Daniella Bardalez Gagliuffi (AMNH)  "System architectures as fossils of brown dwarf and giant planet formation"

Brown dwarfs and giant planets share many similarities in their physical properties and atmospheric dynamics, but the most fundamental difference between these two types of objects is the formation pathway that led to their creation. The key to differentiating between formation pathways may lie in their chemical compositions. Recent discoveries have unveiled a number of systems with substellar companions in orbital configurations that are challenging to...

1. Jennifer Andrews (Arizona)  "Supernova Imposters and the Eruptions of Massive Stars"
   
   Existing in the magnitude space between traditional supernovae (SNe) and classical novae lies a zoo of explosive and eruptive transients with maximum absolute magnitudes of roughly -10<MV<-15. Traditionally interpreted as giant luminous blue variable (LBV) eruptions these often dubbed “SN imposters” likely arise from a variety of initial stellar masses and are caused by physical mechanisms ranging from instabilities in nuclear burning as the object evolves off the main sequence...

1. Jorge Penarrubia (U Edinburgh)  "Impact of `dark' microhaloes on the dynamics of stars & planetary systems"
   
   In the current cosmological paradigm (Cold Dark Matter, CDM), galaxies like the Milky Way are teeming with dark matter substructures with masses as low as that of Earth (M~10^{-6} Msol), or even of asteroids (M~10^{-12} Msol). These objects do not contain baryons, and can only be detected through their gravitational attraction. However, to date it remains unclear to what extent such puny microhaloes affect the motion of visible objects.
   In this talk, I...

1. Kim Boddy (UTexas Austin)  "Searching for Dark Matter Interactions in Cosmology"
   There is overwhelming evidence for the existence of dark matter. It plays a crucial role in the formation of structure in the Universe, yet little is known about its properties beyond gravitational effects. In this talk, I will discuss the current and future prospects of understanding the fundamental nature of dark matter using observations in cosmology and astrophysics. These observations offer glimpses into different cosmic eras that may shed light on the mystery of dark matter....