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NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forums

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Organized by: Prof. Lu Lu


Events During the Week of January 22nd through January 29th, 2017

Monday, January 23rd, 2017

No events scheduled

Tuesday, January 24th, 2017

Hunting for Sterile Neutrinos at Long and Short Baselines
Time: 4:00 pm
Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Adam Aurisano, UC Cincinnati
Abstract: The discovery that neutrinos can change flavor as they travel over long distances is one of the first indications of physics beyond the Standard Model. Long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, where detectors are placed far from the production point of the neutrinos, agree well with the three-flavor neutrino oscillation paradigm. However, some short-baseline experiments, where detectors are placed close to the production point of the neutrinos, show anomalous results. In particular, LSND and MiniBooNE observed excesses of electron neutrinos in muon neutrino beams which cannot be explained by three-flavor oscillations. These anomalies can be explained by the addition of new sterile neutrino flavors, but for this to be the correct explanation, long and short-baseline experiments must be consistent. If confirmed, the discovery of sterile neutrinos would be a paradigm shift in our understanding of neutrino properties and potentially of the evolution of the Universe. I will give an introduction to sterile neutrinos, present recent results from the MINOS and NOvA experiments, discuss new Deep Learning methods to improve sterile analyses, and describe prospects for the future.
Host: Sridhara Dasu
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Wednesday, January 25th, 2017

No events scheduled

Thursday, January 26th, 2017

Multi-messenger searches for astrophysical sources at ultra-high energies
Time: 2:30 pm
Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Foteini Oikonomou, Penn State University
Abstract: The question of the origin of ultra high energy, > 10^19 eV, cosmic rays (UHECRs) remains unanswered, although experimental searches in the last decade have yielded important results, and insights about the universe at ultra-high energies. I will discuss the interpretation of the most recent measurements of the extensive air-showers produced by UHECRs, and outline current strategies aiming to answer the question of UHECR origin. Emphasis will be given to studies of UHECR arrival directions, searches for single UHECR sources through their secondary gamma-ray and neutrino signatures, and the nascent program, by the Pierre Auger Observatory, of real-time searches for transient UHE emission, as part of multi-messenger monitoring networks.
Host: Stefan Westerhoff
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Discovering a new approach to cosmology with the Dark Energy Survey and Gravitational Waves
Time: 4:00 pm
Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Marcelle Soares-Santos, Fermi Lab
Abstract: Motivated by the exciting prospect of new wealth of information that will arise from observations of gravitational and electromagnetic radiation from the same astrophysical phenomena, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Collaboration has performed a broad range follow-up program for LIGO/Virgo events using its Camera (DECam). In this talk, I present an overview of this effort, including results of searches for signatures of the first two LIGO-triggered binary black hole mergers in the 2015-2016 observing campaign and status of the ongoing 2016-2017 campaign. I will also discuss plans for upcoming seasons and long term prospects for this exciting emerging field: multi-messenger cosmology with gravitational waves and optical data.
Host: Sridhara Dasu
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Friday, January 27th, 2017

No events scheduled