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Kev Abazajian

@abazajian.net
981 followers 458 following 354 posts

Father, husband, particle astrophysicist, Professor of Physics & Astronomy. In public service through the City of Irvine Sustainability Commission as well as the Democratic Party. Views are my own. repost ≠ endorsement physics.uci.edu/~kevork

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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 9h
Dark matter may not be as simple as we thought. Our new JWST paper, led by Daniel Gilman, uses 29 quasars, each split into four images by a galaxy's gravity, to hunt for invisible dark matter clumps. They look too dense for standard cold dark matter. 🧵 arxiv.org/abs/2609.35974 ⚛️ 🔭 🧪
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 29/09/2026
1/ Can the shape of the Galactic Center gamma-ray excess tell dark matter from old stars? Yes. A recent PRL found them alike in sims, but squared the projected mass instead of integrating ρ². Corrected, annihilation is more centrally concentrated. arxiv.org/abs/2609.34155 ⚛️ 🔭 🧪 #highenergyastro
Grid of 30 simulated gamma-ray sky maps of the Milky Way's central region, 6 rows by 5 columns, each spanning about ±15° in longitude and latitude. Each row is a different simulated Milky Way–like galaxy. Colors run from blue (faint) to red (bright), with three contour lines per map.

Columns 1–3 follow the method of the earlier paper: dark matter mass projection, old-star mass projection, and the squared dark matter mass ("quadratic DM"). Columns 4–5 show the corrected calculations: old-star emission and dark matter annihilation.

Columns 1 and 3 have identically shaped contours in every row. In columns 2 and 4, the old-star emission forms wide, flattened ovals, strongly elongated in the barred galaxy of the third row. In column 5, the correctly computed dark matter annihilation is a compact, rounder bright spot that is much more concentrated toward the center than the stellar emission in every galaxy.

Small tables in each panel list contour levels and axis ratios.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 18/08/2026
I highly recommend this speech by Doctorow from 3 months ago. It captures so much of what’s wrong in our digital age and politics. Solutions he proposes include getting involved in local politics and joining or forming a union. youtu.be/eknUpRKbFjs?...
youtu.be
Cory Doctorow – The “Enshittification” of Everything
YouTube video by Bioneers
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Darth Putin @darthputinkgb.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
OTD in 1940, USSR formally annexed Estonia. Soviets troops had been "invited in" (in accordance with absolutely nothing to do with our treaty with Nazis) & then held "elections" where 99%+ voted to join USSR. None of this should sound familiar to you.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 02/08/2026
Congresswoman Maxine Waters moved the room to support Proposition 40 in the reconsideration motion! — California Democratic Party supports Proposition 40! #YesOn40 #cadem
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Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
When a bank that profited hugely from being a part of your IPO and has 1% of its assets in your company says anything other than “it’s going to the moon” that spells trouble
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NPR @npr.org · 18/07/2026
The revelations came out in a federal court case brought by Democratic states challenging ICE's access to Medicaid data to aid in deportation efforts. n.pr/4f9OdMn
n.pr
ICE shared Medicaid data it wasn't supposed to have with Palantir
The revelations came out in a federal court case brought by Democratic states challenging ICE's access to Medicaid data to aid in deportation efforts.
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American Physical Society @apsphysics.aps.org · 11/07/2026
Nobel laureate John Mather is one of thousands opposing a proposed federal rule that could affect science grant funding. "Peer review protects the public from attempts to corrupt," he writes. Read more comments in #APSNews, then submit your own comment by July 13: go.aps.org/3RtXoy8
John Mather, a smiling older man with gray hair and glasses, sits at a conference table using a laptop. Beside him is a colorful spherical model of the cosmic microwave background, along with a stainless steel water bottle. The meeting room has windows, office chairs, and a whiteboard in the background.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 13/07/2026
🌌 Huge congratulations to my former PhD student Dr. Helena García Escudero, winner of the 2026 SEA Thesis Prize in Astronomy & Astrophysics! Her UCI dissertation tackled neutrinos & the Hubble tension. Now a postdoc at USC. So richly deserved! 🚀 🔭 ⚛️ www.sea-astronomia.es/noticias/hel...
sea-astronomia.es
Helena García Escudero, Premio SEA Tesis en la modalidad Astronomía y Astrofísica 2026 | Sociedad española de astronomía
La Sociedad Española de Astronomía ha anunciado la resolución de los Premios SEA Tesis 2026, que reconocen las tesis doctorales de mayor impacto presente y futuro defendidas durante el año 2025 en las...
