The Hubble tension and the magnetic universe

Speaker: 
Levon Pogosian
Institution: 
Simon Fraser University
Date: 
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Time: 
4:00 pm
Location: 
NS2 1201

Abstract:

The Hubble tension hints at a missing ingredient in our model describing the universe around the epoch of recombination. A stochastic magnetic fields, if present in the plasma prior to last scattering, would induce baryon inhomogeneities and speed up the recombination process. As a consequence, the sound horizon at last scattering would be smaller, potentially helping to relieve the Hubble tension. Intriguingly, the strength of the magnetic field required to alleviate the Hubble tension happens to be of the right order of magnitude to also explain the observed magnetic fields in galaxies, clusters and the intergalactic space. I will review this proposal and provide an update on its current status.

Host: 
Kevork Abazajian/Paul Robertson