Illuminating Dark Matter With Cosmic Probes
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
University of New Hampshire
Location: 1080 Physics Research Building, Smith Seminar Room
Faculty Host: Annika Peter
Abstract: Dark matter is an outstanding cosmological problem that challenges us to rethink what we know about fundamental particle physics, as well as what it means to look at our universe. In this talk, I will discuss this fascinating problem and describe work my research group is doing to tackle it. I will specifically focus on our work which shows that when studying axion-like dark matter, the strength and sign of the self-interaction can make a phenomenological difference. I will also describe work showing that new mathematical tools are important for accurately capturing axion Bose-Einstein condensation behavior. I will also discuss how we are using NICER neutron stars as asymmetric dark matter probes.
Bio: Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an assistant professor of physics and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She holds a bachelors in physics and astronomy from Harvard, a masters in astronomy from UC Santa Cruz, and a PhD in physics from University of Waterloo for work conducted at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. She held fellowships at NASA and MIT and was a research associate with the late Ann Nelson at University of Washington before joining UNH. She is the author of an award-winning book for general audiences, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, and in 2021 she was honored with the APS Edward A. Bouchet Award for her contributions to particle cosmology and advocacy for underrepresented groups in physics and astronomy. In addition to her research in physics, she is an active researcher in the field of Black feminist science, technology, and society studies.
Author of The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred
http://physics.unh.edu | http://www.cprescodweinstein.com
The colloquium can also be seen on Zoom: https://osu.zoom.us/j/91292283159?pwd=Ryt1TUV2Z0NiZUIwWklRTE92WjZ1dz09
