Arts & Sciences Events
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Arts & Sciences
[PAST EVENT] Physics Colloquium
November 16, 2012
4pm - 5pm
Abstract:
The quest to explain nature's fundamental interactions and how they shaped the evolution of the universe is one of the most compelling in modern science. The standard model of particle physics provides a partial explanation, but we know that it must be part of a larger, more complete framework. Experiments hoping to uncover details of the "new standard model" are being carried out at three frontiers: the high energy frontier, involving facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider; the astrophysical frontier; and the "intensity frontier" that includes low-energy, high precision studies. In this talk, I discuss the theoretical implications of some of the key up-coming experiments at the intensity frontier. I focus in particular on what they may teach us about the origin of matter and the possible existence of new forces that were important at earlier times in the evolution of the cosmos. I will also comment on how they complement experiments at the high energy and astrophysical frontiers.
The quest to explain nature's fundamental interactions and how they shaped the evolution of the universe is one of the most compelling in modern science. The standard model of particle physics provides a partial explanation, but we know that it must be part of a larger, more complete framework. Experiments hoping to uncover details of the "new standard model" are being carried out at three frontiers: the high energy frontier, involving facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider; the astrophysical frontier; and the "intensity frontier" that includes low-energy, high precision studies. In this talk, I discuss the theoretical implications of some of the key up-coming experiments at the intensity frontier. I focus in particular on what they may teach us about the origin of matter and the possible existence of new forces that were important at earlier times in the evolution of the cosmos. I will also comment on how they complement experiments at the high energy and astrophysical frontiers.