Speaker: István Szapudi (University of Hawaii)
Title: Stereographically Compactified Simulations (StePS) for cosmology
Date: 15 September, at 2 p.m.
Place: KFKI Campus, Bldg. 1, Conference room, and also in Zoom
Abstract:
StePS (STEreographically Projected cosmological Simulations) framework uses a compactification technique to simulate the whole universe. At present it is capable of four topologies: standard torus (periodic boundary conditions), spherical (trivial), cylindrical (periodic in the z-direction), and Poincare dodecahedron simulations. The new simulation framework is especially useful for testing alternative models, such as the rotating Godel-inspired universe with cylindrical topology, and for developing observational tests for non-trivial topologies.
CV of the speaker:
István Szapudi is a theoretical cosmologist at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, who explores the mysteries of the universe using statistics, simulations, and observations. He studies how the patterns of temperature and density fluctuations in the early and present universe reveal the nature of dark matter, dark energy, and inflation. He is also interested in the anomalous correlation between the cosmic microwave background and the distribution of galaxies, which challenges the standard cosmological model. His paper on the largest void in the universe, the likely cause of the Cold Spot in the cosmic microwave background, was featured on the cover of Scientific American in 2015. His recent work with renowned philosopher Silvia De Bianchi on the achronotopic interpretation of quantum mechanics resolves many mysteries of the standard Copenhagen interpretation. He recently proposed a tethered sun shield near the L1 Lagrange point to mitigate the effects of climate change. He also invented a slowly rotating model of the universe that solves the Hubble tension. He has published on various topics beyond cosmology, including applied mathematics, computer science and machine learning, general relativity, geoengineering, philosophy of science, economics, and epidemiology. He recently published a textbook titled "Spinning the Cosmic Web" with Jaan Einasto, Gert Hütsi, and Peeter Tenjes, and finished a music theory book titled "Fundamentals of 24-Tone Equal Temperament".
