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Good morning Just to remind you there is a colloquium today at 3:00 pm. Please note the Colloquium is in the Center for Scientific Visualization, Anderson Hall, First Floor and coffee is in Robinson 251(Knipp Library) 3:00 pm Friday, December 10, 2010 Center for Scientific Visualization Anderson Hall, First Floor TUFTS UNIVERSITY Physics and Astronomy Colloquium “Cosmic Strings” Ken Olum Tufts University Cosmic strings are microscopically thin, astronomically long objects which may have formed in the early universe. If so, the universe today contains a "network" of long strings and closed loops. Cosmic string loops oscillate relativistically and might lead to observable signatures such as cosmic rays and gravity waves. To study the distribution of sizes and shapes of string loops we have developed a parallel simulation of the string network that can track the production of about 10 billion loops. I will discuss how strings form, how they evolve, and how we might observe them. The talk will include stereoscopic movies of cosmic string loops and networks. Refreshments served at 2:30 in Knipp Library, Robinson 251 |