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Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Watch: "Follow-up on Mainau Declaration 2024: The Threat of Nuclear War" KITP Permanent Member and UC Santa Barbara Chancellor's Chair in Theoretical Physics, David J. Gross joins a panel for the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org/recordings/4...
mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org
Follow-up on Mainau Declaration 2024: The Threat of Nuclear War - Lectures | Lindau Mediatheque
David J. Gross, W. E. Moerner, Brian P. Schmidt
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 04/07/2026
Before Citizens United, billionaires were under 1% of federal campaign money. By 2024: 16.5%. Representation moved right; voters didn't. This Fourth of July, my case that overturning it is the single biggest fix for American democracy: open.substack.com/pub/drkev/p/... #IndependenceDay #July4th
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 23/06/2026
More terrible news for science in the US: NSF slashing physical sciences funding by 30% and halting all pending awards — www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪 🔭 ⚛️
science.org
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 22/06/2026
It’s been years of work and what feels like years of work in just the past couple of months to put on the largest and most important international conference in neutrino physics, with 600+ attendees. #neutrino2026 ⚛️ 🧪 🔭
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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
AOC: This is what I want people to understand: this is our money. When you pay your taxes, that money is being stolen to pay for a vanity project like a ballroom or whatever it is that this guy wants to do, instead of what it should be used for…
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 03/06/2026
Wildly enough, Bonta as a barometer of how red the early results are between now and the 2022 primary shows it’s only 0.24% overly red now in OC, and only 1% red statewide. Maybe other things are different this year.
2026 OC AG preliminary results 2022 OC AG results 2026 CA AG preliminary results 2022 CA AG results
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 02/06/2026
Chris Murphy to Markwayne Mullin: "Every single day this agency is violating the Constitution and the law. This cannot continue. For Congress to approve of this budget, you must assure us that this Sherman's March of illegality ends. The worry is the opposite is about to happen."
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 02/06/2026
Full house to hear this year’s Reines Lecture by Nobel Laureate Adam Riess, who discovered the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. The Reines Lecture series is hosted by UCI Physics & Astronomy and the UCI School of Physical Sciences #UCIrvine 🧪 ⚛️ 🔭 @ucirvine.bsky.social
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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
An effective push back against GOP culture war tactics? Seems to me it should be.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 22/05/2026
A vote for Xavier Becerra is a vote to destroy our planet. open.substack.com/pub/drkev/p/...
open.substack.com
A Vote for Becerra Is a Vote to Destroy Our Planet
I study the Universe.
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Katie Porter @katieporterca.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
California needs an educated workforce to thrive. Free college tuition isn't a handout--it's smart policy to invest in the future of our state. As Governor, I'll build on the existing California College Promise to make your last two years at a UC or CSU school tuition-free. (1/2)
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 22/05/2026
“On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war.” www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
theatlantic.com
Trump’s Endgame Is Surrender
He seems to hope to slip away without Americans noticing the magnitude of this defeat.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 17/05/2026
Public Health Experts Point to Trump Aid Cuts as WHO Declares Emergency Over Ebola Outbreak in DRC, Uganda 🦠🧪 www.commondreams.org/news/ebola-d...
commondreams.org
Public Health Experts Point to Trump Aid Cuts as WHO Declares Emergency Over Ebola Outbreak in DRC, Uganda | Common Dreams
The WHO declares Ebola outbreak in DRC and Uganda a global emergency, raising concerns of a larger, undetected spread. Trump's cuts to global health funding may have hindered early detection. Are lives at risk due to lack of preparedness? International cooperation is crucial now. #EbolaOutbreak
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 13/05/2026
This KQED town hall with Katie is a must see for everyone in California. Completely defines why KP is the very best candidate for Governor! www.youtube.com/watch?v=igIM...
