Dark Matter: the elusive substance that dominates the matter budget of the Universe
Colloquia
- Speaker
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Julio F. Navarro
University of Victoria, BC, Canada - When
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2025/02/06
16:00 - Place
- DIPC Josebe-Olarra Lecture Hall
- Add to calendar
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iCal
Modern Physics represents the culmination of centuries of intellectual effort devoted to comprehending the elementary nature of the matter and energy content of the Universe and of the principles that regulate their interactions. Our understanding of the laws of Physics allows us to manipulate atoms and fundamental particles, to visit asteroids, comets and planets, as well as to explain why the Sun shines, and how stars are born and die. However, these very laws fail when we try to explain the origin of the Universe, its evolution, or the inventory of its contents. Neither the matter that dominates the Universe is the matter we know and study in laboratories, nor the energy that will determine the Universe’s fate is what we expected it to be. I plan to review briefly our current understanding of Cosmology, the evidence in favour of Cold Dark Matter—at present our best theory of the origin of structure in the Universe—and how the faintest galaxies might be critical to unraveling the true nature of dark matter.
About the speaker
Julio F. Navarro is the Lansdowne Science Professor at the University of Victoria's Department of Physics and Astronomy. Renowned for his expertise in the dynamics of galaxies and galaxy clusters, particularly their dark matter components, his research has significantly advanced our understanding of universal structure formation. Prof. Navarro's groundbreaking work includes the development of the Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) profile, a model essential for the study of dark matter halos. His research has led to significant insights into the structure and formation of the universe. Currently, his research explores the formation and evolution of cosmic structures through advanced numerical simulations. Prof. Navarro's findings continue to influence the field of astrophysics deeply. His contributions have been recognized with several distinguished awards, including the J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the F.W. Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.