Astrophysics

In our LCDM paradigm, galaxies form and reside in dark matter halos. Establishing the (statistical) relation between galaxies and dark matter halos, the `Galaxy-Halo connection', therefore gives important insight into galaxy formation, and also is a...

Light from galaxies across the Universe does not travel on straight lines, as it would in a perfect FLRW universe. This difference between perturbed and unperturbed photon geodesics is due to projection effects – relativistic corrections to the...

Abstract: The AdS/CFT conjecture in physics posits the existence of a correspondence between gravitational theories in asymptotically Anti-de Sitter (aAdS) spacetimes and field theories on their conformal boundary. In this presentation, we prove a...

The interiors of Exo-Saturns are among the most diverse of any class of planet.  Objects with the same mass and insolation can range in radius by more than a factor of two!  Even among the cooler planets, the metallicity can run essentially the...

Each week, we hold a relatively informal seminar/discussion series with an emphasis on extra-galactic and large-scale structure astrophysics.

During Galread a leader/visitor presents a recent paper to the discussion group. The PDF of the paper is...

Abstract: 

Finding unconventional superconductors in proximity to various strongly correlated electronic phases has been a recurring theme in materials as diverse as heavy fermion compounds, cuprates, pnictides, and twisted bilayer graphene. The...

The discovery of high-energy cosmic neutrinos opened a new window of astroparticle physics. Their origin is a new mystery in the field, which is tightly connected to the long-standing puzzle about the origin of cosmic rays. I will discuss...

Modern spectroscopic studies of resolved stellar populations in Andromeda (M31) will connect the Milky Way (MW) to future observations of disk galaxies in the Local Volume. Thus, our understanding of M31's merger history will be a foundation upon...

Abstract: We show that if a massive body is put in a quantum superposition of spatially separated states, the mere presence of a black hole in the vicinity of the body will eventually destroy the coherence of the superposition. This occurs because...

The obliquity of a planet, the tilt between its spin and orbital axes, reflects the evolutionary history of the planet. In our own Solar System, the 98 degree obliquity of Uranus is hypothesized to be the result of giant impacts during its formation...