• 16 January 2026
  • 2:00 EST
 Gravitational-Wave Asteroseismology: Illuminating Dense Nuclear Matter through Dynamical Tides Neutron stars present the tantalising opportunity to examine physics in a range of extreme regimes, including ultra-dense nuclear matter. Gravitational radiation from inspiralling compact binaries carries information about the deformability of the stellar material. However, the focus has primarily been on the static tide. Much like the Moon sources waves in Earth's oceans, neutron-star binaries experience dynamical tides, where the orbital motion drives vibrational modes within the star. These modes are sensitive seismological probes of the stellar interior and have already transformed our understanding of main-sequence and giant stars. In this talk, I will review our current level of understanding of neutron-star binaries. I will show how the tidal dynamics provoke oscillation modes and the rich physics they encode. In light of imminent improvements to gravitational-wave instrument technologies, I will discuss prospects for detectability.
  • 30 January 2026
  • 2:00 EST
 Implications of a Weakening N = 126 Shell Closure Away from Stability for r-Process Astrophysical Conditions The formation of the third r-process abundance peak near A∼195 is highly sensitive to both nuclear structure far from stability and the astrophysical conditions that produce the heaviest elements. In particular, the N = 126 shell closure plays a crucial role in shaping this peak. Experimental data hints that the shell weakens as proton number departs from Z= 82, a trend largely missed by global mass models. In this talk, I will show how this evolving shell structure influences r-process nucleosynthesis by comparing standard mass models with strong closures to modified Duflo–Zuker models that incorporate the experimentally indicated weakening, along with several sets of β-decay rates. I will also present how these nuclear inputs change the morphology of the third peak and discuss the astrophysical conditions required to reproduce the solar pattern when the shell is weakened. The results highlight how uncertainties in the N=126 region translate into constraints on r-process sites and motivate future mass measurements and improved β-decay data for nuclei near this shell closure. https://www.cenamweb.org/events/online-seminar-series
  • 13 March 2026 – 13 March 2025
 From Reliability to Innovation: The LANSCE Modernization Roadmap