Profile
Sean Brittain
Physics and Astronomy
Assoc Prov & Dean, UG Learning
Professor
864-656-4755
Vickery Academic Learning Center 101F [Office]
Educational Background
BS, Chemical Physics, LeTourneau University, 1997
MS, Physics, Univ. of Notre Dame, 2000
PhD, Physics, Univ. of Notre Dame, 2004
Profile/About Me
My principal research focus is on understanding the origin of structures in disks that could potentially point to the presence of planets. Our work has demonstrated an inconsistency between the occurrence rate of putative signposts of planets and the occurrence rate of planets around young stars. We have proposed a series of hypotheses that can account for this incongruency, and we are using high-resolution near infrared spectroscopy to test these hypotheses.
Research Interests
Star and Planet formation
Astrophysical Spectroscopy
Selected Publications
Brittain, S. D., Najita, J. R., Dong, R., Zhu, Z. 2020. The Planetary Luminosity Problem: ``Missing Planets'' and the Observational Consequences of Episodic Accretion. The Astrophysical Journal 895. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab8388
Brittain, S. D., Najita, J. R., Carr, J. S. 2019. High-resolution Near-infrared Spectroscopy of HD 100546. IV. Orbiting Companion Disappears on Schedule. The Astrophysical Journal 883. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab380b
Dong, R., Najita, J. R., Brittain, S. 2018. Spiral Arms in Disks: Planets or Gravitational Instability?. The Astrophysical Journal 862. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaccfc
Memberships
AAAS
AAS
AAUP
APS
