DTPA Seminar: Tomáš Plšek and Daniel Jadlovský

The Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics invites you to the department seminary. The content of the seminar will be organizational matters, and short reports, but the main contribution will be two talks given by Tomáš Plšek and Daniel Jadlovský.

Tomáš Plšek: Studying the physics of hot galactic atmospheres

Most galaxies with masses comparable to or greater than the Milky Way host hot, X-ray emitting atmospheres. The crucial role of these atmospheres in the formation and evolution of individual massive galaxies is only beginning to be understood. About half of the unseen warm-hot diffuse matter in the local Universe may be in such extended galactic atmospheres, which are inextricably linked to their host galaxies through a complex history of accretion and feedback processes, such as the energy and momentum input from supernovae and the jets and winds of accreting supermassive black holes, also called active galactic nuclei. Using novel data analysis techniques and current or archival X-ray observations, complemented by other multi-wavelength data, I have studied the hot galactic atmospheres and their interaction with the central AGN.

Daniel Jadlovský: Analysis of the mass-loss process in red giants and supergiants

Red giants and supergiants are some of the main contributors to the chemical evolution and dust production in galaxies. However, despite its importance, the physics behind their mass-loss process is still poorly understood, as well as the final evolution of red supergiants towards the supernova explosion. In order to better understand the mass-loss process, we will study the atmospheres of many evolved stars using various observational methods. High-resolution spectroscopy in the optical band will permit us to study the photosphere. Interferometric time-series and imaging with VLTI in the infrared region and with ALMA in the sub-mm region will allow us to spatially study the extended atmospheres, where the molecules and dust are formed. The combination of these methods will allow us to trace the material from the stellar surface, where the mass loss is initiated, out to the dust formation zone. Additionally, the results will be compared to state-of-the-art 1D dynamical model atmospheres and 3D radiative-hydrodynamics simulations.