Dartmouth Events

Physics & Astronomy - Cosmology Seminar - David Weir, University of Helsinki

Title: "Gravitational Waves From the Sound of a First-Order Phase Transition"

Thursday, March 22, 2018
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Wilder 102
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Lectures & Seminars

Abstract: The space-based gravitational wave detector LISA may be able to detect gravitational waves from a first order phase transition at the electroweak scale. Acoustic waves produced during the transition are largely responsible for the resulting signal. I will present results from a large campaign of simulations studying such phase transitions, determining the spectral shape of the gravitational wave power spectrum with unparalleled accuracy. Measuring a cosmological stochastic background could place constraints on the phase transition parameters, such as the nucleation rate and temperature, and therefore provide important information about physics beyond the Standard Model. However, better understanding of the source, as well as the underlying theories of physics beyond the Standard Model, is required before the launch of LISA. I will outline how this understanding can be developed.

For more information, contact:
Tressena Manning
603-646-2854

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.