Cosmic neutrinos: using the universe as our laboratory

Cosmological measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, and of the large-scale distribution of galaxies, have taught us a great deal about the origins and content of the universe. In the next decade we anticipate using new microwave background data, and new measurements of the positions, masses and gravitational distortions of galaxies and galaxy clusters, to better understand neutrino particles.  I will discuss our path to making an indirect detection of the sum of neutrino masses using astronomical data, which will complement direct laboratory measurements. This will progress from using current data, including the Planck satellite, to new measurements coming from Chile with the Simons Observatory and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. I will also describe how non-standard neutrino interactions might alleviate the current Hubble Constant tension between CMB and local measurements.

Speaker: Jo Dunkley, Princeton