Anna Frebel (MIT, USA)*
Christopher Fryer (LANL, USA)*
Brad Gibson (U. Hull, UK)*
Gerry Gilmore (Cambridge U., UK)*
Alexander Heger (Monash U., Australia)
Amanda Karakas (ANU, Australia)*
Lars Mattsson (Stockholm U., Sweden)
Molly Peeples (STScI, USA)*
Marco Pignatari (U. Hull, UK)*
Jason Tumlinson (STScI, USA)
Michael Wiescher (U. Notre Dame, USA)

Organizing Committee

Brian O’Shea (MSU - Chair)
Benoit Côté (MSU/U. Victoria - Co-Chair)
Falk Herwig (U. Victoria, Canada)
Hendrik Schatz (MSU/NSCL, USA)
Devin Silvia (MSU, USA)
Lena Simon (JINA-CEE, USA)
Artemis Spyrou (MSU/NSCL, USA)
Frank Timmes (ASU, USA)
Dawn Welch (JINA-CEE, USA)

The Twitter hashtag for this conference is #forging17
 

Grants are available for this workshop for those that wish to bring children to the meeting, and local caregivers can be arranged.  Please contact Brian O'Shea if you are interested in exploring this possibility.

 

This workshop is sponsored by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics - Center for the Evolution of the Elements (JINA-CEE)