Hypervelocity discoveries with Gaia DR2

Douglas Boubert Cambridge Fluids Network - fluids-related seminars 16 May 2018 1:45pm Sackler Lecture Theatre, IoA Hypervelocity stars are objects travelling fast enough to escape the Milky Way. In this talk I will showcase the menagerie of hypervelocity stars through the lens of Gaia DR2: main-sequence stars and pulsars, white dwarfs and subdwarfs. Alongside the observations, I will present the theories that try to explain their extreme velocity. I will end by highlighting the possibility of using these objects to study supernovae (including Type Ia), massive black holes and the Local Group.