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Theoretical Astrophysics Candidate Seminar – Sownak Bose (CfA Harvard/Smithsonian)

Date February 3, 2020 @ 1:45 pm - 3:30 pm

Constraining Cosmology with Artificial Universes

Understanding the nature of the dark matter — the elusive substance that dominates the matter density of the universe — and dark energy — a mysterious force thought to drive the accelerated expansion of the cosmos — are perhaps two of the most intriguing, open questions that keep cosmologists awake at night. Over the past four decades, an extensive programme of numerical simulations has established a “standard model”, in which the dark matter is a cold, collisionless particle, interacting predominantly via gravity. This simple starting point has achieved impressive success in making accurate predictions for the formation and evolution of structures through cosmic time. On the other hand, experimental efforts at detecting the “cold” dark matter (CDM) have failed to detect such a particle, and have only narrowed down the parameter space in which this particle could feasibly exist. In this talk, I will present results from state-of-the-art simulations of structure formation in models of dark matter that extend beyond the canonical CDM paradigm. In particular, I will showcase two generic cases — “warm” and “interacting” dark matter — to demonstrate how more “exotic” dark matter phenomenology can manifest in the formation of galaxies, and will show how targeted observational campaigns can be used to constrain the identity of the dark matter. Finally, I will discuss the exciting avenues by which we will be able to get closer than ever in our quest to constraining our cosmological model, by exploiting the unprecedented confluence of new experiments that are set to come online in the new decade.

Host: Guido Mueller

Details

Date:
February 3, 2020
Time:
1:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Event Category:

Venue

2205 NPB