Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPA) at LBNL

The INPA Seminar weekly talks are on Fridays, starting at 12:00 pm, unless informed otherwise. The seminar talk starts with a brief presentation of the weekly scientific news. Typically, the talks conclude by 1:00 pm. The seminars are held in the Sessler Conference Room,  located in Bldg. 50A- 5132.

The committee members are:

The seminar schedule for the Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPA) is tentative and becomes final a few days before the Friday talk.

Please send all suggestions for future INPA talks and speakers to the INPA Committee.

To be added to the INPA News Mailing List, please contact Erica Hall.

Karl van Bibber (UCB) – A Primer on the Axion

50A-5132- Sessler 50A-5132 Sessler Conference Room, CA

This is the first of a two-part series on the axion and the current experimental campaign to find it. This first seminar will focus on the history and motivation of the axion, rooted in the Strong-CP problem, i.e. the absence of the neutron electric dipole moment, some phenomenology, and an overview of experimental avenues to […]

Maria Simanovskaia (UCB) – Searching for Dark Matter Axions with HAYSTAC

50A-5132- Sessler 50A-5132 Sessler Conference Room, CA

Continuing on the topic of axion searches from last week, this seminar will highlight one experiment, HAYSTAC, which looks for an axion-induced power excess spectrally coincident with the resonance of a microwave cavity immersed in a strong magnetic field. This is the first such experiment to incorporate a dilution refrigerator and Josephson parametric amplifier and […]

Ben Land (UCB) – Solar neutrinos with SNO, SNO+, and Beyond

50A-5132- Sessler 50A-5132 Sessler Conference Room, CA

This seminar gives a brief historical introduction to solar neutrino detection, and motivates the use of solar neutrinos as a tool to probe physics beyond the standard model. An analysis of SNO data constraining the lifetime of neutrino decay is presented, along with solar neutrino results from SNO+ water phase. Additionally, R&D for simultaneous detection […]

Speaker: Chirag Modi – University of California, Berkeley

Title: Reconstruction of Cosmological Fields in Forward Model Framework - Galaxy Clustering and Intensity Mapping Abstract: In this talk, I will outline the forward model approach to reconstruct cosmological fields in a Bayesian framework. I will focus on two examples - galaxy clustering and neutral hydrogen intensity mapping. In galaxy clustering example, I will use […]

Speaker: Suk Sien Tie – Ohio State University

Title: Cosmology with the Lya forest: beyond two-point statistics, DESI instrumentation Abstract: The Lyman-alpha forest is currently the only probe of cosmology and the state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) between redshifts of z=2 and 6. It's higher-order clustering, specifically its three-point correlation function (3PCF), contains information that can help to constrain fluctuations in the […]

Speaker: Samuel Hinton – University of Queensland

Title: Challenges and pathways forward in supernova cosmology Abstract: Using the DES photometric supernova cosmology analysis as groundwork, I will summarise our current analysis methodologies, from simulations, to transient classification, selection effect treatment, and cosmology. Despite recent improvements in analysis methods, there still exist fundamental challenges in areas spanning the initial empirical SN Ia model […]

Speaker: Arnaud De Mattia – IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay

Title: The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: clustering measurements, lessons, and prospects Abstract: In this talk, I will present the clustering analysis of the ELG (Emission Line Galaxy) sample from the eBOSS (extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey) program of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and review the other clustering analyses of the eBOSS program, dedicated […]

Speaker: Jiamin Hou – Max-Planck – Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics

Title: Clustering measurements in the final eBOSS quasar sample and their cosmological implications Abstract:In this talk I present the clustering analysis of the final extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) quasar sample at redshift 0.8<z<2.2, which bridges the redshift gap between the eBOSS LRG and Lyman-alpha measurements. Mapping the evolution of the expansion and growth […]

Speaker: Ann-Kathrin Schutz – Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen

Title: Full analysis of the background for the search of neutrinoless double beta decay in Gerda Abstract: The GERmanium Detector Array (Gerda) experiment aims for the discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) decay in 76Ge. It uses HPGe detectors enriched in the isotope 76Ge, which are directly immersed into liquid argon (LAr). In second […]

Special INPA SEMINAR – Karthik Ramanathan (University of Chicago)

50A-5132- Sessler 50A-5132 Sessler Conference Room, CA

Speaker: Karthik Ramanathan (University of Chicago)   Title: Dark Matter Taking Selfies: The DAMIC Experiment  Abstract: The DAMIC (Dark Matter in CCDs) experiment uses silicon charge-coupled devices (CCDs), traditionally employed for imaging purposes, to detect potential ionization signals from dark matter interactions. These approx. mm thick devices feature an impressively low leakage current (< 10-21 A/cm2) and […]

INPA Seminar – Harikrishnan Ramani (LBNL)

50A-5132- Sessler 50A-5132 Sessler Conference Room, CA

Speaker: Harikrishnan Ramani (LBNL)   Title: Nuclear Isomers as Dark Matter accelerators Abstract: Weak-scale dark matter particles, in collisions with nuclei, can mediate transitions between different nuclear energy levels. In particular, owing to sizeable momentum exchange, dark matter particles can enable de-excitation of nuclear isomers that are extremely long lived with respect to regular radioactive decays. […]

Speaker: Vishal Gajjar (UC Berkeley)

50A-5132- Sessler 50A-5132 Sessler Conference Room, CA

Title: Breakthrough Listen's search for intelligent life in the Universe  Abstract: The discovery of the ubiquity of habitable extrasolar planets, combined with revolutionary advances in instrumentation and observational capabilities, have ushered in a renaissance in the millennia-old quest to answer our most profound question about the Universe and our place within it - Are we alone? […]

INPA guests from campus can now come to the lab early on Fridays. The INPA Common Room (50-5026) is reserved for our guests from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Note that the seminars are now held in 50A-5132 to accommodate a more significant number of attendees.

CPTea Series (also known as INPA Tea Series)

The Physics Division CPTea Series invites you to an In-Person Tea Series 1st Friday of every month at 3:30 pm INPA Conference Room 50-5026.

Everyone is welcome to attend the open forum. Tea and light refreshments will be served.

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INPA Common Room (50-5026)
Fridays
3:30 pm

Access to the Lab

For a shuttle pass, please email Erica Hall. The pass is only valid for the day of the seminar.

Erica Hall