Search for dark matter subject of McMaster Cosmology Lecture

April 2, 2013 | Events, UToday, Natural Sciences and Mathematics
By Jon Strunk



A large fraction of the universe is invisible to the naked eye — and to every other scientific instrument ever invented.

Hogg

Hogg

Dr. David Hogg, associate professor of physics at New York University, will talk with students, faculty and staff at The University of Toledo about astronomy’s search for this substance during the 2013 McMaster Cosmology Lecture titled “Where and What is Dark Matter?” Thursday, April 4, at 4 p.m. in the Driscoll Alumni Center Auditorium.

“Observations of galaxies — and the universe as a whole — have taught us that most of the matter in the universe is not in the form of ordinary atoms but in some unknown form called dark matter, which interacts with ordinary matter essentially only through gravitational forces,” Hogg said.

“Dark matter gets its name because it does not emit, reflect or absorb light; it is truly invisible. I will discuss the reasons we believe that dark matter exists and why the alternative explanations of the relevant phenomena are now very unlikely to be correct,” he said.

Dr. Michael Cushing, UT assistant professor of astronomy and director of the Ritter Planetarium, said dark matter is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in astrophysics.

“The debate about whether dark matter really exists is effectively over, so the focus among astronomers is shifting to detecting dark matter directly,” Cushing said. “David is a leader in the field, and I’m excited to hear what he has to share.”

For more information on the free, public colloquium, contact Cushing at michael.cushing@utoledo.edu.

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