1. Sarah Jeffreson (ITC) "The lifecycles of giant molecular clouds in Milky Way-like galaxies"

   Most stars in galaxies are formed within Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs): large, cold and dense reservoirs of molecular hydrogen within the hierarchical structure of the interstellar medium. The rate and efficiency of galactic-scale star formation therefore depends on the properties and lifetimes of these clouds. In this talk, I will use a statistical sample of ~80,000 GMCs across three high-resolution simulations of Milky Way-like disc galaxies in the moving-mesh code Arepo...

1. Leonardo dos Santos (Geneva)   "The high-energy environment and atmospheric escape of small exoplanets"

   Abstract:    Similarly to stars, planets also lose mass with time, even our own Earth. In particular, hot extrasolar planets orbiting close to their host stars are subject to large mass loss rates due to heating by high-energy irradiation and subsequent atmospheric escape. This process is so pervasive among hot planets that it imprints features in the population of transiting exoplanets, such as the hot-Neptune desert and the photoevaporation...

Anna Ho: "The Landscape of Relativistic Stellar Explosions:

Abstract: For the last half-century, relativistic outflows accompanying the final collapse of massive stars have predominantly been detected via high-energy emission, as long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). From wide-field optical and radio time-domain surveys, there have been hints of related phenomena at lower energies, such as X-ray flashes. With the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) we are conducting a systematic exploration of the broader landscape of engine-driven explosions, of which traditional GRBs are just one...