Astrophysics

Abstract: I will give an overview of recent activity based on the idea that we can test quantum properties of the gravitational field in experiments. I will emphasize the need to state precisely what hypotheses are being tested by showing some...

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...

Supermassive black holes' (SMBHs) feeding and feedback cycles play a vital role in galaxy formation and evolution. While current state-of-the-art numerical simulations can successfully reproduce the multiphase gas at the galaxy-scale, it is not well...

For roughly three decades, astronomers anticipated that the launch of JWST would portend new discoveries and the potential upending of long-held notions for early galaxy formation. JWST did not disappoint! Within weeks of the start of science...

Weak gravitational lensing provides an immense opportunity to test the standard cosmological model and to probe astrophysics. Over the last decade, it has matured as a high-precision tool with on-going surveys like the Dark Energy Survey, which has...

Computer vision and machine learning tools offer an exciting new way to automate analyzing and categorizing information from complex computer simulations. In my talk, I will discuss our current efforts in designing new computer vision tools for the...

While the vast majority of the light from our galaxy comes from the Galactic disk, the vast majority of the mass of the Milky Way (MW) is in its dark matter halo. Because we cannot directly observe the MW's dark matter halo, we must use luminous...

The launch of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has already proven to be a defining moment for this generation of astronomers. Like its revolutionary predecessor Hubble Space Telescope, JWST has been artfully used by astronomers worldwide to build a...

Abstract: Inflation, the theory describing a period of exponential superluminal expansion in the early universe, is both a proposed solution to the large-scale structure we see in our night sky and a mystery of which we have little experimental...