cosmology

From New Scientist, July 15, 2020: Two sets of measurements to estimate the rate of expansion of the universe — described by the Hubble constant — conflict with one another, which may be a sign that our basic understanding of the cosmos is wrong. Two new attempts by astronomers to solve this problem have complicated things further. Fermilab scientist Antonella Palmese and her colleagues have used measurements of gravitational waves to calculate an independent value of the Hubble constant.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, which will map millions of galaxies in 3-D, reaches final milestone toward its startup.

From the University of Chicago, May 12, 2020: A round of AI + Science grants awarded by the University of Chicago’s Office of Research and National Laboratories Joint Task Force Initiative supports new AI applications to boost scientific discovery and education. Awardees include Fermilab scientists Brian Nord, Charles Thangaraj and Nhan Tran.

From Live Science, April 29, 2020: One of the deepest mysteries in physics could be explained by a long-since vanished form of dark matter. Fermilab scientist Dan Hooper is one of the authors of the new result. If an ancient form of dark matter decayed out of existence, that loss would have decreased the mass of the universe, which would have led to less gravity holding the universe together, which would have affected the speed at which the universe expands — helping explain the disagreement between measurements of the universe’s expansion.

From Five Books, March 30, 2020: Fermilab scientist Dan Hooper gives his recommendations for books on the Big Bang and talks about whether our entire understanding of the universe is about to be turned upside down.

From Event Horizon podcast, March 19, 2020: Fermilab scientist James Annis and John Michael Godier discuss neutrinos, dark energy, dark matter and upcoming cosmological surveys in this 30-minute interview.

From Kane County Chronicle, Feb. 24, 2020: Join Fermilab scientist emeritus Paul Mantsch at the St. Charles Public Library on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. as he explains how the realms of the atom and the cosmos are intimately connected to each other – and to us. This special presentation will feature the story of discovery at Fermilab: past, present, future.

From The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast, Feb. 14, 2020: What happened at the dawn of the universe, just trillionths of a second after the start of the big bang, remains a mystery. Revisiting these moments in his new book, “At the Edge of Time,” Fermilab scientist Dan Hooper explores many of the unknowns in cosmology. Hooper guides Ian Sample through the birth of our universe to its enigmatic constituents of dark matter and dark energy in this 22-minute podcast episode.

Reina Reyes made headlines for her research at Princeton testing Einstein’s theory of general relativity; now she’s home in the Philippines, using her physics background to make her mark in different ways.

There are a lot of things scientists don’t know about dark matter: Can we catch it in a detector? Can we make it in a lab? What kinds of particles is it made of? Is it made of more than one kind of particle? Is it even made of particles at all? Still, although scientists have yet to find the spooky stuff, they aren’t completely in the dark.