[SPECIAL] Speaker: Roohi Dalal (Princeton University)- Title: Cosmology and Systematics from Hyper Suprime-Cam Year 3 Data
2023-06-02 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
This is an In-Person [HYBRID] Event
LOCATION: Sessler Conference Room 50A-5132
DATE: June 2, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
TITLE: Cosmology and Systematics from Hyper Suprime-Cam Year 3 Data
ABSTRACT: The Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey is the deepest Stage III weak lensing experiment, going to ~26 mag with exquisite seeing. The depth and image quality achieved by HSC allow us to probe cosmology using weak lensing upto high redshifts, and these analyses serve as important preparatory studies for the next generation of weak lensing surveys. I will discuss our constraints on cosmological parameters using weak lensing cosmic shear power spectra measured from the Year 3 shear catalog of HSC, covering 416 square degrees of the northern sky. After giving a brief overview of our cosmological analysis, and our new constraint on the S8 parameter, I will focus on systematics that have been important and distinguishing factors in our analysis, including photometric redshift uncertainties, systematics from higher order PSF moments, and uncertainties in the modeling of baryonic feedback. I will show that we have made a number of conservative choices to ensure that our analysis is robust to these systematics and share some lessons learned that will enable future surveys to hopefully no longer be limited by such systematics.
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Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
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Speaker: Brendan Crill (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology) Title: SPHEREx: NASA's all-sky near-infrared spectral survey
2023-06-09 12:00 - 13:00
This is an In-Person [HYBRID] Event
LOCATION: INPA Common Room – 50- 5026
DATE: June 9, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
TITLE: SPHEREx: NASA’s all-sky near-infrared spectral survey
ABSTRACT: SPHEREx is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission to produce a near-infrared all-sky spectrophotometric survey. The 2-year mission will measure spectra of every 6-arcsecond pixel on the sky between 0.75 and 5 microns at spectral resolution varying between R=35 and 130. SPHEREx’s instrument is based on a 30-cm off-axis telescope feeding six Teledyne H2RG detectors behind linear variable filters. The mission is optimized to address three science themes: 1. Inflation in the early Universe through large scale structure, 2. the history of galaxy formation by measuring spectra of the extragalactic background fluctuations, and 3. the inventory of biogenic ices in our own Galaxy by surveying ice spectral absorption features towards stars. This talk will describe the unique instrument and survey, and address prospects for constraints on inflationary cosmology through a 3D galaxy redshift survey with the SPHEREx data.
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Speaker: Ben Smithers (UTA)- Title: A Multi-Channel Search for Signatures of eV-Scale Sterile Neutrinos in IceCube
2023-06-16 12:00 - 13:00
This is an In-Person [HYBRID] Event
LOCATION: Sessler CR, 50A-5132
DATE: June 16, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
TITLE: A Multi-Channel Search for Signatures of eV-Scale Sterile Neutrinos in IceCube
ABSTRACT: The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer-scale neutrino observatory built using a gigaton of instrumented ice near the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica; it measures the Cherenkov light emitted by the daughter particles of neutrino-nucleon interactions occurring inside and around the detector from neutrinos of both astrophysical and atmospheric origin. For eV2-scale sterile neutrino models, matter-effects can yield resonant $bar{
u}_{mu}tobar{
u}_{s}$ oscillations for TeV-scale up-going neutrinos. For certain combinations of mixing angles, this is also expected to yield resonant $bar{
u}_{mu}tobar{
u}_{tau}$ oscillations at the same energies and zeniths as the $
u_{mu}$ disappearance. This superimposed $
u_{mu}$ disappearance and $
u_{tau}$ appearance presents itself as an ideal signature with which we can search for indications of sterile neutrino oscillations. Here, we discuss a multi-channel analysis searching for signs of both resonant muon neutrino disappearance as well as tau neutrino appearance.
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NO INPA SEMINAR
2023-06-23 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-08-25 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-09-22 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-09-29 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-10-13 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-10-20 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-11-24 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-12-01 12:00 - 13:00 and 2 more dates

