The Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics (link) at New York University is pleased to host the next Big Apple Astrophysics Colloquium. This year's speaker is Wendy Freedman (John and Marion Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The University of Chicago; bio) whose topic will be:

"Is There a Significant Hubble Tension?”

Abstract: The question of whether there is new physics beyond our current standard model, Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) remains an unresolved issue in cosmology. Recent measurements of the Hubble constant (H_o) using Cepheids and Type Ia supernovae (SNe) appear to differ significantly, with claims of up to 6-sigma, from values inferred from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations.  I will give a status report on our Chicago Carnegie Hubble Program (CCHP) measuring H_o and present new results from  James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Over a period of decades, we  have developed three independent methods for measuring the distances to nearby galaxies that provide a calibration for SNe: Cepheid variables, Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) stars and J-Region Asymptotic Giant Branch (JAGB) stars. The Near-Infrared Camera on JWST has four times the resolution and ten times the sensitivity of HST in the near infrared, and has been critical in improving our ability to measure accurate distances to galaxies, and H_o.

Time & Place:

Friday, September 12 @ 3:30pm

Lecture Hall #121, Meyer Hall, 4 Washington Pl, New York, NY 10003

Reception to follow at Dept. of Physics, 726 Broadway

Event Announcement: link