Physics - String Theory

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Astrophysics, Relativity, and Cosmology Seminar - Andrew Blain (University of Leicester) "WISE, Aliens and Very Luminous Galaxies"

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Department of Physics
Location
Rhondale Tso Seminar Room, Loomis 236
Virtual
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Date
Aug 20, 2025   12:00 pm  
Speaker
Andrew Blain, University of Leicester
Contact
Deanna Frye
E-Mail
ddebord@illinois.edu
Originating Calendar
Physics - Astrophysics, Relativity, and Cosmology Seminar

The WISE all-sky survey highlighted a population of ultraluminous galaxies with dramatic hot dust emission, amongst the most powerful AGN ever to have existed. Since 2010 these have been investigated extensively, including remarkable views with ALMA and JWST. Also since 2010 there have been claims that the WISE catalog contains potential “Dyson spheres” - signatures of advanced civilizations obscuring a significant fraction of their stars’ light to satisfy their energy needs. This is unlikely, but the lack of civilizations’ waste heat emitters in the WISE catalog does place useful limits on their abundance/lifetimes, or else they are actively hiding. Microlensing makes such evasion very difficult, and offers the prospect of remarkable tests for signatures of “intelligent emissions”, especially if such an advanced civilization can “tame” a blackhole. Despite being science fiction, JWST will soon test the Dyson sphere idea.

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