• Course Description:

    The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our cosmological understanding: multiple lines of evidence show that we live in a Universe dominated by the effects of dark energy and dark matter. Characterizing the properties of these components is the frontier of current research. In this seminar, we will trace the development of these dark components in the standard cosmological model. We will also discuss current and proposed experiments to constrain the nature of dark matter and dark energy, and explore potential alternatives to the standard paradigm.

    With quantum fluctuations in the early universe seeding superclusters and voids today, particle dark matter halos shaping and supporting galaxies, and vacuum energy driving the accelerating expansion, modern cosmology directly connects physics at the largest and smallest scales. As such, this course is broadly aimed to engage graduate students across physics, enabling a synthesis of observational, experimental, and theoretical results.

    The course will have a reading/seminar format. We will meet weekly to discuss a few (~4) important papers on a specific topic, and two students will be assigned to lead the presentation for that week.

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