Takeshi Kobayashi: Magnetic Monopoles in Heaven and Earth

Tuesday 21 Apr 2026, 13:15 → 14:00 Europe/Stockholm

FA32 (AlbaNova Main Building)

Magnetic monopoles are hypothetical particles that carry a magnetic charge. They are predicted to exist as soliton solutions in a wide range of particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model, however an experimental detection of monopoles is notoriously difficult. In this talk I will give an introduction to monopoles, with an emphasis on searches in terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations. I will then explain that the magnetic fields in our universe are particularly useful for unveiling the properties of monopoles, and why now is a great time for carrying out such studies.

About the speaker: I like to study early universe cosmology and astroparticle physics. I work at SISSA in Trieste, Italy.