Next Seminar:
2023-11-07 14:00 in P8445B - Marcin Sawicki (Saint Mary’s):
Levon Pogosian is honoured with AAS Buchalter Cosmology Prize:
SFU cosmologist Levon Pogosian receives a prestigious Buchalter Cosmology Prize for his work on “Relieving the Hubble Tension with Primordial Magnetic Fields,” co-authored with Karsten Jedamzik (University of Montpellier). Buchalter Cosmology Prizes reward new ideas or discoveries that have the potential to produce breakthrough advances in our understanding of the origin, structure, and evolution of the universe beyond current standard cosmological models.
HEALPix Viewer application released
HEALPix Viewer, an application for interactive visualization of CMB maps, celebrates its first public release. Written by SFU Cosmology faculty Andrei Frolov, it provides easy and convenient way to view and analyze data pixelated on a sphere. Available now for macOS 12+ in universal binary format and complete source code.
Cosmic Dust Maps Out Magnetic Field of Our Galaxy!
Using Planck polarization data, SFU Cosmology faculty Andrei Frolov and his collaborators created a model for large scale magnetic field of our galaxy, the Milky Way, which explains the observed polarization patterns in the 353GHz emission maps. Tiny magnetized dust grains scattered around in our galaxy align themselves to a local direction of magnetic field, much like countless compass needles. The microwaves they emit are polarized and carry information about magnetic field direction to us. Reconstructed magnetic field configuration matches all the large scale features in the observed polarization, shown on the picture above.
Planck Team Gets Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize:
Andrei Frolov shares in the 2019 European Physical Society prize. The 2019 Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize for an outstanding contribution to Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology was awarded to the WMAP and Planck Collaborations for providing high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization anisotropies, leading to detailed information on properties of the universe and tests of cosmological models and fundamental physics.
SFU Joins CMB-S4, the Next Generation CMB Experiment!
SFU Cosmology faculty Andrei Frolov and Levon Pogosian join CMB-S4, the 'Stage-4' ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment, as Senior Members. Dedicated telescopes equipped with highly sensitive superconducting cameras operating at the South Pole, the high Chilean Atacama plateau, and possibly northern hemisphere sites will provide a dramatic leap forward in our understanding of the fundamental nature of space and time and the evolution of the Universe. CMB-S4 will be designed to cross critical thresholds in testing inflation, determining the number and masses of the neutrinos, constraining possible new light relic particles, providing precise constraints on the nature of dark energy, and testing general relativity on large scales.
Testing Gravity 2019:
Testing Gravity 2019 was the 3rd Testing Gravity conference hosted by SFU bringing together leading experts on various ways of testing laws of gravity. Testing Gravity remains a topical theme because of the unexplained nature of Dark Matter and Dark Energy and the long-standing failure to reconcile gravity with quantum physics. Like the 2015 and the 2017 meetings, Testing Gravity 2019 featured the latest updates from the gravitational wave detectors, cosmological surveys and other experiments, as well as discussions of recent theoretical advances. The conference aims to provide theorists working on extensions of General Relativity with a realistic perspective on what aspects of their theories can be tested. On the other hand, the experimentalists and observers will get a chance to learn about new ideas that their experiments can test. Wednesday, January 23rd, will feature a "school" with five review lectures given by some of the invited speakers providing background into the key topics covered by the conference. The main conference, January 24-26, included invited and contributed talks, and a poster session.
Planck 2018 Release:
This is it! The final release of the 2018 Planck results using the full mission data was presented on July 17th by European Space Agency and the Planck Collaboration. Visit Planck Publications page for Planck 2018 Results papers.
Planck Team Gets Gruber Prize:
Andrei Frolov, a member of Planck since 2013, shares in the 2018 Gruber Cosmology Prize, awarded to Planck Team and PIs Jean-Loup Puget and Nazzareno Mandolesi for "for mapping the temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation with the ESA Planck spacecraft. Planck measured, with unprecedented precision, the matter content and geometry of the universe, the imprint on the CMB of hot gas in galaxy clusters and of gravitational lensing by large-scale structure, constrained a hypothetical `inflationary' phase, pinned down when the first stars formed, and provided unique information about interstellar dust and magnetic fields in our Galaxy."
SFU Joins Simons Observatory!
SFU Cosmology members join Simons Observatory, a new astronomy facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert that will merge and expand existing efforts to explore the evolution of the universe from its earliest moments to today. Simons Observatory will investigate cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation to better understand the physics of the Big Bang, the nature of dark energy and dark matter, the properties of neutrinos, and the formation of structure in the universe.
Testing Gravity 2017:
Testing Gravity 2017 is the 2nd Testing Gravity conference hosted by SFU bringing together leading experts on various ways of testing laws of Gravity. The 1st Testing Gravity conference held in January 2015 was attended by over 100 scientists from 13 countries. Testing Gravity remains a topical theme because of the unexplained nature of dark matter and dark energy, and the long-standing failure to reconcile gravity with quantum physics. It is particularly relevant given the recent first detection of gravity waves by LIGO. The conference will provide an opportunity for theorists, experimentalist and observers to discuss new ways of testing GR and some of the alternative gravity theories, taking advantage of improving technologies and new observational windows. Topics will include gravitational waves, pulsars, black holes; terrestrial tests, gravity on short distances; particle cosmology, dark matter; cosmological probes - CMB, 21 cm, redshift surveys, weak lensing; modified gravity theories; quantum gravity and emergent gravity. The school on Wed Jan 25 will feature four lectures providing background into main topics covered by the conference. The conference will take place on Jan 25-28 in SFU Harbour Centre and will feature a pre-conference school for students, invited and short contributed talks, and a poster session.
CCGRRA-16:
Canadian Conference on General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics is coming to SFU this summer! 16th meeting in the longest running Canadian series in the field will be held 6-8 July 2016 at SFU Segal Building in downtown Vancouver. Visit conference website for information and to register.
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Modified by Andrei Frolov <frolov@sfu.ca> on 2023-11-01