Dr. Nadav Joseph Outmezguine

Dr. Nadav Joseph Outmezguine
Dr. Nadav Joseph Outmezguine
Israeli Postdoctoral Scholar
2021-2022 Cohort
UC Berkeley
Department of Physics

Dr. Nadav Joseph Outmezguine, a theoretical particle physicist interested in Cosmology and Astroparticle Phenomenology, describes the universe as his “laboratory.“ His more specific location therein is UC Berkeley’s Center for Theoretical Physics, where as a postdoc he seeks to determine the particle nature of Dark Matter using empirical astrophysical and cosmological results.

Evidence from the motion of stars and gas within galaxies, all the way up to the specifics of the evolution of the universe as a whole, shows that most of the matter in our universe is in the form of Dark Matter (DM), a kind of matter that does not interact with light. However, to date, the particle origin of DM remains unknown.

As a PhD student at Tel-Aviv University’s School of Physics, Dr. Outmezguine established himself as a leader in finding new ways to probe certain properties of DM. Based on new measurements of the 21-cm absorption line, he developed methods to probe the strength of interaction between DM and regular matter. His understanding of those measurements allowed him to devise a simple model demonstrating that DM more than a factor of a million times heavier than was previously thought could affect 21-cm observables.

Dr. Outmezguine also developed a new way to probe MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics, a theory first developed in the 1980s), based on the vertical motion of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. This work resulted in new strong evidence for DM theory over MOND theory for explaining the rapid orbit of stars on the outskirts of galaxies.

Dr. Outmezguine’s postdoctoral research aims to expand on his previous research, while looking for new astrophysical or cosmological observables that could teach us lessons about the particle nature of DM. As a specific example, Dr. Outmezguine is working on certain DM models to account for features of the heaviest Super Massive Black Holes that cannot be explained by existing black hole theories.

Determining the particle nature of Dark Matter using empirical astrophysical and cosmological results. Working on certain Dark Matter models to account for features of the heaviest Super Massive Black Holes that cannot be explained by existing black hole theories.