Speaker: Konrad P. Nesteruk (Harvard)- Title: The Power of Protons: Unleashing Precision in Cancer Treatment
2023-06-30 12:00 - 13:00
This is an In-Person [HYBRID] Event
LOCATION: Sessler CR, 50A-5132
DATE: June 30, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
SPEAKER: Konrad P. Nesteruk, Ph.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School)
TITLE: The Power of Protons: Unleashing Precision in Cancer Treatment
ABSTRACT: This seminar will provide a comprehensive overview of proton therapy, focusing on its advantages over conventional radiotherapy, the key components of a proton therapy facility, and the intricate process of precise dose delivery. Additionally, we will explore selected current research areas and potential future innovations, including compact and cost-effective systems, faster treatment delivery, image guidance, and ultra-high dose rate (FLASH) therapy.
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Speaker: Barbara Skrzypek (Harvard)- Title: Ice-Breaking Neutrino Energies: Astrophysical Messengers of Planck-Scale Physics​
2023-07-07 12:00 - 13:00
This is an In-Person [HYBRID] Event
Location: Sessler CR, 50A-5132
Date: July 7, 2023
Time: 12:00- 1:00 PM
Speaker: Barbara Skrzypek( Harvard)
Title: Ice-Breaking Neutrino Energies: Astrophysical Messengers of Planck-Scale Physics​
Abstract: ​In recent decades, particle physics has made significant advances in our understanding of high-energy phenomena, both on theoretical and experimental fronts, culminating in the current Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. However, the SM is not a self-contained theory and leaves many questions unanswered; in particular, it falls short of incorporating dark matter or gravitational forces. Among the implications for this is that, beyond the quantum gravity scale, we expect the SM to be replaced with a more fundamental theory giving a quantum description of gravity. As such, effective theories that arise from this fundamental theory can break certain symmetries that normally hold in the SM, such as Lorentz- and CPT-invariance . As a result of this, we expect there to be observables that exhibit low-energy manifestations of these symmetry violations, and in turn, this could have implications for neutrinos and other astrophysical messengers. In this talk, I give an overview of work that I have done in theory, phenomenology, and experimental high-energy physics in the area of effective theories of high-energy phenomena. In an effort to characterize the astrophysical neutrinos that IceCube has observed, I discuss what we can learn about the physics that happens between the production of astrophysical particles and their subsequent detection.
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NO INPA TODAY
2023-07-14 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-07-21 12:00 - 13:00

NO INPA
2023-07-28 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-08-18 12:00 - 13:00

Speaker: Jonathan Echevers (UC Berkeley)- Title: The EXO program: Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Searches in Xe-136
2023-08-04 12:00 - 13:00
DATE: August 4, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
SPEAKER: Jonathan Echevers (UC Berkeley)- Title: The EXO program: Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Searches in Xe-136
TITLE: The EXO program: Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Searches in Xe-136
ABSTRACT: Neutrinoless double beta (0vBB) decay is currently one of the most compelling searches in nuclear and particle physics. If found, it would imply the existence of Majorana fermions and lepton number violation, both new physics beyond the Standard Model. The EXO-200 experiment consisted of a time projection chamber (TPC) with 200 kg of enriched liquid xenon (LXe), optimized to search for 0vBB of Xe-136. Data acquisition took place from 2011 to the end of 2018, with a total exposure of 234.1kg yr. We found no statistically significant evidence for 0vBB, leading to a lower limit on the half-life of 3.5×10^25 yr at the 90% confidence level (CL). The ultra-low background necessary for this search also provides a unique opportunity to probe other exotic processes, such as Lorentz violation in double-beta decay, electron recoils from dark matter, Majoron emitting modes of double-beta decay, and others. The first part of this talk will focus on the EXO-200 experiment and recent results for exotic-physics searches using this detector. In the second half of this presentation I will discuss the next generation experiment, nEXO, a 5 tonne LXe TPC with a projected 0vBB half-life sensitivity of 1.35×10^28 yr at the 90% CL in 10 years of data-taking.
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Speaker: Damian Goeldi (ETH Zurich)- TITLE: Testing weak equivalence with the LEMING experiment
2023-08-11 12:00 - 13:00
DATE: August 11, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
SPEAKER: Damian Goeldi (ETH Zurich)
TITLE: Testing weak equivalence with the LEMING experiment
ABSTRACT: The LEMING experiment aims to test weak equivalence in leptonic antimatter. We will employ atomic interferometry to measure the vertical deviation of a horizontal cold muonium (M = μ+ + e−) beam. Existing muonium production schemes are unsuitable for such a precise measurement due to their large velocity and angular spread. To overcome this limitation we have demonstrated a new technique leveraging the chemical potential of superfluid helium (SFHe) to produce a cold muonium beam with a very well defined velocity and angular spectrum. Due to the SFHe our particle detectors need to operate at temperatures below 1K. We have successfully achieved sub-kelvin operation of commercial silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). Furthermore, a strong background suppression is required in order to reach the intended sensitivity. This can be achieved via a reliable detection of the atomic electron from the muonium, left over after the decay of the antimuon. However, these electrons possess very low energies. Hence, a second detector is required which not only operates below 1K, but also features an energy detection threshold below 1keV. We are currently testing several candidate detectors including perovskite nanocrystals and superconducting nanowires. This talk will give an overview of the LEMING experiment with a focus on the cold muonium beam as well as the cryogenic particle detectors.
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NO INPA SEMINAR TALK
2023-09-01 12:00 - 13:00

