Download American University of Beirut Physics Department

American University of Beirut
Physics Department
Invites you to a presentation entitled
Burning Questions in Stellar Evolution
By
Dr. Ghina Mahmoud-Halabi
Physics Dept., AUB
Abstract
The theory of stellar evolution allows us to understand the structure of stars and the origin of
chemical elements in the universe. The theory relies on computer simulations which implement the
fundamental laws of physics that we know in order to study the extreme environments which are
encountered in stars where elements are created. Many of the observed abundance features in stars
have been successfully explained by stellar models, which confirms that we understand a lot of
details in several aspects of stellar evolution. However, there are still a lot of observational features
that our standard models cannot explain, and thus challenge our understanding of the underlying
physics.
I will show some of these observed discrepancies, the questions they raise concerning related
fundamental physical processes, and present a non-standard solution that may help resolve this
conflict.
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2015
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: Emile Bustani for Physics, Rm. 333