[Astro] [CAPT] CAPT Weekly Bulletin (w/c 10-02-25)

[Ella Batchelor]

Monday 10th February at 3pm, A113 CAPT – Theoretical Physics Student Seminar
Usama Aqeel

Blowing Bubbles in Euclidean Spacetime

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Tuesdays at 11am, CAPT Foyer – Astro Coffee



Tuesdays at 11.30am, A113 CAPT - Astronomy Journal Club



Tuesday 11th February at 1pm, A113 CAPT – Particle Cosmology and Gravity Seminar
Keir K Rogers (Imperial)
Axions/Dark Matter

Links to join: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OGM3OTk5NzQtZWEwZS00ZmUyLTk3MGUtZjFhY2M5OTU2MjI1%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2267bda7ee-fd80-41ef-ac91-358418290a1e%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f3250584-4b5f-48fa-a897-08e77f2246b7%22%7d

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Wednesday 12th February at 3.45pm, C4 Physics – Astronomy Seminar

Emma Puranen (OU)
Exoplanets in Science Fiction

Science fiction (SF) is a genre influenced by science which, in turn, influences science. Astronomers discovered the first exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) in the 1990s, but exoplanets featured in SF long before then. This talk presents two studies regarding exoplanets in SF. In the first study, a database of 212 SF exoplanets was analysed using a Bayesian network to find interconnected interactions between planetary characterisation features and literary data. Results reveal SF exoplanets designed after the discovery of real exoplanets are less Earth-like, providing statistical evidence that SF incorporates rapidly-evolving science. In the second study, questionnaire data was collected and analysed from participants in a project to create short SF stories in teams of one scientist and one writer. Results show scientific concerns were incorporated into the story creation decision-making process, and suggest an inspirational role for SF towards its readership’s interest in science. Through the use of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, I investigate SF's portrayal of exoplanet science, which is crucial for understanding the genre’s potential use in science communication.
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Thursday 13th February at 1pm, A113 CAPT – Astronomy Lunch Talk

Fiona Sawyer
How probable is the Ly-𝛼 damping wing in the spectrum of the redshift z = 5.9896 quasar ULAS J0148+0600?


At the end of the Epoch of Reionisation we expect most of the IGM to be ionized, interspersed with patches of fully neutral hydrogen. The first direct measurement of an island of neutral hydrogen at the end stages of reionisation, z~6, was from the damping wing of the quasar ULAS J0148+0600 (J0148) by Becker et al. 2024. Here we use simulations from Sherwood Relics to assess the expected incidence of quasars with Ly-𝛼 and Ly-𝛽 absorption similar to the observed J0148 spectrum for different quasar properties and reionisation histories. We find a late end to reionisation at 𝑧 = 5.3 is a necessary requirement for reproducing a Ly-𝛼 damping wing consistent with J0148, but it is still rare, with our fiducial model producing an observation similar to J0148 in only ~3 per cent of lines of sight. We speculate this is because the ionising emission from J0148 is variable on timescales 𝑡 < 10^5 yr, or alternatively that the Ly-𝛼 transmission in the J0148 near zone is impacted by the transverse proximity effect from nearby star-forming galaxies or undetected quasars. We also assess the efficacy of the method used to find the neutral island in Becker 24, finding that an observation such as J0148 is very likely due to a neutral island, however many neutral islands are also missed with this analysis of the quasar damping wing.



Thursday 13th February at 1pm, Djanogly Theatre - Talk: The Journey to Cosmic Titans

£3 (free concessions)



Spend an hour with the exhibition curators and artist Alistair McClymont.

Hear the story of our collaboration bringing artists and scientists together to create Cosmic Titans.

Click here to book<https://www.lakesidearts.org.uk/event/the-journey-to-cosmic-titans/>



Thursday 13th February at 3pm, A113 CAPT – Particle Cosmology Student Journal Club
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Fridays at 4pm, CAPT Foyer – CAPT Cakes
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If you have any events/visitors you would like included in next week’s bulletin, please let me know


Best wishes

Ella

Ella Batchelor (she/her)
Administrator

School of Physics & Astronomy

University of Nottingham
A112a Centre for Astronomy & Particle Theory
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

+44 (0) 115 74 86778 |  nottingham.ac.uk<http://nottingham.ac.uk/>

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