Ever contemplate the mysteries of the universe? Texas A&M associate professor Dave Toback will explore these questions and many more as he discusses his work "Searching for Particles of an Early Universe" today from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Lee Drain Building, room 214.
His lecture, which will last approximately one hour, is designed to be accessible to non science majors and will offer students an exciting look into the debates and experiments prevalent in the physics community today.
"In this talk I will briefly discuss why many models that can explain the Dark Matter we observe in the Universe today also predict the existence of new fundamental particles. In particular, I will focus on a powerful theory of particle physics, Supersymmetry, and how it could be discovered in high-energy collider experiments that reproduce the earliest moments after the Big Bang," Toback said. "I will (also) highlight some of the different experimental techniques and predictions, and concentrate on the state-of-the-art searches at the Tevatron, with an eye on the implications for the impending data of the LHC."
"(Professor Toback) is going to play an instrumental part in interpreting some of the results that are coming out of the large hadron collider experiment in Geneva, Switzerland or the LHC," said coordinator of the colloquium, and SHSU physics Professor, Joel Walker. "The LHC is probably the most exciting particle physics experiment to be constructed in the last several decades."
"Particle Physics in the last several decades have been filled with large amounts of speculation of what the next energy frontiers might hold, but until we had devices sufficiently powerful enough to directly study the enormous energies involved, it was impossible to distinguish, with any certainty, between the various possibilities that have been studied," Walker said.
"Recent experiments have shown that approximately a quarter of the energy density of the universe seems to consist of what is called "dark matter". Dark matter is a matter that contributes to the rotation of galaxies but does not shine in a way that our telescopes can see. The LHC needs to create extremely powerful collisions between protons and antiprotons in order to produce, hopefully, the first direct and unambiguous evidence that mankind has ever seen for dark matter," Walker said.
This is not the first year that the SHSU physics department has hosted colloquiums and stimulating discussions, but Walker hopes to gain students' enthusiasm for the event and fill every seat in the lecture hall.
"Currently we have seats available on a first come, first serve basis," Walker said. "We have colloquiums very regularly, but this is a very exciting one ... just because of all the international interest we have in this huge experiment starting up and the possibilities to really nail down the theories people have been speculating about for decades."
There are approximately 160 seats available in the lecture hall and there is no fee to attend.
"This is just a really great chance for SHSU students to feel that they have got some local connection with this project," Walker said.
Toback received his bachelor's degree in physics from M.I.T. in 1991 and his Ph. D. from the University of Chicago in 1997. He joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2000.
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