PHYSICS PH.D. DISSERTATION DEFENSE: William DeRocco

Ph.D. Candidate: William DeRocco

Research Advisor: Peter Graham

Date: Friday, March 26th, 2021

Time: 10 AM Pacific

Zoom Link: https://stanford.zoom.us/j/95357054322

Zoom Password: Email mariaf67 [at] stanford.edu (mariaf67[at]stanford[dot]edu) for password

Title: Novel Astrophysical Signatures of Beyond the Standard Model Physics

Abstract:

The Standard Model is a triumph of modern physics. However, it is not complete. The existence of dark matter and dark energy, neutrino masses, and matter-antimatter asymmetry all require new physics to be explained; theoretical considerations such as the hierarchy and strong CP problems hint at new physics as well. These observations have led to a vast, decades-long hunt for physics beyond the Standard Model. In this talk, I will describe how astrophysical systems can serve as unique laboratories to aid in this hunt. I will cover a variety of results from my graduate career with a focus on three in particular: a supernova cooling constraint on the axion-muon coupling, the production of a new population of hot dark matter by supernovae, and the observational signatures of axion decay in the Solar basin. Through these specific examples, I will demonstrate that astrophysics is a critical tool for uncovering what lies beyond the Standard Model.