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PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:A CMB Millikan Experiment with Axion Strings
DTSTART:20200525T160000
DTEND:20200525T173000
DTSTAMP:20260412T174327Z
UID:34935853f9a2faf30d0dc06792133f776fe5a0790ab475250dbb3f17
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prateek Agrawal (Harvard University)\nVery light axions are a 
 generic prediction of string compactifications. If cosmic strings associat
 ed with these axions were produced in the early universe\, they quickly ap
 proach a so-called scaling solution\, such that strings persist in the sky
  today.  I will present some remarkable signals of such strings coupled t
 o photons. In this string background\, there is a model-independent pola
 rization rotation of CMB photons equal to $\\alpha_{em}$ up to a rational 
 number. This manifests itself as a rotation of E-modes in the CMB polariza
 tion to B-modes. The current CMB experimental sensitivity to this rotation
  is about 1%\, with many orders of magnitude improvement expected for futu
 re experiments. I will show how measuring the undetermined rational number
  may shed light on the quantization of electric charge in the standard mod
 el. These strings may also be visible in strongly lensed quasar systems.\n
 \nThe recording of the seminar is available at: https://mediaspace.epfl.c
 h/channel/High+Energy+Theory+Seminars/32518
LOCATION:Zoom https://epfl.zoom.us/j/92934710657
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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