Beus Center for Cosmic Foundations

Summer 2025

NASA’s Cosmic Dawn Screening

We invite you to join us on Wednesday, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the Marston Theater for a special screening of NASA’s Cosmic Dawn.  This captivating film features never-before-seen footage and offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the assembly, testing, and launch of the groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope.  Don’t miss this chance to experience the awe-inspiring journey of one of NASA’s most ambitious missions.

Time: Wednesday, June 25 at 2:00pm (join us at 1:30 for tea and cookies)
Location: Marsten Theater, ISTB4
ASU Contact: Judd Bowman

Extragalactic Journal Club (Summer 2025)

Join us each week to discuss recent papers in extragalactic astrophysics and enjoy some free pizza!  Check your email (or contact Tim) for the sign up sheet to lead a discussion.

Time: Mondays (May 18 - Aug. 4) at noon (12pm) in ISTB4-490&
ASU Contact: Tim Carleton 

Spring 2025

Special Seminar: Monday, April 21, 2025 at 12:00pm

The Origin of Supermassive Black Holes from Pop III.1 Seeds Dr. Jonathan Tan (Chalmers / U. Virginia) Time: Monday, April 21, 2025 at 12:00pm Location: ISTB4 490 ASU Contacts: Tim Carleton and Evan Scannapieco  Show abstract Abstract: The origin of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is a key open question for contemporary astrophysics and cosmology. Here we discuss the predictions of a model of SMBH formation from Pop III.1 protostars, i.e., metal-free stars forming in locally isolated dark matter minihalos, where dark matter annihilation has a chance to alter the structure of the star allowing growth to supermassive scales (Banik, Tan & Monaco 2019; Singh, Monaco & Tan 2023; Cammelli et al. 2025). The model predicts that all SMBHs form very early in the Universe (within a few 100 Myr, i.e., by z ~ 20) with a spatial distribution that is initially relatively unclustered. We also present predictions for SMBH occupation fractions, host galaxy properties, frequency of binary SMBHs and the gravitational wave background from this SMBH population. These predictions are compared to latest results from the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Spact Telescope and pulsar timing array observations.

Special Seminar: Monday, February 24, 2025 at 4:00pm

XRISM – A New Window into the X-ray Universe Dr. Brian J. Williams (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) Brian Williams is an X-ray astronomer and the NASA Project Scientist for the X-ray Imaging and Spectrscopy Mission (XRISM).  Please join us for special overview of the mission and its scientific objectives. Show abstract Time: Monday, February 24, 2025 at 4:00pm Location: ISTB4 Marston Theater (1st floor) ASU Contact: Evan Scannapieco Abstract: At 23:42 UTC on September 6th, 2023, the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, ushering in a new era of high-energy astrophysics. XRISM, an international JAXA/NASA collaboration including participation from ESA, is an advanced X-ray observatory capable of carrying out a science program that will address some of the most important questions in astrophysics in the 2020s. XRISM is essentially a rebuild of the Hitomi (Astro-H) spacecraft that was lost due to an operational mishap early in the mission in 2016. Resolve, the primary instrument on XRISM, is a high-resolution, non-dispersive X-ray spectrometer operating between 0.3-12 keV, providing high-resolution (~5 eV) spectroscopic capabilities in this critical energy band with a response peaking around the ubiquitous 6.4 keV Fe K-alpha line. A wide-field imager, Xtend, will offer simultaneous coverage over nearly a 40’ square field of view, with ~1’ spatial resolution. XRISM will study all manner of astrophysical objects, including galaxies and clusters, AGN, X-ray binaries, supernova remnants, transient phenomena, stars, and the interstellar medium. In this talk, I will highlight some of the scientific topics that XRISM will address, in addition to providing a general status update on the mission. I will discuss the synergies between high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy and observations at other wavelengths, including optical, radio, and IR, and summarize the General Observer program, where funding is available for observers based at U.S. institutions. Biography: Dr.  Brian J. Williams joined Goddard's X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory in April of 2012 as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, where he served until 2015. He then worked for two years as a university scientist with USRA at Goddard, before spending a year at Space Telescope Science Institute. He returned to Goddard as a civil servant in 2018. He serves as the NASA Project Scientist for the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), as well as the Associate PI for the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) Probe proposal.

7th Science Collaboration Meeting for the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM)

• ASU is hosting the 7th Science Collaboration Meeting for the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a joint Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) / NASA X-ray space telescope mission to provide breakthroughs in the study active black holes, outflows from galaxies, and cosmic structure formation. The meeting comes a year after the successful launch of the mission.

  Dates: February 24-28, 2025
  ASU Contact: Evan Scannapieco

Extragalactic Journal Club (Spring 2025)

• Join us each Monday to discuss recent papers in extragalactic astrophysics and enjoy some free pizza!  Check your email (or contact Tim) for the sign up sheet to lead a discussion.

