theoretical astrophysics
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Theoretical Astrophysics. Who Are We? What Do We Do? How Are We Doing? What Challenges Face Us?. URA Visiting Committee May 9, 2006. Who We Are. 5 (-1) Scientists : Scott Dodelson Joshua Frieman Nick Gnedin Rocky Kolb ( Dept. Chair @ Chicago ) Albert Stebbins - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Theoretical Astrophysics
URA Visiting Committee
May 9, 2006
Who Are We?What Do We Do?How Are We Doing?What Challenges Face Us?
Who We Are5 (-1) Scientists: Scott Dodelson
Joshua Frieman Nick Gnedin Rocky Kolb ( Dept. Chair @ Chicago)Albert Stebbins
1 David Schramm Fellow:Dan Hooper
4 Postdoctoral Fellows:Mark JacksonKenji Kadota ( Minnesota)Pasquale Serpico ( Max Planck)Emiliano Sefussati Chris Vale
+ Long Term Visitors and Students Accepted jobs at: Cambridge, IAP, OSU, Bartol
Astronomical Probes of Physics Beyond Standard Model
Dark Energy
Dark Matter
Neutrino Mass
Inflation
Many panels of experts have emphasized the importance of this work
Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos “Determine the properties of dark energy” “Determine the neutrino masses, the constituents of the dark matter …”
Quantum Universe “What is dark matter?” “What are neutrinos telling us” “How can we solve the mystery of dark energy?”
Physics of the Universe “What is dark matter?” “What is the nature of dark energy?” “How did the universe begin?”
EPP2010 “Expand the program in particle astrophysics”
We had a large head start: our presence at FNAL gave us 2 huge advantages
Connection between ideas in particle physics & cosmology
Ties to experiments
We have strong ties to experiments
Theoretical Astrophysics
Move to 6 and new Particle Astrophysics Center should strengthen ties with Auger and CDMS
Involved in proposals, definition, simulations, pipelines, analysis
We have strong ties to experiments
Theoretical Astrophysics
Move to 6, Particle Astrophysics Center, and Schramm Fellow Hooper has strengthened ties with Auger and CDMS
Involved in proposals, definition, simulations, pipelines, analysis
Example of Theory: Details of Inflation
How non-Gaussian are the perturbations generated during inflation which are responsible for all structure in the universe today?
Standard Approach: fNL is constant. Brinson Fellow Liguori and collaborators probed its scale dependence.
Results: Level of non-Gaussianity appreciably larger than expected.
Example of Phenomenology: Tevatron & CDMS
Carena, Hooper, & Skands 2006
Two MSSM Higgses A/H should not be seen at Tevatron based on current CDMS constraints
Two MSSM Higgses A/H should not be seen at Tevatron based on 2007 CDMS constraints OR if CDMS sees signal in 2007, Tevatron should see A/H
Example of Data Analysis: SDSS II~130 Spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia
Supernovae from the
Fall 2005 Season
First cosmology
results expected
this summerFrieman et al.
1984
Theory
Phenomenology
Paper Breakdown
2001
ExperimentTheory
Phenomenology
Paper Breakdown
Paper Breakdown
FY2006
Phenomenology
Theory
Experiment
Nick Gnedin joined in August
One of World’s leading numerical cosmologists Collaborate w/ Computing Division Simulations key for interpreting SDSS, DES & SNAP data Open new areas: reionization, CMB anisotropies, Lyman alpha forest
Hardware
Purchased 2 quad servers + rack to be housed in Feynman Computing Center
Strong starting point for enhanced program in numerical astrophysics
Beyond research … Organize workshops which define the field (Dark Energy 1998, Halo Model 2001, Clusters 2004, TeV Astrophysics 2005, CMB-LSS Correlations 2006) Serve on committees which chart the future (DETF, JDEM Science Defintion Team, …) Munch! Explain results to broad audiences (Cosmology Course for Planetarium directors, popular lectures, books, …)
How Are We Doing?
32/133 (24%) NASA ATP proposals fundedGrant for ~5 times higher than average grantEvaluation: “There is no weakness in the group
of permanent astro-staff” and “… they arguably constitute the best collection of theoretical cosmologists in the world.” and “The group consistently attracts and trains very good postdocs, and places them in faculty jobs at elite institutions.
Alumni get excellent faculty positions
Alex Szalay Johns Hopkins Neil Turok DAMTP Andreas Albrecht UCDavis Keith A. Olive Minnesota David Seckel (Bartol) Lars Jensen North Dakota State Richard F. Holmon Carnegie-Mellon David P. Bennett Notre Dame Marcelo Gleiser Dartmouth Albert Stebbins Fermilab Edmund J. Copeland Sussex Angela Olinto Chicago Dongsu Ryu Chungnam University, Ruth A. Gregory Durham, England Esteban Roulet CONICET, Argentina Fay Dowker Imperial Scott Dodelson Fermilab James Gelb Texas, Arlington Robert Caldwell Dartmouth College Stephane Colombi IAP, Paris
Igor Tkachev CERN Andrew Heckler Ohio State Yun Wang University of Oklahoma Istvan Szapudi University of Hawaii Antonio Riotto INFN, Padova Will Kinney SUNY Buffalo Lam Hui Columbia Andrew Sornborger Georgia Ewan Stewart KAIST Korea Zoltan Haiman Columbia Pasquale Blasi INAF Firenze Michael Blanton New York University Idit Zehavi Case Western Reserve University Ravi Sheth University of Pennsylvania Kev Abazajian Maryland Patrick Greene Texas, San Antonio John Beacom Ohio State University Nicole Bell University of Melbourne Gianfranco Bertone IAP or APC Pengjie Zhang Shanghai Jochen Weller University College London
Funding
Currently receive 235k from NASA grant, plus Brinson funding for pre-doc and post-doc
NASA no longer gives group grants Will submit 2 separate proposals Also submitted SciDAC proposal with
LANL/UIUC
This is a vibrant field
UC Davis Cosmology Group
Established Collaborations with many of these groups
• Close Collaboration with Chicago (Students, SDSS, Dark Energy Survey, …)
• Working on SDSS with Princeton, Johns Hopkins, …
• Working on SNAP with LBL, Caltech, Michigan, Penn
• Parallel Computing, Summer Workshops with LANL
Summary
Profound Issues: Physics beyond the Standard Model from cosmology Continued/Strengthened ties with Experiments Hired top computational cosmologist Cannot stand still in this competitive environment: need to maintain ties with particle physics