[APCTP]Benjamin Lee Professor Colloquium & Lecture Series

Date & Time

Program

Nov. 25 (Mon), 4:00 pm

Benjamin Lee Professor Colloquium

Title: The Cosmic Jigsaw Puzzle: Testing Dark Energy, Gravity, and Neutrinos

Abstract: 15 years after discovery of the acceleration of the universe, where does our understanding of the physics stand, and what lies ahead? Beyond the equation of state of dark energy there is its dynamics, degrees of freedom, and persistence; beyond characterizing expansion there is gravity and growth of structure. Two new cosmological probes, from mapping the three-dimensional galaxy distribution and measuring CMB lensing, will revolutionize the dark energy landscape and greatly improve tests of cosmology, gravity, and neutrino mass.

Colloquium would be followed by open discussions.

Nov. 26 (Tue), 2:00 pm

Benjamin Lee Professor Lecture Series, Lecture 1

Title: Testing Inflation and Neutrinos from the CMB and Large Scale Structure

Abstract: The combination of precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure can probe the primordial perturbation power spectrum over a wide range of wavenumbers.  This can place tight constraints on the inflationary tilt and running, and the sum of neutrino masses. Recent detection of the B-mode polarization signal from lensing of the CMB by large scale structure heralds a powerful new probe, but also a contamination for the inflationary gravitational wave signal.  The next generation CMB surveys will use combinations of deep and wide fields to extract both contributions for fundamental physics.

Nov. 27 (Wed), 2:00 pm

Benjamin Lee Professor Lecture Series, Lecture 2

Title: Early Dark Energy and the CMB

Abstract: The cosmic microwave background radiation provides a unique probe of the conditions in the universe when it was between 1000 and 1 billion years old.  Was the universe completely dominated by radiation, then by matter? Were there extra relativistic degrees of freedom?  Was there early dark energy?  Could dark matter and dark energy have been coupled?  We can use CMB data to probe many areas of physics beyond the standard model.

Nov. 28 (Thu), 2:00 pm

Benjamin Lee Professor Lecture Series, Lecture 3

Title: Mining the Time Domain in Astrophysics

Abstract: TBA