event
Wednesday 01 Jul 2009: Novel Applications of High-Precision Astronomical Techniques to the Study of Binary Stars
Dr Shay Zucker - University of Tel Aviv
Physics, 4th Floor interaction area 12:00-13:00
The search for extrasolar planets motivated the development of high-precision astronomical techniques, mainly radial velocities and photometry. In binary stars the measured phenomena are much easier to detect with conventional moderate precision techniques. However, the new techniques may be sensitive to the next-order weaker effects of Relativity. In the talk I will propose ways to utilize Relativity via high-precision astronomy, in order to gain more knowledge about binary stars. Specifically, precise radial velocities may allow absolute mass measurements of binaries, whereas precise photometry (from space) will allow the detection of a large number of spectroscopic binaries.
