Talks

If the dark matter is made up of a bosonic particle, it can be ultralight, with a mass potentially much below 1 eV. Well-known DM candidates of this type include pseudoscalars like the QCD axion, and vectors such as hidden photons kinetically mixed with the Standard Model. Moduli, even-parity scalars with nonderivative couplings to the SM, can also be light dark matter. I will show that they cause tiny fractional oscillations of SM parameters, such as the electron mass and the fine-structure constant, in turn modulating length and time scales of atoms. Rods and clocks, used in gedanken experiments in relativity, have since transformed into actual precision instruments. The size of acoustic resonators and the frequency of optical clocks can now be measured to 1 part in 10^22 and 10^18, respectively, and thus constitute sensitive probes of moduli. 

In this talk, I will give an overview of the parameter space of modulus dark matter, and discuss the sensitivity of the proposed experiments compared to existing constraints from fifth-force tests.

Neutron stars are a celestial gift to scientists. These incredibly dense collapsed stars act as very precise cosmic beacons that help shed light on some of the most challenging problems in modern physics.

In her Feb. 3 talk at Perimeter Institute, astrophysicist Victoria Kaspi will explore these strange objects, explain how astronomers are using them to study issues ranging from the origins of the universe to the very nature of matter, and even let the audience hear the cosmic symphony they create.

Fathoming interplay between symmetry and topology of many-electron wave-functions has deepened understanding of quantum many body systems, especially after the discovery of topological insulators. Topology of electron wave-functions enforces and protects emergent gapless excitations, and symmetry is intrinsically tied to the topological protection in a certain class. Namely, unless the symmetry is broken, the topological nature is intact. We show novel interplay phenomena between symmetry and topology in topological phase transitions associated with line-nodal superconductors. The interplay may induce an exotic universality class in sharp contrast to that of the phenomenological Landau-Ginzburg theory. Hyper-scaling violation and emergent relativistic scaling are main characteristics, and the interplay even induces unusually large quantum critical region. We propose characteristic experimental signatures around the phase transitions in three spatial dimensions, for example, a linear phase boundary in a temperature-tuning parameter phase-diagram. 

Radio pulsars are Nature's most perfect clock and hence are useful for precision work on a wide variety of physical and astrophysical topics, ranging from sensitive tests of relativistic gravity to constraining the equation of state of ultradense matter. I will describe current ongoing surveys for radio pulsars using the two largest radio telescopes in the world, and how these surveys are also valuable for searching for Fast Radio Bursts, a newly recognized astrophysical phenomenon of unknown origin.