youtube.com
Katie Porter's Plans To Lower Costs And Regulate Silicon Valley | Town Hall
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 13/05/2026
Xavier Becerra, currently the leading Democrat in the crowded California governor’s race, remains little known to many voters. A new clip of him trying to steer a reporter’s interview went viral, drawing widespread criticism — not exactly the broader introduction he was hoping for.
nyti.ms
As Becerra Rises in Polls, He Draws Fire for Trying to Direct Interview
“This is not a ‘gotcha’ piece, right?” the leading Democratic candidate for California governor asked a television reporter before an interview.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 08/05/2026
Fabio Pacucci (CfA) presents his group’s detailed model of the little red dots discovered by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope at the week’s UC Irvine Department of Physics & Astronomy Colloquium #astronomy 🔭
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Aaron Black @aaronblack.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Someone asked a bunch of kids what the first thing was that cane to mind when they thought about Trump. Their answers are priceless. Check out the video.
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Darth Putin @darthputinkgb.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The further Putinisation of America. Wars are not called wars.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 06/05/2026
COLBERT: How dumb do you think it is for people to say that I should run for president? OBAMA: Well, you know, the bar has changed. I think you would perform significantly better than some folks we've seen. COLBERT: Is that an endorsement? OBAMA: It was not
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Chris Hanlon @chrishanlon.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Meet “ASU Atomic,” a subscription platform that claims to offer customized learning modules for fee-paying users. None of the ASU faculty whose course materials were harvested for the module I generated were aware that their image, lectures, lessons, or other teaching materials are being used.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 05/05/2026
"Theater of the absurd." Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, on the Mayor's 10th attempt in three years to pull Irvine out of OCPA. New on Substack: what happened when I wrote a climate report defending OCPA, got removed from the Commission & what the council did next: open.substack.com/pub/drkev/p/...
open.substack.com
Theater of the Absurd
A Week in Irvine Climate Politics
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Katie Porter @katieporterca.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
I’m in the market for good ideas, and eliminating state income tax for Californians making under $100,000 is a good idea. I sat down with @jonlovett.bsky.social to talk about my plans to lower costs and put thousands of dollar back in California families’ pockets.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 05/05/2026
May the 4th post: a public introduction to Hilbert space, quantum field theory, and the idea that 3D space itself may emerge from quantum entanglement. The Force as it actually is: written for everyone who never got to take Physics 113A. Link: open.substack.com/pub/drkev/p/... #physics 🔭⚛️
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
If we went along with this abomination, they’d just cut taxes on rich people even more and keep increasing the debt and keep asking more from everyday Americans. We’ve seen this movie a thousand times, it always ends the same way.
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Katie Porter @katieporterca.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Sorry Tom, I'm calling BS. I've never taken a dime from corporate PACs, I've never been for sale to special interests, and I've spent my whole campaign talking about how we can build new housing and get costs down.
x.com
Tom Steyer on X: "Why am I the only candidate with a detailed plan to build a million new homes that Californians can afford? Because corporate developers are backing my opponents to control the housing supply." / X
Why am I the only candidate with a detailed plan to build a million new homes that Californians can afford? Because corporate developers are backing my opponents to control the housing supply.
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Katie Porter @katieporterca.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Poppy sniffs out corruption. I hold them accountable. Check out our new TV ad, and chip in to help more voters see it: secure.actblue.com/donate/socia...
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 26/04/2026
[Evolving dark energy] would be a “huge discovery that would overturn the standard model of cosmology,” noted Kev Abazajian, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Irvine gizmodo.com/largest-3d-m... #cosmology #particlephysics 🔭⚛️
gizmodo.com
Largest 3D Map of the Universe Is Adding Serious Fuel to the Cosmology Crisis
The conclusion of DESI's first survey marks an important milestone for cosmology, which finds itself in a bind for the best reasons.
