Astrophysics

In the past decade, neutrino astronomy went from dream to reality with IceCube producing spectacular observations of the very first neutrino sources in the sky. Last year, the diffuse emission of the Galactic Plane was observed in high-energy...

Abstract: In the pursuit of Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, the CMS experiment has employed unconventional techniques to uncover elusive phenomena. This presentation delves into three pivotal aspects of this effort during LHC Run-2 and the...

The Bahcall Lunch follows the astrophysics colloquium lecture. Registration is required by 4pm the previous Thursday so a meal can be provided. Email Amanda at cenker@ias.edu with questions.

The boundaries of relativistic black hole jets—at the interface between the jet and the disk wind—lie at the core of our recent understanding of jet-powered phenomena. They harbor intense velocity and magnetic shears, which provide the free energy...

Abstract: With the commencement of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration’s fourth observing run, the field of gravitational wave (GW) physics is uniquely poised to collect even more precise data from compact binary mergers. Consequently, we will soon...

Echoes of atmospheric escape have been observed in exoplanetary demographics (i.e. the radius valley and lower boundary of the Neptune desert) over the past decade. Simultaneously, we have begun to detect active atmospheric outflows in a few of the...

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) occur when a star is tidally shredded by a supermassive black hole (SMBH). They are a key probe of SMBH demographics and accretion physics. Optical surveys have been key for identifying TDEs, but searches have, until...

The life cycles of star clusters are an integral part of the formation of galaxies and their black hole populations.   In these dense stellar environments, stars and black holes participate in complicated dynamical interactions that can create many...

Precision measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) are a unique probe of the fundamental physics that governs the evolution of the universe. In particular, measurements of the polarization signature in the CMB constrain the energy scale...