Cosmic Acceleration Beyond LCDM
Speaker
Date
Time
Place
Cosmology Hall (Room 7S1)
Abstract
We are currently living through a remarkable era in cosmology and gravitational physics, marked by an unprecedented influx of observational data. One of the most compelling challenges facing cosmologists today is understanding the mysterious cause behind the Universe’s recent accelerated expansion. The leading explanations for this phenomenon invoke either a dark energy component or modifications to general relativity. In this talk, we will present a range of dark energy models, including axion-like scalar fields and 3-form fields. We will also explore modified theories of gravity, with a particular focus on f(Q) gravity, as viable alternatives to explain late-time cosmic acceleration. Additionally, we will discuss the observational constraints on these scenarios and examine their potential to shed light on the ongoing H_0 and S_8 tensions.
Biography
Mariam Bouhmadi-López is an Ikerbasque Associate Professor at the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain). She obtained her PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Spanish National Research Council. She subsequently held postdoctoral positions at the University of Portsmouth and at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon. Her research lies in theoretical cosmology and gravitation, with a particular focus on the late-time acceleration of the Universe and the nature of dark energy. She is also interested in the study of cosmological singularities within the framework of quantum cosmology.