September 21, 2012, 3:10 pm to 4:00 pm

"Gauge, Gauss, and G.A.B.E. 2.1a," by Tate Deskins, Honors Talk (Physics Colloquium Series)

Abstract: The Planck telescope was put into orbit in 2009 with the purpose (in cosmologists' minds) of detecting what we call "Non-Gaussianities" in the CMB. These non-Gaussianities could come from many sources, one of which being cosmic magnetic fields from the time of recombination. With the imminent release of the data from Planck it is important to determine which theories will be invalidated by the data. At the end of July, the existence of a scalar particle (which we will call the Higgs boson) was announced. The existence of a scalar particle or a fundamental degree of freedom motivates theories that include couplings to such fields.

My principal goal is to explore the effects of fundamental degrees of freedom (scalar fields) on the generation and evolution of gauge fields. I am studying a model in which magnetic fields are produced by the decay of a scalar field at the end of inflation. The coupling between the scalar field and the magnetic vector potential should give non-Gaussian correlations. I will introduce the motivation for the model, the methods for discovering the equations of motion, and some computational problems that must be addressed before the simulations can be trusted.

Reception to follow.

Location: Franklin Miller Jr. Lecture Hall (Hayes 109)

Sponsor: Physics Department

Contact: Connie M. Miller

Email: millercm@kenyon.edu

Phone: 740-427-5069

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