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SMP 3/12/16 | Higgs and the Beginning of the Universe | Speaker: Bibhushan Shakya

Saturday, March 12, 2016
12:00 AM
170 & 182 Weiser Hall (formerly Dennison Building) on Central Campus

One of the most astounding implications of the recent discovery of the Higgs boson and its measured properties is that the vacuum we live in is metastable: there exists a different vacuum structure that is energetically more favorable for the Universe to reside in. This aspect becomes crucial during the period of cosmological inflation in the early stages of the Universe, when the tremendous energy density in the Universe tends to trigger transitions into the alternate vacuum. This would have resulted in a catastrophic collapse of the entire Universe. What saved us? What are we missing? What can we learn from this?

All talks are free and refreshments will be served. Visitor parking for the seminars (Central Campus) is across the street from Weiser Hall (formerly the Dennison Building) in the U-M Church Street parking structure. There is a $2.00 parking charge implemented by U-M Parking Services. For more information regarding the Saturday Morning Physics series click here or call 734.764.4437.

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