College of Engineering Seminars & Speakers

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Astrophysics, Gravitation and Cosmology Seminar - Leah Jenks (University of Chicago) "Cosmological Probes of Higher Spin Fields "

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Department of Physics
Location
Loomis 464
Date
Oct 5, 2022   12:00 pm  
Speaker
Leah Jenks
Contact
Brandy Koebbe
E-Mail
bkoebbe@illinois.edu
Views
33
Originating Calendar
Physics - Astrophysics, Relativity, and Cosmology Seminar

Higher spin (s > 2) particles appear in many areas of physics, but have generally been unexplored in the context of cosmology. In this talk, I will highlight recent work studying higher spins in several cosmological scenarios. I will first discuss the ‘cosmological collider’ framework and show how higher spin interactions during inflation can leave distinctive signatures on the non-gaussianity of the cosmic microwave background. I will then discuss higher spin particles as a dark matter candidate and show distinctive signatures that could arise in directional direct detection experiments. 

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