Viraj Karambelkar (Caltech): "Anthropology of Merging Stars - Tracing the Evolution And Impact of Stellar Mergers with Time-Domain Surveys"

Most massive stars reside in binary systems where mutual interactions can draw them close enough to merge. These mergers offer insights into key processes like common-envelope evolution, a critical yet poorly-understood phase in the formation of gravitational wave sources. In this talk, I will describe systematic searches for white-dwarf mergers and massive stellar mergers using the Palomar Gattini IR and the Zwicky Transient Facility surveys. I will discuss insights that these systematic samples provide about the formation, evolution and final fates of their progenitor binary systems. I will also present recent findings from JWST observations of stellar mergers to quantify their contribution to the cosmic dust budget. I will then introduce WINTER - a new near-infrared surveyor at Palomar Observatory which will search for the dustiest and most elusive mergers in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. In closing, I will highlight the exciting potential of upcoming optical and infrared surveys to revolutionize our view of the merger landscape.