Speaker: Dr. Cheryl Lau 劉思晴 (Physics Division, National Center for Theoretical Sciences)

Title: Stellar feedback and how they shape the interstellar medium

Time: 02:20pm Tuesday 03/Mar/2026

Venue: Room S101, 1F, Lecture Hall (G112)

Abstract:

Feedback from massive stars is one of the greatest sources of energy and momentum in the interstellar medium (ISM). Ionizing radiation, stellar winds and supernovae collectively shape the molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars, as well as their host galaxies. They play a significant role in regulating the entire star formation process.

In this colloquium, I will provide an overview of how feedback interacts with the ISM, and how astrophysicists examine their impact using state-of-the-art computational simulations. Specifically, I will discuss why the highly-asymmetrical nature of supernova remnants may impose a problem to our current feedback models. I will demonstrate that supernovae could actually induce a higher dynamical impact to its local ISM than what was previously expected.