October 29, 2024
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI)
This coming December 8 (Sun), the University of Tokyo Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI) and the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) will host our joint public lecture, "The Mystery of Massive Quantities: Dark Matter and Ultra High Energy Gamma Rays". We look forward to seeing you there in person or online.
This public lecture is recommended for those with junior high school level science knowledge and above. Admission is free. There is not limit to seating online, but pre-registration is required.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Event Summary
Time & Date: 1pm - 4pm, December 8 (Sun), 2024
Venue: Yasuda Auditorium, Hongo Campus, The University of Tokyo OR online (please not that video records of this event will not be uploaded online afterwards)
Host: The University of Tokyo Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI), and the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR)
Difficulty level: Junior high school level education
Admission: Free
Seating:
- Onsite seating: 600
- Online seating: Unlimited
Registration: Fill out a form here (Deadline: December 9 (Sat))
How to participate: Tickets and other information will be sent to the email address submitted to us in the above registration form.
Enquiries: koukai-kouza_at_ipmu.jp (Kavli IPMU PR Office)
Program
1pm - 1:50pm
Lecture 1
The 100-year old mystery: What are Ultra High Energy Gamma Rays!
Speaker: Kazumasa Kawada (ICRR Associate Professor)
Deep in the desert of Utah of America lies a gigantic cosmic ray telescope in an area as big as the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa. This is the Telescope Array Experiment, a project built to observe the rare ultra-high-energy particles that fly in from space. Their energy is 100,000 to 1 million times higher than the highest energy particles humans can create today using particle accelerators. Where and how are these special particles born in the universe and how do they come to Earth? Do they originate in starburst galaxies, active galaxies, galaxy clusters, gamma-ray bursts, or other intense astronomical phenomena? Does it originate from dark matter or unknown subatomic particles with large masses? This talk will explain the mysteries of these special particles coming from the universe.
1:50pm - 2:40pm
Lecture 2
Is Dark Matter Really Dark?
Speaker: Satoshi Shirai (Kavli IPMU Associate Professor)
Dark matter is an unexplained entity that is believed to make up the majority of matter density in the Universe. Many times, observational data has strongly suggested the existence of dark matter, so much that you may even say that we have already "discovered" it. However, no one has been able to detect it directly, and its true nature remains a mystery. Or maybe not. Recent research has steadily advanced our understanding of the physical properties dark matter would likely possess. One new approach based on quantum gravity theory has been the talk of the community, and it could help us understand dark matter. In this talk, I will introduce the latest theoretical and experimental progress to find dark matter.
3pm - 4pm