  Time: Mondays at noon (12pm) in ISTB4-492 (Zoom link available from Tim)
  ASU Contact: Tim Carleton

Beus Seminar Series (Spring 2025)

• The Beus Seminar Series runs approximately monthly during the academic year and features researchers at the forefront of exploring our cosmic origins.  Watch your email for links to sign up to meet with each speaker during the week of their visit.   This semester we are excited to host:

  	Discovery of the Multiply-imaged Standard Candle "SN H0pe" that Yielded a Value for the Hubble-Lemaitre Constant "H0” Dr. Brenda Frye (U. Arizona) Time: Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 1:30pm Location: ***GWC-505 (Goldwater Center, 5th floor)***
  	Cosmology beyond the Astrophysics in High-Redshift Intensity Mapping Dr. Adrian Liu (McGill) Time: Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240
  	Detecting the 21 cm Signal from the Epoch of Reionization and Beyond Dr. Jonathan Pober (Brown) Time: Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240
  	How Long do Quasars Shine? Dr. Joe Hennawi (UC Santa Barbara / Leiden University ) Time: Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240
  	Formed too Fast? Massive Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn Dr. Caitlin Casey (UC Santa Barbara) Time: Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240

Fall 2024

ALMA Data Processing Workshop at Arizona State University

• The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and ALMA Ambassadors cordially invite you to a two-day workshop focusing on data reduction with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).  This event is designed for all astronomers, from seasoned ALMA users to those who do not regularly utilize radio data in their research or have no radio background. We encourage participation from graduate students and junior postdocs, but we welcome astronomers at all levels of experience. The two-day, interactive workshop will provide an overview of ALMA interferometric data processing and analysis, including: imaging and self-calibration with CASA, imaging array combinations, and data visualization with CARTA. Registration is free, but we'd greatly appreciate it if you could sign up before Friday, October 11 so that we have an accurate count for lunches.

  Date: October 24-25, 2024
  Time: 12pm - 5pm MST (24 Oct); 9am-1pm MST (25 Oct)
  Location: Lincoln Conference Room, Fulton Center (300 E University Drive, Tempe, AZ), Arizona State University
  Local ASU Contact: Patrick Kamieneski

Seminar: Astrophysics at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

• Presentation by Dr. Peter Kurczynski, Chief Scientist of NASA's Cosmic Origins Program, followed by discussion.

  Abstract:  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is America’s storied civilian space agency. NASA is a world leader in discovery and exploration of the Earth and space. Astrophysics at NASA seeks to answer some of the most profound scientific questions which place our lives and our world in a cosmic context. This presentation illustrates how NASA astrophysics transforms broad national science goals into strategic investments in science and technology. From planning for future missions, developing new technologies, gathering and interpreting the latest observations, this enterprise relies upon the scientific community at every stage. There are many ways that scientists and students at all career stages can become involved.

  Date: October 30, 2024
  Time: 9:30am
  Location: PSF-647
  ASU Contact: Sanch Borthakur

CHIME Power Spectrum Workshop at Arizona State University

• This workshop gathers members of the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) for a focused week of collaboration. The goal is to make significant progress toward an “intensity mapping" measurement of 21cm emission from distant galaxies, in the period of cosmic history when dark energy is just beginning to exert a dominant influence over the expansion of the universe. This workshop is the first CHIME collaboration meeting to be held in the US, and reflects the growing number and importance of CHIME members at American universities.

  Date: December 9-13, 2024
  ASU Contact: Simon Foreman

Lensing Day in Arizona (Fall 2024)

• This one-day workshop brings together researchers in observational and physical cosmology from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona to share ideas and recent results.  The workshop is held twice a year; this Fall 2024 edition is the fifth overall.  The workshop name reflects the original intention to explore synergies between gravitational lensing measurements in different wavelength regimes, but the set of topics has since broadened to encompass a range of related ideas in observational cosmology.  The morning consists of 15-minute talks by graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty at both institutes, while the afternoon is devoted to interactive, pedagogical activities.  

  Date: December 13, 2024
  ASU Contact: Alex Van Engelen

Beus Seminar Series (Fall 2024)

• The Beus Seminar Series runs approximately monthly during the academic year and features researchers at the forefront of exploring our cosmic origins.   This fall we are excited to host:

  	Backlighting the Large-Scale Structure with the Cosmic Microwave Background Dr. Emmanuel Schaan (Stanford) Time: Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240
  	Our New view of Galaxy Evolution with JWST/MIRI Dr. Stacey Alberts (U. Arizona) Time: Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240
  	Unveiling the Epoch of Quenching Dr. Katherine Whitaker (U. Massachusetts) Time: Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 1:30pm Location: ISTB4-240

   

Spring 2024

Beus Seminar Series (Spring 2024)

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Fall 2023

Beus Seminar Series (Fall 2023)

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