Dartmouth Events

Physics & Astronomy - Astronomy Seminar - Benjamin Wallisch, IAS

Title: "Cosmological Probes of Light Relics"

Wednesday, May 22, 2019
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Wilder 202
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Lectures & Seminars

Abstract: Neutrinos and new light particles, which arise in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, are an important probe of the (thermal) history of the universe. However, they are hard to detect in terrestrial experiments due to their weak couplings to ordinary matter. On the other hand, the high temperatures in the early universe allow an efficient production of even very weakly coupled particles. I will discuss how measurements of the cosmic microwave background and the large-scale structure of the universe, e.g. by Planck, CMB-S4 and DESI, can shed new light on the properties of neutrinos and on the possible existence of other light relics. In particular, I will motivate certain observational thresholds and highlight some of their direct implications for physics beyond the Standard Model. I will also present the constraints on the the cosmic neutrino background as imprinted in the clustering of galaxies measured by BOSS.
Thanks!

For more information, contact:
Tressena Manning
6036462854

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