Carolina Science Cafe: Stellar Evolution, Interrupted

Open up any introductory astronomy textbook, and you can read about how stars like the Sun evolve from one stage of stellar evolution to the next. However, these textbook descriptions often overlook one important fact: most stars are in binary systems with other stellar or substellar companions, and their presence can greatly impact how the story of stellar evolution plays out.

In October’s Carolina Science Cafe, Dr. Brad Barlow, an Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy at UNC-Chapel Hill, will discuss how his research group uses data from ground- and space-based observatories to discover and characterize special types of stars called hot subdwarfs that are the products of binary interactions. The broader impacts of this work touch on gravitational wave physics, Type Ia supernovae, the impact of late-stage stellar evolution on exoplanets, and more.

About the Speaker

Dr. Brad Barlow (he/him) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that, he spent 11 years working as an Associate Professor of Astrophysics and Director of the Culp Planetarium at High Point University. Dr. Barlow received a B.S. in physics from Mississippi State University in 2006, a Ph.D. in physics (astronomy concentration) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011, and he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Pennsylvania State University from 2011-2013.

His research primarily focuses on pulsating stars, late stellar evolution, and binary star systems. While at UNC-Chapel Hill, he helped develop software for the Goodman spectrograph on the 4.1-m SOAR telescope on Cerro Pachon in Chile. Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Brad did his undergraduate studies at Mississippi State University. His other interests include playing the piano, writing music, cycling, and public outreach.