Speaker: Naim Göksel Karaçaylı (Ohio State University) Title: 1D Lyman-alpha forest power spectrum from the DESI early data
2023-09-08 12:00 - 13:00
DATE: September 8, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
LOCATION: 50A-5-5132-CR-Sessler
SPEAKER: Naim Göksel Karaçaylı (Ohio State University)
TITLE: 1D Lyman-alpha forest power spectrum from the DESI early data
ABSTRACT: The one-dimensional power spectrum P1D of the Lya forest provides important information including constraints on warm dark matter models, the sum of the neutrino masses, and the thermal state of the intergalactic medium. I will present the first measurement of P1D with the quadratic maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) applied to 54,600 quasars from DESI early data. Our analysis demonstrates the percent-level performance of the spectroscopic pipeline noise estimation and the spectrograph resolution matrix. Even though the pipeline is exceptional, noise calibration and spectrograph resolution remain as major sources of systematics.
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Speaker: Wenbo Ma (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)-Title: Search for solar neutrino and light dark matter with the PandaX-4T experiment
2023-09-15 12:00 - 13:00
DATE: September 15, 2023
TIME: 12:00- 1:00 PM
LOCATION: 50A-5-5132-CR-Sessler
SPEAKER: Wenbo Ma (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
TITLE: Search for solar neutrino and light dark matter with the PandaX-4T experiment
ABSTRACT: The PandaX-4T experiment aims to search for potential dark matter interactions. With significant technical improvements, PandaX-4T achieves unprecedented sensitivity at the low-energy edge of LXe detectors, opening a new window for observing solar neutrinos. Using commissioning data, two hybrid analyses are carried out to search for dark matter interactions, yielding world-leading results for neutrino-nucleus coherent elastic scattering from solar B8 neutrino, as well as for dark matter interactions with nucleons and electrons. These results demonstrate PandaX-4T’s unique capability to search for low-energy interactions from solar and galactic sources.
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Speaker: Yifei Luo (UCSC)- Title: The Merian Survey: Characterizing dark matter and feedback in star-forming dwarf galaxies with medium-band filters on DECam
2023-10-06 12:00 - 13:00
Date: Friday, October 6, 2023

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Sessler Conference Room–50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Yifei Luo(UCSC)
Title: The Merian Survey: Characterizing dark matter and feedback in star-forming dwarf galaxies with medium-band filters on DECam
Abstract: The Merian survey is an ongoing medium-band imaging survey on the CTIO 4-meter Blanco telescope. With two custom made medium-band filters on DECam, we expect to detect 80,000 star-forming dwarf galaxies at z~0.1 in the HSC-SSP wide field, aiming to characterize dark matter halo and stellar feedback in dwarf galaxies. The Merian survey will allow us to measure the full dark matter profile of dwarf galaxies via weak gravitational lensing for the first time. In this talk, I will present how we optimized the Merian filter design for our science goals, and discuss the filter performance with mock and actual Merian data. I will also show that the Merian medium-band filter set is able to select objects at higher redshifts out to z~4.8.
Zoom Information:
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Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
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Speaker: Jose María Palencia (Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Spain) - Title: Probing the Universe: Extremely Magnified Stars and Gravitational Lensing
2023-10-27 12:00 - 13:00
Date: Friday, October 27, 2023

