Texas Cosmology Center

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2009

November-December


Fri, Dec 18
2:00 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

Video Conference of Physics Colloquium at Texas A&M University

Latest Results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Experiment

Rupak Mahapatra, Texas A&M University


Thu, Dec 17
4:00 P.M.
RLM 9.166

Webcast of ACKS Seminar at SLAC

Recent Results from CDMS

Jody Cooley, Southern Methodist University


Mon, Nov 16
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar

Cosmological hydrogen recombination: the effect of high-n states and forbidden transitions [abstract]

Daniel Grin, California Institute of Technology


Fri, Nov 13
2:00 P.M.
RLM 15.216A

Informal TCC Seminar

Relative motion of dark matter and baryonic fluids and non-linear effects in density evolution [abstract]

Dmitriy Tseliakhovich, California Institute of Technology


September-October


Thu-Fri,
Oct 29-30


TEXAS COSMOLOGY NETWORK MEETING 2009

Two full days of talks, presentations, and discussion on the enterprise of cosmology from the perspective of Texas researchers.


Wed, Oct 28
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

Antoinette de Vaucouleurs Memorial Lecture

Cosmic Microwave Background, Clusters of Galaxies and Cosmology [abstract]

Rashid Sunyaev, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics


Tue, Oct 27
7:00 P.M.
ACES 2.302

Antoinette de Vaucouleurs Public Lecture
(preceded by reception at 6:00 P.M.)

The Richness and Beauty of the Physics of Cosmological Recombination [abstract]

Rashid Sunyaev, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics


Tue, Oct 27
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.104

Theory Group Seminar

Floating black holes in warped higher-dimensional bulk [abstract]

Takahiro Tanaka, Kyoto University, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics


Mon, Oct 26
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar (2nd half)

Vortices (and the Angular Momentum Problem) in Bose-Einstein-Condensed Cold Dark Matter Halos [abstract]

Tanja Rindler-Daller, University of Cologne, Germany


Mon, Oct 26
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar (1st half)

Is Cold Dark Matter a Bose-Einstein Condensate? [abstract]

Paul Shapiro, University of Texas at Austin


Thu, Oct 22
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TCC/Extragalactic Seminar

The Spitzer Deep, Wide-Field Survey [abstract]

Daniel Stern, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech


Thu, Oct 1
7:00 P.M.
TCC 1.110

Public Lecture: Thompson Conference Center

The Shape of Space [abstract]

Jeff Weeks, PhD (Mathematics) Princeton University


Mon, Sep 21
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TCC/Astrophysics Theory Seminar

A New Perspective on Galaxy Clustering as a Cosmological Probe: General Relativistic Effects [abstract]

Jaiyul Yoo, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics


July-August


Mon, Aug 24
2:00 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

PhD DEFENSE

Gravitational Dynamics of Halo Formation in a Collisional versus Collisionless Cold Dark Matter Universe [abstract]

Flat cosmology with collisionless cold dark matter (CDM) and the cosmological constant (LCDM cosmology) may have some problems on small scales, even though it has been very successful on large scales.

We study the effect of Self-Interacting Dark Matter (SIDM) hypothesis on the density profiles of halos. Collisionless CDM predicts cuspy (divergent) density profiles toward the center, while observations of low mass galaxies prefer cored profiles. SIDM was proposed by Spergel & Steinhardt as a possible solution to this cuspy core problem on low-mass scales. On the other hand, observations and collisionless CDM agree on the mass scales of galaxy clusters. It is also known that the SIDM hypothesis contradicts with X-ray and gravitational lensing observations of cluster of galaxies, if the cross section is too large. Our final goal is to find the range of SIDM scattering cross section models that are consistent with those astrophysical observations in two different mass scales.

There are two theoretical approaches to compute the effect of self-interacting scattering -- Gravitational N-body simulation with Monte Carlo scattering and the conducting fluid model; those two approaches, however, have not been confirmed to agree with each other.

