Research Highlights

Param Singh edited a focus issue "Applications of loop quantum gravity to cosmology" for Classical and Quantum Gravity

Param Singh, edited a special issue on "Applications of loop quantum gravity to cosmology" for Classical and Quantum Gravity, the premier journal for gravitational physics community. The special issue had original research articles on resolution of gravitational singularities, observational signatures of loop quantum gravity and various aspects of quantum cosmology by many prominent researchers in the field, including Abhay Ashtekar, Eberly Chair of Physics at the Pennsylvania State University, and Ivan Agullo and Peter Diener at LSU. Param Singh was then invited to write a popular article highlighting this special issue in Classical and Quantum Gravity's website CQG+

LIGO-Virgo Scientists Detect First Gravitational Waves from Neutron Stars

For the first time, scientists have directly detected gravitational waves — ripples in space and time — in addition to light from the spectacular collision of two neutron stars. This marks the first time that a cosmic event has been viewed in both gravitational waves and light. he discovery was made using the U.S.-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO; the Europe-based Virgo detector; and some 70 ground- and space-based observatories.

LSU Physicist’s Research Reveals that the Most Energetic Particles in the Cosmos Originated from Outside our Galaxy

In a paper published in the journal Science, the Pierre Auger Collaboration reports observational evidence demonstrating that cosmic rays with energies a million times greater than that of the protons accelerated in the Large Hadron Collider come from much further away than from our galaxy. Professor Jim Matthews, former co-spokesperson of the Auger Collaboration, works with more than 500 scientists from 17 countries on the world’s leading science project for the exploration of the highest energy cosmic rays to elucidate the origins and properties of the most energetic particles in the Universe. The collaboration is reconstructing the path of the Universe's most energetic cosmic rays, bringing new insights into the origin and nature of this intergalactic phenomenon.

CALET Makes First Direct Measurements of High Energy Electrons in Space

CALET (CALorimetric Electron Telescope), a Japan-Italy-US experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), has successfully carried out a high-precision measurement of the cosmic ray electron spectrum up to 3 tera electron volts (TeV). This experiment, based on two years of data taken on the Exposed Facility on the ISS, is the first to make direct measurements of such high energy electrons in space. The CALET team published its first results in Physical Review Letters November 1 (O. Ariadne et al., Physical Review Letters 119, 181101, 2017). The measured spectrum provides a hint of a feature in the high energy spectrum that may be due to a nearby high energy source (e.g., a pulsar) or the annihilation of dark matter particles. CALET expects to take data on the ISS for an additional 3 years, and increase its current statistics by approximately a factor of 6.

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