Elizabeth Hays
(NASA/GSFC)
27/07/2009, 14:00
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been surveying the gamma-ray sky since August 2008. The Large Area Telescope detects gamma rays over a wide field of view, ~2.4 sr, across a broad energy range, from ~20 MeV to above 300 GeV, and with excellent angular resolution, 68% containment of better than 1 deg at 1 GeV. The capabilities of the LAT have opened a new window for exploring high energy...
Brian Humensky
(University of Chicago)
27/07/2009, 14:25
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) provides unprecedented flux sensitivity in the energy regime 100 GeV - 30 TeV to the northern hemisphere gamma-ray sky. The array consists of four 12 m class imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and is located at Whipple Observatory in southern Arizona. VERITAS addresses a wide range of astrophysical phenomena including...
corbin covault
(Case Western Reserve University)
27/07/2009, 14:50
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest detector for the highest energy cosmic rays. The astrophysical origins of these particles have remained a persistent mystery for decades. However, recent results from Auger indicate that we may be on the threshold of a new understanding. The Pierre Auger Observatory, in Malargue, Argentina, has been operating since 2004. We describe the...
Prof.
Richard Hughes
(The Ohio State University and The Fermi LAT Collaboration)
27/07/2009, 15:15
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
Designed as a high-sensitivity gamma-ray observatory, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) can also identify high-energy cosmic ray electrons and protons with angular resolution of better than one degree above 50 GeV. The statistics of such samples are quite large, with several million identified protons and electrons in 10 months of data. We discuss the prospects for measuring anisotropies...
Mr
Patrick Smith
(The Ohio State University and The Fermi LAT Collaboration)
27/07/2009, 15:40
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope was launched in June 2008 and the onboard Large Area Telescope (LAT) has been collecting data since August of that same year. The LAT is currently being used to study a wide range of science topics in high-energy astrophysics, one of which is the study of high-energy cosmic rays. The LAT has recently demonstrated its ability to measure cosmic-ray electrons,...
Prof.
Klaus Honscheid
(Ohio State University)
27/07/2009, 16:30
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
The discovery that the universe is accelerating, not slowing down from the mass it contains, is the surprise that sets the initial research program of 21st Century cosmology. The Dark Energy Survey is a next generation sky survey aimed directly at understanding this mystery. We will build an extremely red sensitive 500 Megapixel camera, a 1 meter diameter, 2.2 degree field of view prime focus...
Prof.
Ian Shipsey
(Purdue University)
27/07/2009, 16:55
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
Recent technological advances have made it possible to carry out deep optical surveys of a large fraction of the visible sky. Such surveys enable a diverse array of astronomical investigations including: the search for small moving objects in the solar system, studies of the assembly history of the Milky Way, the establishment of tight constraints on models of dark energy using a variety of...
Prof.
Mark Trodden
(University of Pennsylvania)
27/07/2009, 17:20
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
I consider couplings between the dark energy and dark matter sectors, and describe constraints arising from a combination of new instabilities, cosmological observations and the requirement of a weak coupling regime.
Prof.
Sherwin Love
(Purdue University)
27/07/2009, 17:40
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
A minimal candidate for dark matter is provided by a single standard model singlet.
The quantum mechanical effects of this singlet are explored in a model where the Higgs boson has a large non-minimal coupling to the Ricci scalar and plays the role of the inflaton. Imposition of the slow roll inflation cosmological constraints restricts the allowed values of the Higgs boson mass, its...
Mr
Gagik Yeghiyan
(Wayne State University)
27/07/2009, 18:00
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
We examine $\Upsilon(1S)$ meson decay into a pair of
scalar Dark Matter particles and $\Upsilon(3S)$ meson decay into a
pair of scalar Dark Matter particles and a photon. To the lowest
order in perturbation theory, we perform model-independent analysis
and derive formulae for the branching ratios of these decays. We
confront our calculation results with the experimental data. We do
it...