About me:
I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2018 with a B.S. in Astronomy & Astrophysics. I am presently a graduate student at Indiana University, and I will be receiving my PhD in Astrophysics in June 2023. I will then be starting my first postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory as the Director’s Fellow in nuclear theory. My research focuses on the dense matter equation of state and the various ways of constraining its behavior. I have been heavily involved in the PREX and CREX neutron skin experiments and the implications of these experiments has been a large part of my research experience.
Seminar Title:
Quest for the Nuclear Holy Grail: From Neutron Skins to Neutron Stars
Seminar Date:
April 18th, 2023
Abstract:
The nuclear equation of state is a fundamental property of nature that governs the behavior of nuclei at different densities and asymmetries. In particular, the equation of state for neutron-rich systems is of interest because of its importance in many astrophysical systems. There exist many physical observables that help constrain our understanding of the equation of state, such as the difference in point neutron and proton radii in neutron rich nuclei or the radius of a neutron star. Recently, the PREX/CREX collaboration have published results for the neutron skin in both Pb and Ca which paint a rather peculiar picture for the behavior of neutron-rich matter. In this talk, I will discuss the PREX-2 and CREX experimental results and what they mean for our understanding of the nuclear equation of state. In addition, the connection to neutron stars and gravitational waves will also be discussed.