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Rachel BeanRachel Bean

Assistant Professor of Astronomy
PhD 2002 (Imperial College, London)

Campus Address:
612 Space Sciences Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Phone: 607-254-4920

Homepage: http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~rbean/

Specialty Areas: Theoretical Astrophysics

Biography: Research projects: Theoretical cosmology and its ties to astrophysical observations.

Professor Bean's work focuses on cosmological theories and how they can constrained using observations such as the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large scale structure data (galaxies and clusters of galaxies). Her current research includes work to establish the nature of dark energy, the mysterious quantity responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe, and dark matter, and how can observations can be used to distinguish between competing theories. She is also interested in the application of string theory to understanding how initial conditions for seeding structure were established in the early universe.

 

Selected Publications:


- R. Bean, X. Chen, H. V. Peiris and J. Xu, "Comparing Infrared Dirac-Born-Infeld Brane Inflation to Observations", Phys. Rev. D. 77 (2008) 023527, arXiv:0710.1812 (hep-th)

- I. Laszlo and R. Bean, "Nonlinear growth in modified gravity theories of dark energy", Phys. Rev. D. 77 (2008) 024048 arXiv:0709.0307 (astro- ph).


- P. Zhang, M. Liguori, R. Bean, S. Dodelson, "A discriminating probe of
gravity at cosmological scales", Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 141302 (2007), arxiv:0704.1932 (astro-ph).

- R. Bean, S. E. Shandera, H. R. H. Tye, J. Xu, "Comparing Brane Inflation to WMAP", JCAP 05 (2007) 004, arxiv: hep-th/0702107.

- R. Bean, A. Melchiorri, J. Silk, "Cosmological constraints in the presence of ionizing and resonance radiation at recombination", Phys. Rev. D 75 (2007) 063505, arxiv: Astro-ph/0701224.

- R. Bean, D. Bernat, L. Pogosian, A. Silvestri, M. Trodden, "Dynamics of linear perturbations in f(R) gravity", Phys. Rev. D 75 (2007) 064020, arxiv: astro-ph/0611321.

- R. Bean, J. Dunkley, E. Pierpaoli, "Constraining isocurvature initial
conditions with WMAP three-year data", Phys. Rev. D 74, (2006) 063503 , arxiv: astro-ph/0606685.

- D. N. Spergel, R. Bean, O. Dore, M. R. Nolta, et al. (WMAP collaboration) "Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Three Year Results: Implications for Cosmology", Astrophys.J.Suppl. 170:377, 2007, arxiv:astro-ph/0603449.