Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/10/2013
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Title: Insights from the kinematics of rotationally supported galaxies.

Speaker: Dr. Stacy McGaugh

Institute: Case Western Reserve

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Spiral and irregular galaxies obey a number of empirical rules. Their rotation curves become asymptotically flat, the amplitude of the flat velocity scales with baryonic mass (stars plus gas), and the gravitational force per unit mass scales as the square root of the baryonic surface density. These relations have considerable astronomical utility, providing distance indicators and constraints on stellar mass. They also suggest the possibility of new fundamental physics associated with a special acceleration scale.