Exploration into the building blocks of matter through complementary approaches: (1) the most sensitive search for a direct signal from the dark matter halo surrounding our galaxy (the CDMS experiment in the Soudan Underground Laboratory in northern Minnesota), (2) the highest energy accelerator (The CMS experiment at the future Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland), and (3) the most precise measurement of the magnetic moment of the muon (g-2 at Brookhaven Lab in New York).
|EBEX gondola at dawn in Ft. Sumner, NM.|
Welcome to the Cosmology Group at the University of Minnesota! We are a diverse but cohesive group of Physics and Astronomy faculty, post-docs and graduate students engaged in research work in Cosmology, Gravitation and related fields. Our research interests span a wide range of topics in the experimental, theoretical and observational Cosmology.
On the experimental side we are involved in all aspects of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment, in the building of balloon-borne instruments to detect minute signals from the Big Bang as imprinted on the Cosmic Microwave Background, and in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), a network of multi-kilometer interferometers designed to search for gravitational waves. On the theoretical side we investigate the earliest moments of the Universe, the inflationary epoch whose outcome sets the stage for the later evolution of galaxies and clusters. We map the mass distribution in these structures in order to reveal the properties of dark matter. We also study the origin and evolution of the chemical elements from their production during the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and in the interiors of stars, to their dispersal by supernova and mixing into the interstellar medium. We carry out observational programs to test theoretical predictions of the chemical evolution models and to uncover new properties of stars and galaxies.
Our weekly Monday lunchtime seminars cover a variety of cosmology and
related topics and are generally accompanied by lively discussions. With
the generous help from the Fine Theoretical Physics Institute we organize
yearly workshops that attract international experts.
|Priscilla Cushman||Dark matter searches, novel particle detectors, collaborative work in integrative tools for Underground Science, low background techniques|
|Lucy Fortson||High-energy astrophysics, gamma-ray astronomy, extragalactic astronomy including active galactic nuclei and barred spirals; Developing online citizen science as a method to solve research problems with large datasets; physics education research.|
|Shaul Hanany||Observational Cosmology; Early Universe Physics|
|Alexander Heger||Massive and very massive stars, the first stars, stellar rotation, nucleosynthesis, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, X-ray bursts.|
|Vuk Mandic||Gravitational Wave Physics, Observational Cosmology, Early Universe Physics|
|Keith Olive||Cosmology/Particle Physics|
|Marco Peloso||Astroparticle physics, Inflation, Cosmology of extra-dimensions, Physics beyond the Standard Model|
|Clement Pryke||Astrophysics and Cosmology--Cosmic microwave background|
|Yong-Zhong Qian||Nuclear/particle astrophysics and cosmology: neutrino oscillations and their effects in astrophysical environments, supernova explosion and nucleosynthesis, chemical evolution of galaxies|
|M. Claudia Scarlata||Galaxy formation and evolution: massive galaxies, evolution of galaxy structure. Lyα line as a cosmological tool: escape of Lyα photons, large-scale structure, Lyα blobs. Reionization: Lyman continuum escape fraction, IR background fluctuations|
|Evan Skillman||Extragalactic Observational Astronomy; Specializing in: Chemical Evolution of Galaxies, Structure and Evolution of Dwarf Galaxies, H II Region Abundances, Star Formation, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, Cluster Galaxies|
|Liliya L.R. Williams||Cosmology; distribution of dark matter; gravitational lensing; formation of structure|
|Projjwal Banerjee||Nuclear Astrophysics, Origin of Elements, Stellar Nucleosyntheis|
|Matthew Fritts||astroparticle physics, cosmology, cryogenics|
|Marcos Garcia Garcia|
|Allison Kennedy||I am interested in particle physics with a current emphasis on dark matter.|
|Trevor Knuth||Solar physics, nanoflare emission, x-ray instrumentation|
|Cheng-Hsien Li||Neutrino oscillations with three flavors and CP violation|
|Mark Pepin||Cosmology, Particle Physics, Dark Matter|
|Tanner Prestegard||Gravitational waves, cosmology|