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Prof. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton,
University of Toronto

Abstract

Stars continuously affect their surroundings through radiation, mechanical feedback, and by producing and returning new elements to the interstellar medium. These new elements can eventually be recycled to form new stars, affecting their characteristics and evolution. Also, stars form differently depending on environmental factors which can vary from galaxy to galaxy, location to location. As a result, each star forming region has its own story. During this presentation, I will introduce SIGNALS: the Star formation, Ionized Gas and Nebular Abundances Legacy Survey. By studying 50,000 regions where stars actively form, the SIGNALS' collaboration aim at understanding what triggers their formation, how efficiently stars form, what are their characteristics, and how each generations transform the surrounding gas and ultimately our Universe. The development of astronomical instruments, specifically spectro-imagers, is central to this work. I will also briefly present my plans to build a new prototype instrument to be developed and tested at UofT.

Timbits, coffee, tea will be served in STI A before the colloquium.