Speaker: Ritoban Basu Thakur (JPL) - Title: Quantum sensing, Dark Matter Searches & Astrophysics in the Far-IR.
2026-04-23 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
Research Progress Meeting
Date: April 23, 2026
Time: 4:00- 5:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room- 50A-5132 [In-Person and HYBRID]
Speaker: Ritoban Basu Thakur (JPL)
Title: Quantum sensing, Dark Matter Searches & Astrophysics in the Far-IR.
Abstract: Advances in superconducting kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) are opening new windows in both astrophysics and fundamental physics. This talk presents two connected applications at the frontier of photon sensitivity. (i) For PRIMA, the PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, we have developed single-photon-sensitive KID arrays operating at 25 μm. This first photon-counting array demonstrated in the 3–18 THz band, will enable background-limited imaging and spectroscopy for a cryogenic space telescope targeting galaxy evolution, planet formation, and cosmic dust. (ii) QUALIPHIDE (QUAntum LImited PHotons In the Dark Experiment) applies these photon-counting MKIDs to search for hidden photon dark matter beyond the standard quantum limit, which will also empower broadband experiments such as BREAD. Basu Thakur’s group is also developing nonlinear kinetic inductance devices for advanced quantum sensing, promising a new generation of THz detectors that will serve both next-decade astrophysics observatories and unexplored dark matter phase space.
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98854322464?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 988 5432 2464

Passcode: [REDACTED]

Special RPM: Industry Career Panel
2026-04-28 15:00 - 17:00
Special Research Progress Meeting
Date: April 28, 2026
Time: 3:00- 5:00 pm [Note special start time]
Location: Building 50 Auditorium [In-Person and HYBRID] [Note special location]

Panelists:
Luigi Capodieci [Synopsis]
Katie Copic [Fieldwork]
Tobias Ostermayr [Nvidia]
Nadav Outmezguine [Microsoft AI]
Khilesh Mistry [Block Inc.]
Title: Industry Career Panel
Summary: The Industry Career Panel will consist of panelists that have backgrounds similar to postdocs and graduate students at LBNL and/ or have extensively worked in departments that often employ people with these backgrounds. This event is especially geared towards postdocs and graduate students preparing to apply for jobs in industry. Attendees are encouraged to bring questions about any aspect of the industry job application process.

https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95679892182?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 956 7989 2182
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Speaker: Rupert Croft (CMU) - Title: Cosmological simulations, AI and the high redshift Universe
2026-04-30 16:00 - 17:00
Research Progress Meeting
Date: April 30, 2026
Time: 4:00- 5:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room- 50A-5132 [In-Person and HYBRID]
Speaker: Rupert Croft (CMU)
Title: Cosmological simulations, AI and the high redshift Universe
Abstract: AI assistance can turn complex astrophysical supercomputer simulations into easily accessible tools. I will introduce applications to cosmology, including hybrid AI-physics codes, and a agentic system that can set up and run a billion particle simulation in seconds. As a use case for this type of modelling, I will explore the Lyman-alpha forest of intergalactic absorption in quasars and how it can both be gravitationally lensed, and also used to make large-scale maps of the intergalactic radiation intensity. I will also present cold dark matter simulation predictions for the mysterious “little red dots” seen by the Webb telescope at high redshift.
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98854322464?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 988 5432 2464

Passcode: [REDACTED]

Speaker: Jo Dunkley (Princeton) - Title: Cosmology from the Cosmic Microwave Background
2026-05-07 16:00 - 17:00
Research Progress Meeting
Date: May 7, 2026
Time: 4:00- 5:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room- 50A-5132 [In-Person and HYBRID]
Speaker: Jo Dunkley (Princeton)
Title: Cosmology from the Cosmic Microwave Background

Abstract: The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is our earliest image of the universe. I will review what our current observations have told us about the current model for the universe. I will then talk about science plans for the Simons Observatory, a new millimeter-wave observatory in Chile which has substantial Berkeley involvement. With its smaller telescopes we are seeking a signal imprinted by gravitational waves generated in the early universe. Its largest telescope will measure the finer scales of the CMB with increased sensitivity, probing the initial conditions of the early universe as well as revealing the later-formed cosmic web of gas and dark matter. I will describe SO’s current status and show some early data.
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98854322464?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 988 5432 2464

Passcode: [REDACTED]

Speaker: Emanuele Castorina (University of Milan) - Title: Probing the nature of Dark Matter with the Large Scale Structure of the Universe
2026-05-14 16:00 - 17:00
Research Progress Meeting
Date: May 14, 2026
Time: 4:00- 5:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room- 50A-5132 [In-Person and HYBRID]
Speaker: Emanuele Castorina (University of Milan)
Title: Probing the nature of Dark Matter with the Large Scale Structure of the Universe
Abstract: In the standard cosmological model, the main non-baryonic component is defined by its acronym: Cold Dark Matter (CDM). In this talk I will show how measurements of the clustering of galaxies on scales larger than roughly 10 Mpc can place leading constraints on the physical properties behind each one of the acronym’s letters, provided non-linearities in the matter distribution due to new physics are properly modeled via effective theories. Worked out examples will include ultra-light axions, strong kinetic coupling at late times, and tests of the equivalence principle in the dark sector.
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98854322464?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 988 5432 2464

Passcode: [REDACTED]

Speaker: Chelsea Bartram (Stanford) - Title: Dialing into the Dark Matter with Novel Quantum Techniques
2026-05-28 16:00 - 17:00
Research Progress Meeting
Date: May 28, 2026
Time: 4:00- 5:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room- 50A-5132 [In-Person and HYBRID]
Speaker: Chelsea Bartram (Stanford)
Title: Dialing into the Dark Matter with Novel Quantum Techniques
Abstract: The QCD axion is a well-motivated dark matter candidate that could solve the strong CP problem. The axion haloscope, which leverages the inverse Primakoff effect, renders the QCD axion ‘visible’ — if it exists. Still, finding the QCD axion is no trivial matter. The QCD axion could span up to 13 orders of magnitude in mass space. Searches at higher masses suffer from the problem of scaling the detectors to smaller volumes, and thus, smaller signal powers. Searches at lower masses suffer from the need to achieve sensitivity to much smaller axion-photon couplings. I will discuss major efforts to cover the axion parameter space, including the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX) and DMRadio searches. Further, I will explain some proposed enabling technologies for accelerated searches. It is clear new direct detection techniques are needed to cover such an expansive parameter space. In this talk, I present a novel technique for improved impedance matching to wave-like dark matter. It is known that an RLC resonator is well-suited to axion direct detection. We propose an alternative circuit that replaces the capacitance with a ‘negative inductance’ to cancel reactance over a wider range of frequencies. Using the unique properties of a Josephson junction, we show that we can achieve broadband reactance cancellation via simulation. I will discuss our preliminary understanding of the stability and operation of the circuit. To our knowledge, this circuit represents the first implementation of a Josephson junction in a non-Foster circuit, which uses an active component to evade the Bode-Fano limits on the bandwidth of a match. The Josephson junction must be operated in a cryogenic environment; thus, its implementation in a non-Foster circuit is well-suited for axion searches that require low physical temperatures.
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/98854322464?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 988 5432 2464

Passcode: [REDACTED]
