Astrophysical Searches for New Physics

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Some of our most compelling evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model comes from astrophysics - the observations which tell us that 95% of the universe's energy budget comprises Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Astrophysics gives us access to energy and distance scales that would be impossible to reproduce in a lab, and is therefore an ideal setting to search for new physics. The PhD project will use data from existing and upcoming telescopes to search for the identity of Dark Matter and for other new physics scenarios.One well motivated Dark Matter candidate is the axion - an ultralight particle that arises in string theory compactifications and as a solution to the strong CP problem. In a background magnetic field, axions and photons can interconvert. This process would produce striking signatures in astrophysical magnetic fields, which may be observed by the next generation of telescopes. The PhD project will analyse the effect of the axion-photon interaction in stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters and aim to develop novel ways of searching for axions. As well as studying axion phenomenology, computer simulation and statistical analysis are a major part of this work. Another powerful probe of new physics is superradiance - the exponential amplification of a bosonic field around a rotating star or black hole. This work is more mathematical in nature. The PhD project will study superradiance in different settings, looking at factors that may prevent it and at how it could be observed