One of the most astounding implications of the recent discovery of the Higgs boson and its measured properties that the vacuum we live in is metastable: there exists a different vacuum structure that is energetically more favorable for the Universe to reside in. This aspect becomes crucial during the period of cosmological inflation in the early stages of the Universe, when the tremendous energy density in the Universe tends to trigger transitions into the alternate vacuum. This would have resulted in a catastrophic collapse of the entire Universe. What saved us? What are we missing? What can we learn from this?

All talks are free and refreshments will be served. Visitor parking (Central Campus) is across the street from Weiser Hall (formerly Dennison Building) in U-M Church Street parking structure. There is a $2.00 cash parking charge.