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The sixth Faculty Pub Night of the 2023-24 season features Gabriele Varieschi, professor of physics (Seaver College of Science and Engineering). He will discuss his recent work, "Newtonian Fractional-Dimension Gravity and Dark Matter."

About Faculty Pub Night

Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the public are all invited to the 2023-24 series of Faculty Pub Night at the William H. Hannon Library. Eight LMU professors are selected annually to discuss their latest publication or project in a comfortable setting and format that welcomes diverse perspectives for an inclusive conversation aimed to educate the entire community. All Faculty Pub Nights are free and open to the public.

About the Author's Work

Newtonian Fractional-Dimension Gravity (NFDG) is an alternative model of gravity that Varieschi introduced back in 2020, with seven papers published on the subject in recent years. The goal of NFDG is to model galactic rotation curves, without using the controversial dark matter component of the universe. This was done by assuming that galactic structures might behave as fractal media, with an effective dimension which can be lower than the standard value D = 3. This includes also possible fractional, i.e. non-integer, dimensions. This model is broadly based on the methods of fractional calculus and is connected with other alternative theories of gravity, such as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) introduced by M. Milgrom in 1983.

About the Author

Gabriele Varieschi was born in Milan, Italy, the land of Galileo, Volta, Fermi and many other famous scientists. He studied physics at the University of Milan, graduating with a thesis in Applied Superconductivity at the INFN - LASA laboratory. He then worked as a physics and math instructor at a local Jesuit High School, before moving to southern California in 1994. As a graduate student, he studied at the Physics and Astronomy Department, UCLA, receiving a M.S. in 1996 and a Ph.D. in physics in 2000. His field of research was theoretical astro-particle physics, the interface field between particle physics and astrophysics, with a focus on cosmic rays and neutrinos. In August 2000, he joined the Physics Department at Loyola Marymount University, where he combines his research interests in gravitational physics with a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching. In his free time, Varieschi enjoys spending time with his family, planning winter ski trips and summer visits to his native country. He also likes to play classical guitar and renaissance lute music.

About the William H. Hannon Library

The William H. Hannon Library fosters excellence in academic achievement through an array of distinctive services that enable learners to feed their curiosity, experience new worlds, develop their ideas, inform their decision-making, and inspire others. More information can be found at http://library.lmu.edu

For more information about this event, contact the Outreach and Engagement team at the William H. Hannon library via email at library.outreach@lmu.edu or call 310-338-5234.