Physics Lunch Time Talk
Dr. Markos Georganopoulos
Friday, March 28, 2014 · 12 - 1 PM
Title: Dark matter and the search for it.
Abstract: Motivated by the Nature news and views article "Physics: Broaden the search for dark matter by Livio & Silk 2014, Nature, 507, 29", I will review the arguments for dark matter and the fruitless, so far, search for it. After some basics, I will discuss how primordial nucleosynthesis establishes what fraction of the Universe is in baryonic form. I will then describe astrophysical arguments that find the need for a substantial amount of additional mass. I will briefly discuss how the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background agrees with the above results, and how X-ray observations disfavor modified gravity theories. Finally, I will discuss how the search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS) and Axions, two primary dark matter particle candidates, has returned null results so far, and how the future looks.
All are welcome to attend.
Abstract: Motivated by the Nature news and views article "Physics: Broaden the search for dark matter by Livio & Silk 2014, Nature, 507, 29", I will review the arguments for dark matter and the fruitless, so far, search for it. After some basics, I will discuss how primordial nucleosynthesis establishes what fraction of the Universe is in baryonic form. I will then describe astrophysical arguments that find the need for a substantial amount of additional mass. I will briefly discuss how the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background agrees with the above results, and how X-ray observations disfavor modified gravity theories. Finally, I will discuss how the search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS) and Axions, two primary dark matter particle candidates, has returned null results so far, and how the future looks.
All are welcome to attend.