We first show that two methods are in reasonable agreement with each other for both isolated halos and for halos with a realistic mass assembly history in an expanding LCDM universe; the value of cross section necessary to have a maximally relaxed low-density core in LCDM is in mutual agreement under same conditions.

We then develop a semianalytic model that predicts the time evolution of SIDM halo. Our semianalytic relaxation model enables us to understand how a SIDM halo would relax to a cored profile, and obtain an ensemble of SIDM halos from simulations without scatterings with reasonable computational resources. We apply the semianalytic relaxation model to CDM halos, and compare the resulting statistical distribution of SIDM halos with astrophysical observations.

We show that there exists a range of scattering cross sections that simultaneously solve the cuspy core problem on low-mass scales and satisfy the galaxy cluster observations.

Jun Koda, University of Texas at Austin


Tue, Aug 25
1:00 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

PhD DEFENSE

Primordial non-Gaussianity from multi-field inflation re-examined [abstract]

Yuki Watanabe, University of Texas at Austin


May-June


Tue, May 26
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.104

THEORY GROUP SPECIAL SEMINAR

Dark Matter Signals from Cascade Annihilations

Daniel Stolarski, University of California, Berkeley


Tue, May 19
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.114

THEORY GROUP SPECIAL SEMINAR

(Personal) Summary of the Sovay Workshop on 'Cosmological Frontiers in Fundamental Physics'

Eiichiro Komatsu, University of Texas at Austin


March-April


Fri, Apr 24
2:00 P.M.
RLM 5.104

THEORY GROUP SEMINAR

Dark Stars

Katherine Freese, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor


Thu, Apr 23
10:00 A.M.
RLM 15.216A

INFORMAL TCC SEMINAR

Covariance Matrix of the Matter Power Spectrum [abstract]

Ryuichi Takahashi, University of Nagoya, Japan


Tue, Apr 21
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER SEMINAR

Do Halo Mergers Trigger Quasars? [abstract]

Jorge Moreno, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania


Tues, Apr 21
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.104

THEORY GROUP SEMINAR

Sommerfeld-Enhancing the Dark Matter Annihilation Rate

Pearl Sandick, University of Texas


Thurs, Apr 2
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.104

WEINBERG THEORY GROUP SEMINAR

Reevaluating the WIMP Miracle [abstract]

Scott Watson, University of Michigan


Wed, Mar 25
4:15 P.M.
RLM 4.102

PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM

Cosmology as Science? From Inflation to Eternity

Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University


Tues, Mar 24
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER COLLOQUIUM

Formation of Primordial Stars and Black Holes [abstract]

Naoki Yoshida, IPMU, University of Tokyo


M-F, Mar 16-20

SPRING BREAK

No seminars or colloquia scheduled.


Mon, Mar 9
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER COLLOQUIUM

Testing Gravity with Gravitational Lensing and Dynamics [abstract]

Bhuvnesh Jain, University of Pennsylvania


January-February


Mon, Feb 23
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER SEMINAR

Primordial Non-Gaussianity from Preheating

Andrei Frolov, Simon Fraser University


Fri, Feb 6
10:45 A.M.
RLM 15.216A

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER SEMINAR

Constraints on the non-linear coupling parameter f_NL with CMB data

Andres Curto, Instituto de Fisica Cantabria, Spain


Mon, Feb 2
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER SEMINAR

Weak Lensing and Large-Scale Structure

Jun Zhang, University of California at Berkeley


Thurs, Jan 29
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.104

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER: SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Acceleration in our Past and our Present

Leonardo Senatore, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton


Mon, Jan 26
3:30 P.M.
RLM 15.216B

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER SEMINAR

Optimising the next generation of Dark Energy Surveys

David Parkinson, University of Sussex, England


Thurs, Jan 22
2:00 P.M.
RLM 7.104

TEXAS COSMOLOGY CENTER SEMINAR

Dark Matter and Dark Radiation

Lotty Ackerman, Caltech