“UNC-CH Astrophysics Colloquium”
JJ Hermes, UNC-CH
“Deep Insights into the Endpoints of Binary and Angular Momentum Evolution”
We are entering a new era of precision constraints on the fundamental properties and internal constitution of stars, thanks to improving models and dedicated space telescopes. Still, several blind spots remain; for example, Kepler observations of relatively slow core rotation in red giants have motivated theorists to describe a missing angular momentum transport process in evolved stars. I will describe an experiment to use the second-life of the Kepler space telescope, K2, to approach this problem from the outer boundary condition: via white dwarf stars, which mark the endpoints of more than 97% of stars in our Galaxy.
I will review new insights and physical phenomena discovered by K2 that are illuminating the final stages of internal energy transfer and angular momentum evolution in stars. SOAR is playing a pivotal role in disentangling the most dynamic systems. With Gaia and TESS on the horizon, we are in an exciting time of high-fidelity observations that will direct theory in order to better understand how rotation, convection, magnetism, and binarity affect the evolution of stars.