Séminaire Univers de l'IAP

Testing LCDM with local large-scale structure, galaxies, and stars

by Harry Desmond (University of Portsmouth)

Europe/Paris
Salle des séminaires (IAP)

Salle des séminaires

IAP

Description

LCDM is empirically successful but theoretically mysterious, so it is important to stress test it in as many ways as possible. I will present searches for new fundamental physics across almost the full range of scales accessible to astrophysics, from large-scale structure (O(Gpc)) through galaxy morphology (O(kpc-Mpc)) to the structure of stars (O(npc-μpc)). I will begin by describing a method to simulate the specific region of the Universe that we live in, rather than a random one as is normally done. Such "constrained" simulations of large-scale structures allow us to question if the local Universe is special under LCDM while opening the door to novel tests of gravitational and dark matter physics. I will then describe the search for new fundamental forces using the internal structures of galaxies, which afford world-leading constraints on screened modified gravity models such as f(R). Finally, I will move below the μpc scale and ask how deviations from General Relativity would appear in the behaviour of stars. I will highlight two ways in which the study of gravity in stars could impact cosmology: it offers 1) a potential local resolution of the Hubble tension, and 2) a direct measurement of Newton's constant beyond the Milky Way.