TDF: Varoujan Gorjian (JPL) - What can UV/optical/and near-IR variability tell us about accretion onto stars and black holes

Accretion is one of the most important but least understood physical processes in the Universe. On the largest scales, after fusion in stars, it provides the biggest source of energy in the history of the Universe. On smaller scales, it is the process by which stars and planets form. Yet as important as accretion is, it happens on scales that are not resolvable with any current, or planned future, telescope. But accretion is a variable process, so we can trade time resolution for spatial resolution to discern the structure of everything from planet forming disks around nearby stars to accretion disks around distant black holes.