SHAO Astrophysics Colloquia

Title: Binary population synthesis and the formation of binary-related objects

Speaker: Zhanwen Han (Yunnan Observatories)

Time: 3:00 PM, May 25th (Thursday)  

Location: Lecture Hall, 3rd floor  

Abstract: Binary population synthesis (BPS) is an algorithm to evolve a large number of stars (including binaries), in order to investigate statistical properties of binary-related objects and check their evolutionary scenarios. We have developed the BPS theory and studied the formation of many binary-related objects, including hot subdwarf stars, progenitors of type Ia supernovae, double white dwarfs etc. The BPS also plays a role in the study of sources of gravitational wave radiation. Furthermore, the BPS model of binary-related objects can be applied to evolutionary population synthesis (EPS) studies of galaxies, showing that binary interactions are crucial to our understanding of spectral energy distribution (SED) at short wavelengths for old stellar populations.