Special Physics Colloquium: Dr. Evan McDonough

Mon. Apr. 19 02:00 PM - Mon. Apr. 19 03:00 PM
Contact: Andrea Wiebe
Location: via Zoom

The department of Physics would like to invite the community to attend the following presentation for tenure-track consideration.

Dr. Evan McDonough
Postdoctoral Fellow
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, & Enrico Fermi Institute
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

 

Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and Tensions in the Current Cosmological Paradigm

Observations by telescopes on earth and mounted on satellites in space demonstrate, to an incredible statistical significance, that the energy density of the universe is dominated by mysterious dark energy and dark matter components. Yet we remain completely "in the dark" as to the nature of these components of the universe, such as the mass or spin of the constituent particles, whether the particles are fundamental or composite, and how these components came to be in the first place. Fortunately, we have data that tracks the evolution of the universe from the first moments until today, in particular, measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background, the large scale structure of the universe, and of our own Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Discrepancies between these data sets, both stark and subtle, hint that something is missing in the standard cosmological model, and may be the key to understanding the dark universe. In this talk I will discuss new ideas that can explain these puzzles, and how to experimentally test them, with examples from my own work, focusing specifically on exotic states of dark matter and dynamical ("early") dark energy.

 

Bio: Evan McDonough is a theoretical physicist working at the interface of high energy physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. He researches the physics of the very small (fundamental particles, quantum fields) and the very big (galaxies and galaxy clusters), and what each tells about the other. Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Evan did his undergraduate degree and PhD at McGill University. He has held research fellow positions at Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Chicago. Outside of physics, he enjoys running, reading, and making music.

 

For an invitation to this event, please contact Andrea Wiebe at an.wiebe@uwinnipeg.ca.