NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forums |
Organized by: Prof. Lu Lu
Events During the Week of February 22nd through March 1st, 2015
Monday, February 23rd, 2015
- Faculty Candidate Seminar
- Benchtop Particle Astrophysics
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Gray Rybka, University of Washington
- Abstract: Advances in low noise cryogenic amplifiers and the commercialization of microwave technology have not only improved astrophysical measurements, but also enabled exquisitely sensitive laboratory experiments. I will discuss a number of benchtop experiments that utilize radio astronomy techniques and technology to make measurements that are important for astroparticle physics. The experiments I cover will include searches for dark matter axions using electronics with noise limited only by quantum mechanical effects, searches for light exotic beyond-the-standard-model particles, and a precision measurement of beta decay energies that could be used to determine the neutrino mass scale.
- Host: Dasu
Tuesday, February 24th, 2015
- Faculty Candidate Seminar
- The Discovery of Fermi Bubbles and Future Gamma-ray Telescopes
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Meng Su, MIT, Joint MIT Pappalardo and NASA Einstein Fellow
- Abstract: The Fermi Bubbles are a pair of giant lobes at the heart of the Milky Way, extending roughly 50 degrees north and south of the Galactic Center, and emitting photons with energies up to 100 GeV. This previously unknown structure could be evidence for past activity of the central supermassive black hole. I will first summarize what we have learned about the bubbles through multi-wavelength observations and numerical simulations. We discovered the bubbles while searching for potential signal of dark matter particle annihilation toward the Galactic Center, using data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. More than six years successful operation of Fermi has proved the great potential of studying astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics through gamma-ray sky. I will highlight the search of dark matter particles using gamma-ray and cosmic-ray observations, which motivated three future space telescopes: DAMPE, HERD, and PANGU. Together with the next generation ground-based Cherenkov telescopes e.g. CTA and LHAASO, we will be able to measure gamma-ray photons with energies from MeV to above PeV with much improved sensitivity. Finally, I will comment on a future plan to search for primordial gravitational waves produced from inflation in the very beginning of the Universe.
- Host: Dasu
Wednesday, February 25th, 2015
- No events scheduled
Thursday, February 26th, 2015
- No events scheduled
Friday, February 27th, 2015
- No events scheduled