51²è¹Ý

Dear All,

The Department of Physics invites you to a colloquium on Surrounded by Darkness – The Invisible Dark Matter Halo of the Milky Way.

Abstract: An `invisible’ form of matter, aptly named `Dark Matter’, is five times more abundant than the visible (or baryonic) matter in our Universe.  This dark matter is ubiquitous. In fact, our home in the Universe, the Milky Way galaxy, resides within a dark matter halo, though we cannot see it. The visible Milky Way — its stars, gas, and dust — represents only a small fraction of the total mass of our Galaxy. The rest is in the form of dark matter, which reveals itself only through gravity.  In the last few years, the GAIA satellite has produced exceptional maps of the Milky Way visible matter, giving us the best ever view of our own galaxy. These visible matter tracers can probe the distribution and motion of the underlying invisible component,  shedding light on the nature of the Milky Way dark matter halo and, ultimately, the very nature of dark matter.  In this seminar, I will show how the  Milky Way thus serves as a laboratory for studying dark matter from within, providing important clues about one of the biggest mysteries in modern physics.

About the Speaker: Prof. Subhabrata (Subha) Majumdar is a Full Professor (Scientist H) in the Department of Theoretical Physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. His research lies at the intersection of theoretical and observational cosmology, with a focus on dark energy, dark matter, and the physics of baryons within halos and across cosmic scales. His interests also extend to astroparticle physics and the study of the Milky Way and dwarf galaxies. Over the years, he has held several prominent academic positions, including visiting professorships at ORIGINS, Munich (2022), ETH Zurich (2014), and LMU/MPA Munich (2010), and a joint faculty position at ICTS, Bangalore (2012–2015). Prof. Majumdar has received numerous prestigious honours, including the Kavli Frontier Fellowship (2013), the Simon Fellowship at ICTP, Trieste (2015–2021), and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Fellowship at the University of Oxford (2001).

We look forward to your active participation.