Princeton University Dark Cosmos Seminar

Abstract: Astrophysical events such as core-collapse supernovae (SN) and neutron star mergers offer unique opportunities to explore physics beyond the Standard Model. In this seminar, I will provide an overview of the mechanisms underlying these phenomena and discuss innovative strategies to leverage existing data—and future observations—to test scenarios of new physics.
First, I will present how constraints from supernova cooling can probe interactions between SM particles and hypothetical dark sectors, offering sensitivity comparable to, or exceeding, that of collider experiments.
Next, I will focus on the emission of axion-like particles (ALPs) from astrophysical sources. Light ALPs can convert into photons in the presence of magnetic fields, producing observable gamma-ray signatures. I will discuss how gamma-ray data from SN 1987A constrains the ALP parameter space and highlight the potential implications for the QCD axion of similar signals from neutron star mergers and future galactic supernovae.