[Physics-talks] This Wednesday! Special CECI Colloquium by Nobel Laureate Adam Riess

[haibo yu]

Dear All,

This is a reminder that Adam Riess' CECI colloquium is this afternoon.

Time: *Starting at 2pm, Wednesday, June 3, 2026*
Venue: *Seminar Room 1110, Multidisciplinary Research Building*

Please join us!

Haibo


On Tue, Jun 2, 2026 at 8:21 AM hai-bo.yu--- via Physics-talks <
physics-talks at lists.ucr.edu> wrote:
>
> Dear All,
>
> The speaker of our public cosmology lecture, Nobel Laureate Adam Riess,
will give a special CECI colloquium this Wednesday, June 3.
>
> Title: The James Webb Space Telescope and the Distance Network: New Paths
to Understanding the Hubble Tension
>
> Speaker: Adam Riess
> Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
> Time: Starting at 2pm, Wednesday, June 3, 2026
> Venue: Seminar Room 1110, Multidisciplinary Research Building
>
> Abstract: One of the most basic questions in cosmology is: How fast is
the Universe expanding today? Two powerful approaches give answers that
should agree but do not. Measurements based on the cosmological model
calibrated by the cosmic microwave background predict one value for the
Hubble constant H0, while direct measurements using the cosmic distance
ladder give a higher value. The difference, now exceeding 5σ, is known as
the Hubble tension and has persisted for more than a decade and challenges
LambdaCDM.
>
> The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides a new way to test the
local distance ladder that underlies the direct measurement of H0. By
observing Cepheid variable stars and other distance indicators in galaxies
that host Type Ia supernovae, and that were previously studied with the
Hubble Space Telescope (HST), JWST allows a direct and independent check of
those earlier measurements at higher resolution. These observations are
also part of a broader effort to build a more robust local distance
network, combining multiple independently calibrated distance indicators
across the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. This network approach allows
different rungs of the distance ladder to cross-check one another and helps
expose potential systematic errors.
>
> I will review several tests of possible systematics. The JWST
observations closely match the HST results across multiple methods and
wavelengths, ruling out several suspected sources of systematic error and
strengthening the case that the Hubble tension is real. In addition, the
distance network results show that the tension does not depend on any
single source, team, or sample. Rather, it may signal that something
important is missing from our current picture of the Universe.
>
> You are welcome to join us!
>
> Haibo
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