Michael W. Toomey

Email: mtoomey (at) mit.edu
Institution: MIT, CTP
Publications: INSPIRE

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics. My research spans the various interfaces of cosmology, astrophysics, high energy physics, and gravity. I am particularly interested in using cosmology and astrophysics as a probe of modified theories of general relativity and beyond Standard Model physics.

Students at MIT interested in my research should feel more than free to reach out to discuss potential projects.

List of Papers

Quantum Gravity Signatures in the Late-Universe

Addressing the Hubble and S8 Tensions with a Kinetically Mixed Dark Sector

The Autodidactic Universe

$\int_\mathcal{M} {\rm tr}\left(\mathbf{B} \wedge \mathbf{F} + \frac{\mu}{2} \mathbf{B} \wedge \mathbf{B}\right)$

Black hole and cosmological analysis of BF sequestered gravity

Early dark energy does not restore cosmological concordance

Constraining Early Dark Energy with Large-Scale Structure

Deep Learning the Morphology of Dark Matter Substructure

Decoding Dark Matter Substructure without Supervision

Domain Adaptation for Simulation-Based Dark Matter Searches
Using Strong Gravitational Lensing

Deep learning the astrometric signature of dark matter substructure

Software

class_ede
A modified version of the publicly available Einstein-Boltzmann code CLASS to implement Early Dark Energy (EDE). class_ede solves for the evolution of the scalar field perturbations directly using the perturbed Klein-Gordon equation and implements adiabatic initial conditions for the scalar field fluctuations. The code allows one to specify the EDE model parameters in terms of the particle physics parameters f and m or effective EDE parameters f_EDE and z_c.

Press

The S8 Tension: A New Crisis in Cosmology?

Lex Fridman Podcast (The Autodidactic Universe)

Cosmology Talks (Early Dark Energy Does not Restore Cosmological Concordance)

astrobites (Constraining Early Dark Energy with Large Scale Structure)