Learning from the Big Bang about little bangs – and vice versa

• Urs Wiedemann (CERN)

Room: Z011 Abstract: While the physics underlying cosmology and heavy ion collisions is very different, of course, the theoretical challenges for understanding the dynamics of both systems show remarkable commonalities. In this colloquium, I explain on the one hand how the modern description of the expansion dynamics of heavy ion collisions parallels developments in cosmology. On the other hand, I discuss examples for how concepts widely used in heavy ion phenomenology may be employed to shed light on two central topics in cosmology, namely large-scale structure formation and the nature of dark matter. This colloquium is part of the "Landelijk Seminarium @ Nikhef/CWI, Z011"