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Sessler Conference Room–50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Jose María Palencia (Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Spain)
Title: Probing the Universe: Extremely Magnified Stars and Gravitational Lensing
Abstract: In 2018, an intriguing astronomical phenomenon came to light – Extremely Magnified Stars. These transients are a consequence of gravitational lensing, facilitated by the combined influence of galaxy clusters and intracluster microlenses, leading to an amplification of individual star brightness by a factor exceeding 1000. This presentation will delve into the underlying gravitational lensing mechanism responsible for this unique phenomenon. In the second part of the talk, we will explore the utility of Extremely Magnified Stars for improving our understanding of the formation of massive stars in the early universe, investigating the presence of empirical limits observed within our local universe, and using these events as valuable tools for probing dark matter models.
Zoom Information:
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Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
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Speaker: Shawn Westerdale(UC Riverdale)- Title:Dark matter searches with the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration: Status of the DEAP-3600 and DarkSide-20k experiments
2023-11-03 12:00 - 13:00
Date: Friday, November 3, 2023

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Sessler Conference Room–50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Speaker: Shawn Westerdale(UC Riverdale)
Title: Dark matter searches with the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration: Status of the DEAP-3600 and DarkSide-20k experiments
Abstract: The Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration (GADMC) is the union of the ArDM, DarkSide, DEAP, and MiniCLEAN dark matter direct detection experiments, aiming to fully explore the experimentally accessible dark matter parameter space down to the neutrino fog. While the experimental collaborations that joined to form GADMC all used argon-based detectors, they employed a variety of detector designs. This presentation will give an overview of the DarkSide-50 and DEAP-3600 detectors and present their latest results, which include some of the strongest direct detection constraints on light and ultra-heavy dark matter. In addition to their physics results, these experiments developed key technology that enables future detectors. We will discuss plans for these future detectors, including DarkSide-20k — currently under construction — and DarkSide-LowMass, covering an overview of their design and expected sensitivity.
Zoom Information:
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Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
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NO INPA SEMINAR (Veterans Day- Optional LBL Holiday)
2023-11-10 12:00 - 13:00

Speaker: David Maibach (Heidelberg)-Title: "Cosmic Strings and where to find them"
2023-11-17 12:00 - 13:00
Date: Friday, November 17, 2023

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Sessler Conference Room–50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: David Maibach (Heidelberg)
Title: “Cosmic Strings and where to find them”
Abstract: “A large class of particle physics models beyond the Standard Model admit topologically stable string configurations, so-called Cosmic Strings. If Nature is described by such a theory, a network of strings will form during a symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early universe and leave traceable features in various probes. The search for these signatures provides an interesting interplay between particle physics and cosmology that can constrain particle physics from the high energy end downwards. In this talk, I will give a brief introduction to the intricate world of Cosmic Strings and explore potential probes of string signatures within the regime of electromagnetic and gravitational radiation.”
Zoom Information:
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Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
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Speaker: Richard Feder-Staehle ( Caltech) Title: Uncovering the Near-Infrared Universe through Galaxy Surveys and Intensity Mapping
2023-12-08 12:00 - 13:00
Date: Friday, December 8, 2024
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Sessler Conference Room–50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Richard Feder-Staehle (Caltech)
Title: Uncovering the Near-Infrared Universe through Galaxy Surveys and Intensity Mapping
Abstract: In this talk I will discuss two complementary methods for measuring large-scale structure, namely through galaxy surveys and broad-band intensity mapping. In the first half will present updated galaxy simulations and redshift forecasts for SPHEREx, NASA’s next MIDEX mission which will conduct the first all-sky spectrophotometric survey in the near-infrared (0.75 – 5 um, R~30-140). In the second half I will present preliminary results from a fluctuation analysis of imager data taken at 1.1 and 1.8 um during the final flight of the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER), a sounding rocket payload designed to characterize and decompose the extragalactic background light.
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Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011

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