DMS Graduate Student Seminar

Abstract: Essentially all information about astronomical objects outside the solar system comes through the study of electromagnetic radiation (light) as it reaches us. Astrophysicists analyze spectra to infer the chemical composition of objects, temperatures, abundances of ion species, and even motions. They do this in reference to existing atomic models and collision processes. As you might imagine, measurements and analyses of spectra are fraught with uncertainties, which can lead to vigorous disagreements among astrophysicists. In this talk I will outline how mathematics and statistics can help resolve some of these conflicts by identifying sources of uncertainty in the underlying atomic models and by explaining their effects on diagnostic measures.