Astrophysics

The fundamental nature of dark matter (DM) so far eludes direct detection experiments, but it has left its imprint in the large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe. I will present a search using cosmic microwave background (CMB) and galaxy surveys for ultra-light DM particle candidates called axions that are well motivated from high energy theory. In combining these datasets, I will discuss how the presence of axions can improve consistency between these probes and, in particular, help alleviate the S_8 cosmological parameter tension (the discrepancy in the amplitude of density fluctuations as inferred from CMB and galaxy data). I will then present complementary searches for ultra-light and light (sub-GeV) DM using a LSS probe called the Lyman-alpha forest. By combining complementary large- and small-scale structure probes, I will demonstrate how current and forthcoming cosmological data will systematically test the nature of DM. In order to model novel DM physics accurately and efficiently in CMB and LSS probes, I will present new machine learning approaches using neural network "emulators" to accelerate DM parameter inference from days to seconds and active learning to reduce massively the computational expense.

Zoom Link: TBD

The angular resolution of a stellar interferometer, as for a single telescope, becomes better at smaller wavelengths and larger baselines. The goal for ground detectors would then be optical interferometers with baselines as long as the Earth’s diameter. The latter goal has been achieved in radio, but it becomes prohibitive in the optical, as the electromagnetic field oscillates too rapidly to record and analyze directly over km-long baselines. Intensity interferometry relying on second-order correlations can make this possible: rather than the amplitude and phase of incoming light, we need only count photons. This technique has a long history and to date the best measurements of nearby stellar radii, dating back to the 1950s. Its main limitations are the need for very bright sources and its narrow field of view, restricting kilometer-long baselines to sources only a few μas away. In this talk, I will propose an optical-path modification of astronomical intensity interferometers, which introduces an effective time delay in the two-photon interference amplitude, splitting the main intensity correlation fringe into others at finite opening angles, allowing for differential astrometry of multiple compact sources such as stars or quasar images. Together with the exponential progress in the field of single photon detection, such a modification will immensely increase the scope of intensity interferometry beyond measurements of the optical emission region morphology. I will lay out the theory and technical requirements of time-delay intensity interferometry and, time permitting, I will talk about some promising applications, which include astrometric microlensing of stars and quasar images, binary-orbit characterization, exoplanet detection, Galactic acceleration measurements and calibration of the cosmic distance ladder, all at unprecedented relative astrometric precision.

Zoom Link: TBD

The angular resolution of a stellar interferometer, as for a single telescope, becomes better at smaller wavelengths and larger baselines. The goal for ground detectors would then be optical interferometers with baselines as long as the Earth’s diameter. The latter goal has been achieved in radio, but it becomes prohibitive in the optical, as the electromagnetic field oscillates too rapidly to record and analyze directly over km-long baselines. Intensity interferometry relying on second-order correlations can make this possible: rather than the amplitude and phase of incoming light, we need only count photons. This technique has a long history and to date the best measurements of nearby stellar radii, dating back to the 1950s. Its main limitations are the need for very bright sources and its narrow field of view, restricting kilometer-long baselines to sources only a few μas away. In this talk, I will propose an optical-path modification of astronomical intensity interferometers, which introduces an effective time delay in the two-photon interference amplitude, splitting the main intensity correlation fringe into others at finite opening angles, allowing for differential astrometry of multiple compact sources such as stars or quasar images. Together with the exponential progress in the field of single photon detection, such a modification will immensely increase the scope of intensity interferometry beyond measurements of the optical emission region morphology. I will lay out the theory and technical requirements of time-delay intensity interferometry and, time permitting, I will talk about some promising applications, which include astrometric microlensing of stars and quasar images, binary-orbit characterization, exoplanet detection, Galactic acceleration measurements and calibration of the cosmic distance ladder, all at unprecedented relative astrometric precision.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/92041231568?pwd=cWo2c0hwTEdmOTRCc042SHNxRWw5UT09

For more than a decade, enigmatic extragalactic flashes called fast radio bursts (FRBs) have defied a definitive explanation for their origin. In addition, the unique properties of FRBs make them promising probes of both cosmology and the distribution of gas on intergalactic scales. The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is the only radio telescope capable of instantaneously observing hundreds of square degrees with the sensitivity of a 100-meter scale aperture. As a result, its transient search instrument, CHIME/FRB, has detected thousands of FRBs, increasing the known sample by an order of magnitude. I will give an overview of CHIME/FRB's most recent results, where observations of particular sources and statistical analyses of the FRB population are starting to reveal the nature of this mysterious phenomenon. I will then describe an effort to augment CHIME/FRB's capabilities by adding Outrigger telescopes, which will be located across North America and will precisely localize FRB sources using very long baseline interferometry. The resulting large sample of localized FRBs will allow for detailed measurements of the large-scale distribution of baryons in the universe, providing precise constraints on feedback processes in galaxy evolution.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/93157775112?pwd=bzZDMVc3VnF1WHZzeVlLOTdDZmtQQT09

Inflationary cosmology is notoriously past geodesically incomplete in many situations. However, it is generally unknown whether the geodesic incompleteness implies the existence of an initial spacetime curvature singularity or whether the spacetime may be extended beyond its null past boundary. In homogeneous and isotropic cosmology with flat spatial sections, we classify which past inflationary histories have a scalar curvature singularity and which might be extendible/non-singular. We derive rigorous extendibility criteria of various regularity classes for quasi-de Sitter spacetimes that evolve from infinite proper time in the past. Beyond homogeneity and isotropy, we show that continuous extensions respecting the Einstein field equations with a perfect fluid must have the equation of state of a de Sitter universe asymptotically. An interpretation of our results is that past-eternal inflationary scenarios are most likely physically singular, except in very special situations.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/98334550627?pwd=UnR3eUxZRFZpeEZoOGEwNkJuc0M0UT09