New Light on Old Stars
The chemical diversity of the universe that makes our own existence possible is owed to multiple generations of stars that converted the primordial soup of hydrogen and helium into the periodic table we know today. To understand this process, Roman Gerasimov looks for the oldest objects in our galaxy that formed shortly after the beginning of time and preserve the fossilized record of the early universe in their chemical composition. The new generation of observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope, now provide a deeper look into our cosmic history than ever before. Gerasimov invites you to join him in his search for the oldest stars in the least explored corners of our galaxy, and the chemical secrets they contain within.
Experience the Event
Presented by Department of Physics
The chemical diversity of the universe that makes our own existence possible is owed to multiple generations of stars that converted the primordial soup of hydrogen and helium into the periodic table we know today. To understand this process, Roman Gerasimov looks for the oldest objects in our galaxy that formed shortly after the beginning of time and preserve the fossilized record of the early universe in their chemical composition. The new generation of observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope, now provide a deeper look into our cosmic history than ever before. Gerasimov invites you to join him in his search for the oldest stars in the least explored corners of our galaxy, and the chemical secrets they contain within.
Meet the Fellow: Roman Gerasimov
Roman Gerasimov is a postdoctoral research fellow in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame. He is interested in how the universe developed its present-day chemical complexity from the primordial soup of hydrogen and helium left over by the Big Bang. To understand this intricate process, he looks for signatures of chemical elements in ancient stars that preserve the evolutionary record of our galaxy, dating billions of years into the past.