Past Colloquia
The Past, Present, and Future of 21cm Cosmology
Cody Hall, AB 107
Adrian C. Liu (McGill University)
March 27, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Despite tremendous recent progress, gaps remain in our knowledge of our cosmic history. For example, we have yet to make direct observations of Cosmic Dawn or the subsequent Epoch of Reionization. Together, these represent the important period when the first stars and galaxies were formed,…
Dark Matter, First Light
Cody Hall, AB 107
Katie Mack (NC State University)
March 20, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Dark matter forms the foundation for all cosmic structure, and its fundamental nature is one of science’s most pressing enigmas. As we search for the most distant galaxies in the universe with radio and infrared observations, we are in a position to explore the particle…
Making Sense of Stellar Rotation Observed with Kepler: Gyrochronology, Magnetism, and a Sun in Transition
Cody Hall, AB 107
Jennifer van Saders (University of Hawaii)
March 13, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Stellar rotation carries a wealth of information about stellar populations. In particular, the technique of gyrochronology was developed to utilize the spin-down of stars as a function of time as an indicator of stellar age. Gyrochronology has the potential to yield precise ages for large samples of stars, providing…
Neutron Star Mergers Across Cosmic Time
Cody Hall, AB 107
Wen-fai Fong (Northwestern University)
March 06, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Multi-messenger astronomy coupling gravitational waves and light was born with the detection of the first neutron star merger, GW170817. This discovery signaled a wealth of firsts in physics and astronomy and represents only the tip of the iceberg of the discovery potential we can achieve…
Feb 27 – Colloquium Cancelled
Cody Hall, AB 107
Sarah Burke-Spolaor (West Virginia University)
February 27, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Unfortunately this event has been cancelled. Our apologies for any inconvenience. Original Posting: “Binary supermassive black holes: the hunt is on” We are seeking both light and gravitational waves from binary supermassive black holes, the biggest, meanest discrete binary systems in the Universe. When two…
Colloquium with Rebecca Jensen-Clem
Cody Hall, AB 107, University of Toronto
Rebecca Jensen-Clem
February 13, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
In the last thirty years, over 3000 planets have been discovered orbiting nearby stars. This flood of new worlds includes planets unlike any found in our own Solar System, from Jupiter-mass planets with years as short as our day to exotic rocky worlds twice as…
Colloquium with Adam Anderson
MP 202, University of Toronto
Adam Anderson
February 11, 2019
11:00am - 12:00pm
Rapid advances in superconducting detector technology and readout electronics are enabling a new generation of significantly more sensitive measurements of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. These measurements will provide constraints on inflation, the nature of neutrinos, and a broad range of astrophysical topics….
Measuring CMB Polarization with SPIDER, Taurus, and CMB-S4
Cody Hall, AB 107, University of Toronto
Johanna Nagy, Dunlap Institute
February 06, 2019
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is a powerful probe of the composition and evolution of the Universe. Recent advances in instrumentation are enabling measurements with unprecedented precision and exquisite control of systematic errors. In this talk, I will discuss what we can…
Probing the early universe: mm-wavelength cosmology from inflation to the epoch of reionization and beyond.
MP 202, University of Toronto
Abigail Crites, California Institute of Technology
February 04, 2019
11:00am - 12:00pm
I will describe how I use mm-wavelength instruments (both spectrometers and photometers) to explore our universe across cosmic time. I will discuss instrument projects such as SPT, CMB-S4, TIME, and future even more powerful mm-wavelength spectrometers that will allow us to probe the universe, from…
Precision Cosmology with the Cosmic Microwave Background
MS3153, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle
Sara Simon, University of Michigan
January 31, 2019
2:00pm - 3:00pm
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides unparalleled views into the early universe and its later evolution. Recent and ongoing experiments have contributed to our understanding of neutrinos, dark energy, and dark matter through measurements of large-scale structure imprinted on the CMB and constrained the conditions…