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Rep. Dave Min @congressmin.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Philosopher Santayana once said, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. We honor the more than 1 million Armenians who were murdered in the Armenian Genocide not only by mourning their loss, but by remembering the horrific historic lessons of that massacre. My full statement:
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 22/04/2026
For Earth Day, as a member of Irvine's Sustainability Commission & UCI physics professor, I'm releasing my #EarthDay #climate report + an Irvine Watchdog op-ed addressing the misinformation shaping our city's climate policy. Op-Ed: irvinewatchdog.org/city-hall/op...
irvinewatchdog.org
Opinion: An Earth Day Report for Irvine, and a Response to the Climate Misinformation Circulating at City Hall - Irvine Watchdog
City of Irvine
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 20/04/2026
“President's Trump's disdain for the rules is endangering world order in many ways… we may find ourselves in a nuclear-armed crowd." thebulletin.org/2026/04/taki...
thebulletin.org
Taking a sledgehammer to the nuclear nonproliferation regime - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
While going to war over Iran’s uranium enrichment program, President Trump has given both South Korea and Saudi Arabia his blessing to acquire uranium-enrichment and spent-fuel-reprocessing programs, undermining the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 18/04/2026
This is what I mean that though Congress’ budget appropriations are very important, we are still seeing the destruction of American science by the executive by illegal actions. Report ➡️ democrats-science.house.gov/staff-report... 🧪 ⚛️ 🔭
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Igor Sushko @igorsushko.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
💥 Russia: Ukrainian housewife kitchen drones imposed kinetic sanctions on Novokuybyshevsk Oil Refinery in Samara region, 1,100km from Ukraine. 174,000 bpd output. Today, the Trump administration quietly removed paper sanctions on Russian oil at the end of Friday business day.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 16/04/2026
Federal administration proposes to halt of these astrophysics and particle astrophysics space missions: COSI Fermi Chandra LISA contribution ULTRASAT contribution Athena contribution NICER Euclid contribution XRISM contribution UVEX 🔭🧪⚛️ #astrophysics
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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Donald Trump’s America Is Deeply Unwell, and It’s Time to Say So As Trump reveals his unfitness in stark new ways, a political theorist argues that our election of this man to the presidency twice should prompt deep introspection about what we’ve become.
newrepublic.com
Donald Trump’s America Is Deeply Unwell, and It’s Time to Say So
As Trump reveals his unfitness in stark new ways, a political theorist argues that our election of this man to the presidency twice should prompt deep introspection about what we’ve become.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 13/04/2026
An excellent analysis by Alan Elrod on the state of American democracy: www.liberalcurrents.com/after-a-dark...
liberalcurrents.com
After a Dark Week, Americans Should Turn to Jimmy Carter’s Malaise Speech
Carter was panned at the time, and long after, but has been vindicated.
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Kev Abazajian @abazajian.net · 13/04/2026
“in an administration which respects no norms, mushroom clouds may be acceptable.” — Pervez Hoodbhoy, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists thebulletin.org/2026/04/will...
thebulletin.org
Will Trump nuke Iran?
When President Trump, echoing Gen. Curtis LeMay’s 1965 threat toward North Vietnam, threatened to “obliterate” Iran and bomb it “back into the Stone Age, he wasn't just posturing. He was signaling tha...
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steveehrstein.bsky.social @steveehrstein.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Idiocracy.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12/04/2026
here's Trump entering a UFC event as Vance says that negotiations with Iran have failed
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Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and their MAGA cult can tell themselves whatever lies they want about “victory” against Iran, but make no mistake: The United States suffered a decisive and devastating defeat in an illegal war that was doomed from the get-go. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
open.substack.com
A Strategic Defeat of Historic Proportions
No amount of self-delusion can change that
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@Boom-WhatsGoingOn.bsky.social @boom-whatsgoingon.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Cartoon view of a dangerous & colossal failure by this regime…
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