Search Talks

Abstract: In this chalktalk, I will delve into details of how I actually performed searches for, and set constraints on, continuous waves from neutron stars and dark matter. I will first focus on constraints on the millisecond pulsar hypothesis for the GeV excess and the existence of asteroid-mass primordial black holes using upper limits from all-sky searches for neutron stars. Then, I will detail the methods that I used to search for the direct detection of dark matter with gravitational-wave detectors, and how I developed a method, based on the Hough Transform, to search for planetary-mass primordial black holes in current-generation detectors, and binary neutron star inspirals in future ground-based detectors. I will show that these continuous-wave methods can easily apply to data from future ground- and space-based detectors, and inherently solve many specific problems that matched-filtering algorithms will face in the future (overlapping signals, non-stationarity of the noise, and gaps in data collection). I will also devote a portion of this chalktalk to future projects that could be undertaken at ICTP-SAIFR with Bachelors, Masters, and PhD students.

Uma nova cura do câncer, celulares que podem explodir postos de gasolina e um filtro quântico que cura doenças. Diariamente inúmeras notícias atingem a nossa sociedade, mas como separar o joio do trigo? Quais pessoas teriam a obrigação de se dirigir à sociedade para evitar a proliferação de notícias que fazem mau uso das ideias científicas? Falaremos nesse colóquio sobre como a comunidade científica pode, e deve, ajudar no letramento científico da sociedade e também influenciar os políticos na adoção de políticas públicas baseadas em fatos.

Abstract: The universe presents itself as a grand laboratory to explore and investigate a range of physical phenomena. High-energy cosmic messengers serve as unique tools to unravel some of the most energetic processes beyond the capabilities of current  human-made particle accelerators. These messengers are not only instrumental in providing cosmological insights by probing the medium they traverse, but also hold the potential to detect Planck-scale effects that accumulate over long distances.  In this talk, I will focus on the theory of cosmological particle propagation. I will then describe how they can be used to search for the elusive dark matter, in particular axion-like particles (ALPs). Finally, I will discuss some of the ways in which cosmic particles have been used to investigate quantum gravity phenomena at high and ultra-high energies.