Topic: Searching for new physics through astronomical observations

Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Jing Ren

Coordinates: PCFT C1124, 16:00, Thursday, May 18

Abstract: Despite the great success of the standard model of particle physics and general relativity, there is compelling evidence for the existence of new physics beyond the current framework. At the same time, astronomical observations have rapidly advanced in recent years, leading to a wealth of observational data. To expand our search for new physics, it is essential to incorporate these data. This has become an active area of research at the intersection of particle physics and astronomy. The direct detection of gravitational waves has opened a new era of gravitational wave astronomy, providing a unique opportunity to explore physics in the immediate vicinity of black holes. In particular, quantum gravity corrections may have chance to be detected through gravitational wave echoes. Pulsar timing arrays act as galactic-scale interferometers, enabling the detection of both stochastic gravitational waves and wave-like dark matter. If we further incorporate polarization information, the collected data can be used to detect the cosmic birefringence induced by axion-like dark matter, providing a potential avenue for confirming the nature of dark matter. High-frequency gravitational waves carry a wealth of information on the early Universe. The nearby planets can be used as a laboratory to detect them via GW-to-photon conversion in the planetary magnetosphere.