Talks

The standard cosmological model determined from the accurate cosmic microwave background measurements made by the Planck satellite implies a value of the Hubble constant H0 that is 4.2 standard deviations lower than the one determined from Type Ia supernovae. The Planck best fit model also predicts lower values of the matter density fraction Om and clustering amplitude S8 compared to those obtained from the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 data. We show that accounting for the enhanced recombination rate due to additional inhomogeneities in the baryon density can solve both the H0 and the S8-Om tensions. The additional baryon inhomogeneities can be induced by primordial magnetic fields present in the plasma prior to recombination. The required field strength to solve the Hubble tension is just what is needed to explain the existence of galactic, cluster, and extragalactic magnetic fields without relying on dynamo amplification. Our results show clear evidence for this effect and motivate further detailed studies of primordial magnetic fields, setting several well-defined targets for future observations.

Condensed matter physics is the study of the complex behaviour of a large number of interacting particles such that their collective behaviour gives rise to emergent properties. We will discuss some interesting quantum condensed matter systems where their intriguing emergent phenomena arise due to strong coupling. We will revisit the Landau paradigm of Fermi liquid theory and hence understand the properties of the non-Fermi liquid systems which cannot be described within the Landau framework, due to the destruction of the Landau quasiparticles. In particular, we will focus on critical Fermi surface states, where there is a well-defined Fermi surface, but no quasiparticles, as a result of the strong interactions between the Fermi surface and some massless boson(s). We will outline a framework to extract the low-energy physics of such systems in a controlled approximation, using the tool of dimensional regularization.

Zoom Link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/93581608531?pwd=d3NRQXRGNTNISkhuWmxLYkJMZllTUT09

Based on recent work arXiv:1902.08207 and arXiv:1911.02018 with E. Verlinde.

The discovery of gravitational wave signals from merger events of massive binary-black-hole (BBH) systems have prompted a renewed debate in the scientific community about the existence of primordial black holes (PBHs) of O(1-100) solar masses. These objects may have formed in the early Universe and could constitute a significant portion of the elusive dark matter that, according to standard cosmology, makes up the majority of the matter content in the universe. I will review the most recent developments of this field, with focus on multi-messenger prospects of detection. In the first part of the talk, I will present the prospects of discovery for both a hypothetical PBH population and the guaranteed population of astrophysical isolated black holes in our Galaxy, based on the radio and X-ray emission from the interstellar gas that is being accreted onto them (the “shiny dresses”). A future detection will be possible thanks to the expected performance of forthcoming radio facilities such as SKA and ngVLA. Then, I will turn my attention to scenarios where primordial black holes constitute a sub-dominant component of the dark matter, and study the impact of dark matter mini-spikes that are expected to form around them (the “dark dresses”) on several observables. In this context, I will first present an updated computation of the PBH merger rate as a function of DM fraction and redshift that takes into account the impact of the dark dresses. Then, I will discuss the observational prospects of these dresses in binary systems composed of a stellar-mass and an intermediate-mass black hole: I will show a novel calculation of the dephasing of the gravitational waveform induced by the DM spike, potentially detectable with the LISA space interferometer.DARK AND SHINY DRESSES AROUND BLACK HOLES DANIELE GAGGERO (UAM)July 6, 2020 Zoom Line: https://laurentian.zoom.us/j/92591146494

Over the last decade, the Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure (EFTofLSS) has emerged as a frontrunner in the effort to produce accurate models of cosmological statistics. Quantities such as power spectra can be fit with sub-percent precision, and there is a wealth of literature applying the formalism to more complex statistics. It is interesting to ask what lies ahead for the theory. Can it be used for cosmological parameter inference? And is it just for statistics based on the 3D density field?

In this talk, I will present a pedagogical introduction to the EFTofLSS, discussing its motivation and basic formalism, as well as a few of its theoretical challenges. To demonstrate the utility of the theory beyond the blackboard, I will discuss the analysis of galaxy power spectra. Using this model, competitive constraints can be placed on cosmology utilizing all the large-scale spatial information, not just the position of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. In particular, this yields the strongest CMB-independent measurement of H0. 

In answering the second question, I will introduce two less conventional applications of the EFTofLSS. Firstly, the marked density field. This is simply the matter field weighted by its local overdensity, and recent works have shown its power spectrum to be capable of placing strong constraints on the neutrino mass. I will discussing its perturbative modeling, highlighting its unusual features, and how the model allows us to shed light on the surprising constraining of the statistic. An additional statistic of interest is weak lensing. Creating an analytic model for this has its own complications, since it is sensitive to a large range of scales, requiring extensions to the usual EFTofLSS modeling. Crucial to this effort is the development of a matter power spectrum model which is accurate on all scales; I will present the results of recent modeling efforts within the ‘Effective Halo Model’, and discuss future applications to integrated statistics such as weak lensing.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/91697113596?pwd=OTh3ZjZ5SHd5Q09sTFdReUMyb0hpUT09