Past Colloquia
Have quantum Transport, Will Travel: Entropy in a Coherent Universe
SS2135
Dick Bond, University of Toronto
November 26, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: I will cover much history, of ancient cosmic ideas, of nuclear astrophysics, of CMB@75 in theory, of the golden age transition from murky subject to the high precision one now, with the data flood of cosmic information on the cosmic microwave background and the interconnected…
Dark Matter Clues from the Faintest Galaxies
Julio F. Navarro, Victoria University
November 19, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) is the most successful theory for the formation of structure in the Universe. Although its predictions have been verified on large scales, they are still contested on the scale of dwarf galaxies, whose dynamical properties are often cited as…
*Cancelled*: Fast flashes from far-far away
AB107
Prof. Jason Hessels, McGill University
November 12, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: In the past decade, we’ve learned that the sky is buzzing with fast radio bursts (FRBs) that last for mere milliseconds and originate from galaxies at millions to billions of parsecs. These remarkable bursts are trillions of times more luminous than Galactic pulsars, and…
WST – The Wide Field Spectroscopic Survey Telescope * Special Date/Time/Location*
MP137
Prof. Roland Bacon, Observatoire De Lyon
November 06, 2025
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Summary: The WST project aims to design and construct an innovative 10-metre class wide-field spectroscopic survey telescope (WST) in the southern hemisphere. It will feature the parallel operation of two cutting-edge instruments: a high-multiplex (30,000), large field-of-view (3 square degrees) multi-object spectrograph (MOS) operating in…
Hot rocks and host stars: terrestrial exoplanets and the M dwarfs they orbit
CodyHall AB88
Dr. Hannah Diamond-Lowe
October 22, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: Exoplanets outnumber stars in the Milky Way, and small worlds with radii less than 4x Earth’s radius are the most common. Despite being all around us, terrestrial exoplanets are the most difficult planetary type to study because they produce small signals with techniques we…
New Insights from Polarized Images of Black Holes
Cody Hall, 50 St. George Street
Andrew Chael, Princeton
October 15, 2025
Abstract: Relativistic jets throughout the universe transport energy from small scales near a galaxy’s central supermassive black hole to extragalactic distances. These jets may be powered by the spin energy of the black hole via the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism; however, BZ energy extraction has not…
“Is There a Significant Hubble Tension?”
Cody Hall
Prof. Wendy Freedman, University of Chicago
October 01, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
The question of whether there is new physics beyond our current standard model, Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) remains an unresolved issue in cosmology today. Recent measurements of the Hubble constant (Ho) using Cepheids and Type Ia supernovae (SNe) appear to differ significantly, with claims…
Special Seminar: “Dust obscured galaxies and AGN — new insights from JWST data
MP1318A
Prof. Anna Sajina, Tufts University
September 30, 2025
11:00am - 12:00pm
DADDAA Seminar with Prof. Anna Sajina Title: “Dust obscured galaxies and AGN — new insights from JWST data” Abstract: I will start with a broad overview of the importance of dust obscured galaxies and AGN and the role of mid-infrared observations in their study. I will…
Measuring H0 and dark energy with DESI
AB107
Prof. Will Percival
September 24, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is the first of a new generation of Dark Energy experiments, and probes evolution in the universe using galaxy clustering. Within the galaxy clustering signal, the projected location of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) acts as a standard ruler…
DADDAA & Dunlap Institute Astronomy Jamboree
MS4171
Various UofT Astro Community Members
September 17, 2025
4:00PM
Join us for an engaging gathering where our graduate students, postdocs, and faculty will each be given a brief opportunity to share their exciting work and research aims with one another. 📅 Wednesday, September 17 🕓 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM 📍 Medical Sciences Building (MS4171)