12:00–1:00 pm ERC 419
Kareem El-Badry, University of California- Berkeley, “Wide binaries as probes of star formation and dynamical evolution”
Population statistics of wide binaries encode the end state of turbulent core fragmentation and can thus constrain aspects of the star formation process that are theoretically poorly understood. Because the orbits of wide binaries are fragile, they are also sensitive probes of the dynamical history of a stellar population. The Gaia mission has recently revolutionized the wide binary field, making it possible to assemble large, homogenous, and pure catalogs of binaries with a well-understood selection function. I will discuss several recent discoveries enabled by Gaia, focusing in particular on the unexpected discovery of an excess population of equal-mass “twin” binaries at wide separations that challenges our understanding of the star formation process. I will also discuss tests of gravity in the low-acceleration regime with wide binaries.