2022
Nick Corso Honors Thesis Presentation
2:00–2:30 pm ERC 401
Nick Corso “Comparing hadronic and leptonic emission from cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnants”
Supervisor: Prof. Damiano Caprioli
Jared Siegel Honors Thesis Presentation
1:30–2:00 pm ERC 401
Jared Siegel “Constraining extrasolar planet masses with low-SNR Kepler TTV Data”
Supervisor: Prof. Leslie Rogers
PhD Thesis Defense: Gourav Khullar
12:00–1:00 pm ERC 401
Gourav Khullar “Stellar Mass Assembly in Galaxy Clusters and High-Redshift Gravitationally Lensed Galaxies”
Advisor: Prof. Michael D Gladders
Lecture Exhibition: Planetary Imagery and Theodora Allen’s Cosmic Garden I
6:00–7:00 pm Driehaus Museum
In this conversation, Adler Planetarium Curator and Director of Collections Pedro Raposo and University of Chicago Professor Emeritus of Astronomy & Astrophysics Richard Kron will explore the imagery of the cosmos as a source of fascination, influence, and exploration across art and science during a time of rapid expansion in scientific knowledge, where the representation of astronomical themes signaled ideas about modernity, progress, and the promise of the future.
LSS open group seminar: David Sanchez (Ciemat, Spain) and John Hood (Vanderbilt / UChicago)
1:00–2:00 pm ERC 419
David Sanchez (Ciemat, Spain) “Constraining cosmological models with galaxy clustering and weak lensing data” and John Hood (Vanderbilt / UChicago) “MM-wave AGN Monitoring with SPTPol 500^2 degree survey”
KICP seminar: Dongzi Li (Caltech)
12:00–1:00 pm ERC 401
Dongzi Li (Caltech) “The mystery of fast radio burst, the potential and the limit”
A&A Colloquium: Carlos Frenk (University of Durham)
3:30–4:30 pm ERC 161
A conclusive test of the cold dark matter model
The “Lambda cold dark matter” (LCDM) cosmological model is one of the great achievements in Physics of the past thirty years. Theoretical predictions formulated in the 1980s turned out to agree remarkably well with measurements, performed decades later, of the galaxy distribution and the temperature structure of the cosmic microwave background radiation. Yet, these successes do not inform us directly about the nature of the dark matter. This manifests itself most clearly on subgalactic scales, including the dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way and especially less massive dark matter halos, too small to have made a galaxy. Apparent contradictions between the predictions from cosmological simulations and observations have led to the perception of a “small-scale crisis” for LCDM. I will argue that this perception stems from an innapropriate application of the simulations and that, in fact, the theory is entirely consistent with available data. I will contrast the predictions of LCDM with those of the interesting alternative of warm dark matter and show how forthcoming gravitational lensing and gamma-ray data can conclusively distinguish between the two.
Brinson Lecture 2021-2022: Carlos Frenk (University of Durham)
6:00–7:00 pm ERC 161, 5640 S. Ellis Ave
Carlos Frenk, University of Durham, “How our universe was made: all from nothing”
Astro Tuesday: Sanjana Curtis and Priscilla Frisch
12:00–1:00 pm ERC 401
Sanjana Curtis “Heavy element nucleosynthesis and kilonovae from compact object mergers” and Priscilla Frisch “Whence the Interstellar Magnetic Field Shaping the Heliosphere”
KICP/FNAL/UIUC mini-symposium
10:30 am–6:30 pm ERC 401
We have a great collection of student talks planned, and should have ample time to socialize and build some collaborations.