Cosmic Patterns as Probes of Ultra-high Energy Particle Physics

Colloquium: Soubhik Kumar (NYU)

Title: Cosmic Patterns as Probes of Ultra-high Energy Particle Physics

Abstract: The past decade has seen enormous advances in cosmological probes of the Universe. At the same time, we now precisely understand the fundamental constituents of objects at a scale a thousand times smaller than the size of a proton. However, particle physics and cosmology combined can let us probe the Universe in even more powerful ways. After reviewing aspects of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and cosmic inflation, I will show how particles up to a trillion times heavier than a top quark can lead to striking correlations and localized hotspots on the CMB. I will then discuss how current and future cosmological surveys can look for these patterns and become unique probes of particle physics operating at these very high scales.