School of Physics Colloquia
Next Physics Colloquium
Type Ia Supernovae, The Accelerating Cosmos, and Dark Energy
Australian National University
2:00 pm Friday, 21st May 2012
Abstract: Type Ia supernovae remain one of Astronomy's most precise tools for measuring distances in the Universe. I will describe the cosmological application of these stellar explosions, and chronicle how they were used to discover an accelerating Universe in 1998 - an observation which is most simply explained if more than 70% of the Universe is made up of some previously undetected form of 'Dark Energy'. Over the intervening 13 years, a variety of experiments have been completed, and even more proposed to better constrain the source of the acceleration. I will review the range of experiments, describing the current state of our understanding of the observed acceleration, and speculate about future progress in understanding Dark Energy.
Location:
Slade Lecture Theatre
School of Physics A28
Physics Road
University of Sydney
Enquiries: Andrew Doherty (9351 7645) or
Cake will be provided from 3:00pm in the lecture room