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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260415T133000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260415T144500
DTSTAMP:20260409T042105Z
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260409T042105Z
UID:91805-1776259800-1776264300@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Physics Colloquium | Extreme Supersoft Sources and their links to HMXBs
DESCRIPTION:Dear All\, \nThe Department of Physics invites you to a colloquium on "Extreme Supersoft Sources and their links to HMXBs" \nAbstract: V Sge is a peculiar\, highly luminous long-period (12.3h) cataclysmic variable that displays a supersoft emitting component (SSS) when in the faint phase of its V~10-13 range of variability.  It appears to be undergoing extremely heavy accretion from its more massive secondary\, almost certainly at\, or above\, an Eddington-limited rate\, indicating that it is in a very rare\, short-lived phase of its binary evolution\, placing it firmly in the SSS-DD channel for eventually detonating as a SNIa.  Its complex and highly variable set of optical emission features\, from Balmer and HeII up to high ionisation emission lines\, including strong fluorescence features\, have made it a target of detailed spectroscopic studies going back 60 years. It is the brightest galactic SSS\, yet we only have poor constraints on the donor properties.  We have obtained VLT X-Shooter spectra of V Sge as a function of orbital phase\, revealing multiple components in both high and low ionisation lines which have allowed us to track V Sge's principal emitting regions\, one of which is a circumbinary ring.  I will compare V Sge and related systems with another remarkable Be+WD system in the LMC\, which has been shown to be the first (and so far\, only) BeX SSS with a He star donor.  This work is revealing more about the long-sought Be-WD systems\, with implications for the properties of the Be equatorial ("excretion") disc\, which are a feature of many HMXBs. \nAbout the Speaker: Prof. Philip Allan Charles is an Emeritus Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton\, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. Prior\, he was Head of the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Southampton and held a Visiting Professor appointment at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He was Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) from 2004-2011.  Previously he was Head of the Astronomy Group at the Isaac Newton Group (ING)\, La Palma (1987-1992)\, and Head of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford (1994-1999). \n​Prof. Charles research interest lies in High- and low-mass X-ray binaries; properties of neutron stars and black holes; cataclysmic variables​ and dwarf novae; time-domain astrophysics; optical instrumentation (PI/co-PI for ISIS on WHT 4.2m​ and FRODOSPEC on Liverpool Telescope). \nWe look forward to your active participation.
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/physics-colloquium-extreme-supersoft-sources-and-their-links-to-hmxbs/
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260415T134000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260415T145000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063050Z
CREATED:20260414T063050Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260414T063050Z
UID:92072-1776260400-1776264600@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Economics Department Weekly Seminar | Prof. Anubha Agarwal | 15th April 2026 | 1:40 PM
DESCRIPTION:Title: Stockpiling Liquidity to Acquire Innovation \nAbstract: Cash utilization in US merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions has increased over 50% since the early 1990s amidst a secular\, global M&A boom. How does this cash-use relate to a firm's cash stockpiles\, and what are the aggregate implications for firm innovative efforts\, growth\, and monetary policy? To answer these questions\, we pose a general equilibrium theory of R&D-intensive firm cash stockpiling and use in M&A transactions. M&A cash bids can close faster than those externally financed\, hence reducing the hazard of competing offers and external risks of trade breakdown. A higher common-value component in M&A arising from transferable productivity of firms’ intangible assets spurs increased M&A competition and serial acquirer cash-stockpiles. Despite sellers receiving a cash-premium as compensation\, cash-use biases M&A rents and growth incentives towards serial acquirers. Higher nominal interest rates differentially impact internal and external growth incentives across firms\, re-shaping the firm-size and productivity distribution. Calibrated to the US economy\, we find that increasing transferable productivity differences and M&A competition\, not interest rates\, can account for the majority of aggregate firm cash stockpiles since 1990.
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/economics-department-weekly-seminar-prof-anubha-agarwal-15th-april-2026-140-pm/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260415T173000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20260415T190000
DTSTAMP:20260413T054408Z
CREATED:20260413T000309Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T054408Z
UID:91960-1776274200-1776279600@www.ashoka.edu.in
SUMMARY:Panic in the Papers: A Workshop on Queer (Mis)representations in Indian News Media
DESCRIPTION:The workshop explores the Indian news media’s sensationalist portrayals of queer identities\, which have historically fuelled ‘moral panics’\, and the shifts which have occured with the rise of independent news platforms that centre queer voices and narratives. It aims to equip participants with a critical lens to analyse news reporting on queer subjects and to develop the tools and vocabulary needed for inclusive and ethical writing. \nRegistration link: https://forms.gle/H8aa9D4cJCzHiyrV7
URL:https://www.ashoka.edu.in/event/panic-in-the-papers-a-workshop-on-queer-misrepresentations-in-indian-news-media/
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