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Next Seminar:
Monday, 23 February 2026, 14:30 in P8445B
Dr. Bryce Cyr (MIT)
CMB spectral distortions: The HOW, WHAT, and WHEN?
In this talk, I will boldly attempt to cover the formalism, applications, and experimental prospects of future CMB spectrometers, aimed at measuring small deviations to the blackbody nature of the cosmic microwave background as a way to probe the precise thermal history of the Universe. I will begin with a gentle introduction to the cosmological thermalization problem, providing general motivation from both within and outside of the so-called standard models of cosmology and particle physics. Following this, I will show how current experimental data (from the 1990's) is able to constrain dark photons and dark atomic sectors, and highlight the potential gain in sensitivity that would come from a next-generation experiment such as FOSSIL or PIXIE. Finally, I will conclude with an overview of the experimental landscape, which after over two decades of inactivity, has had a flurry of exciting recent developments.
Upcoming Seminars:
2026-02-23 14:30 in P8445B - Bryce Cyr (MIT): CMB spectral distortions: The HOW, WHAT, and WHEN?
Past Seminars:
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Modified by Andrei Frolov <frolov@sfu.ca> on 2026-02-19