UConn seismometer detects Puerto Rico event
The Geophysics research group (Prof. Vernon Cormier and students) operate a seismic wave station that continuously monitors vibrations in the earth’s crust, many of which arise from seismic events that happen far away. These waves travel through the deep earth, and eventually make their way to the surface where they are detected. The above […]
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Professor Donna Strickland , Katzenstein Distinguished Lecturer, March 13, 2020
The University of Connecticut, Department of Physics, is proud to announce that on March 13, 2020, Professor Donna Strickland of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo will be presenting the 2020 Distinguished Katzenstein Lecture. Prof. Strickland is one of the recipients of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing […]
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Insight from APS: Careers in Physics
What is a Bachelors of Science degree in Physics good for? What kinds of jobs are available to graduates who complete a 4-year degree in physics, but decide not to pursue an advanced degree? How does a physics degree stack up against other STEM fields in terms of employment options in today’s highly competitive job […]
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Ron Mallett Featured on NBC Connecticut
Could traveling into the past be part of our future? Quite possibly, says Ron Mallett, a UConn emeritus professor of physics who has studied the concept of time travel for decades. Earlier this month, he spoke with NBC Connecticut reporter Kevin Nathan about his life and work as a theoretical physicist, and discussed how time […]
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UConn Today: A New Phase for the Gant Science Complex
The UConn Today published an article highlighting the state of 10-year renovation of the Gant Science Complex. The Complex was first constructed between 1974 and 1978 and was home to the departments of mathematics and physics for several decades. The renovation to this 285,00 square-foot campus landmark is part of Next Generation Connecticut, the initiative […]
[Read More]Upcoming events
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Feb
19
Condensed Matter Physics Seminar2:00pm
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Feb
21
Charles Reynolds Distinguished Lecture (Prof. Peter Abbamonte, U. of Illinois)3:30pm
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Mar
6
Physics Colloquium (Dr. Ali Kaya)3:30pm
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Mar
10
Condensed Matter Physics Seminar2:00pm
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Mar
13
24th Annual Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture4:00pm
24th Annual Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture
Friday, March 13th, 2020
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Storrs Campus Student Union Theater
Presented by the UConn Physics Department, the Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture series continues this spring. This year's program features Professor Donna Strickland of the University of Waterloo, 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Physics for co-inventing chirped pulse amplification, a technique for creating high-intensity ultrashort optical pulses. More information about Professor Strickland can be found: https://physics.uconn.edu/2019/12/04/professor-donna-strickland-katzenstein-distinguished-lecturer-march-13-2020/
Recent Events
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Dr. I. Zaliznyak, Brookhaven National Laboratory, "Entropic elasticity and negative thermal expansion in crystalline solids", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar2:00pm
2/18
Dr. I. Zaliznyak, Brookhaven National Laboratory, "Entropic elasticity and negative thermal expansion in crystalline solids", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Tuesday, February 18th, 2020
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GS 119
Dr. I. Zaliznyak, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Entropic elasticity and negative thermal expansion in crystalline solids
While most solids expand when heated, some materials show the opposite behavior: negative thermal expansion (NTE). NTE is common in polymers and biomolecules, where it stems from the entropic elasticity of an ideal, freely-jointed chain. The origin of NTE in solids had been widely believed to be different, with phonon anharmonicity and specific lattice vibrations that preserve geometry of the coordination polyhedra -- rigid unit motions (RUMs) -- as leading contenders for explaining NTE. Our neutron scattering study of a simple cubic NTE material, ScF3, overturns this consensus [1]. We observe that the correlation in the positions of the neighboring fluorine atoms rapidly fades on warming, indicating an uncorrelated thermal motion, which is only constrained by the rigid Sc-F bonds. These experimental findings lead us to a quantitative, quasi-harmonic theory of NTE in terms of entropic elasticity of a Coulomb floppy network crystal, which is applicable to a broad range of open framework solids featuring floppy network architecture [2]. Our theory is in remarkable agreement with experimental results in ScF3, accurately describing NTE, phonon frequencies, entropic compressibility, and structural phase transition governed by entropic stabilization of criticality. We thus find that NTE in a family of insulating ceramics stems from the same simple and intuitive physics of entropic elasticity of an under-constrained floppy network that has long been appreciated in soft matter and polymer science, but broadly missed by the "hard" condensed matter community.
Our results reveal the formidable universality of the NTE phenomenon across soft and hard matter [1,2].
[1] D. Wendt, et al., Sci. Adv. 5: eaay2748. (2019).
[2] A. V. Tkachenko, I. A. Zaliznyak. arXiv:1908.11643 (2019). -
Dr. Andrey Sadofyev, Los Alamos National Laboratory, "Spin polarization of gauge bosons in rotating plasma", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
2/17
Dr. Andrey Sadofyev, Los Alamos National Laboratory, "Spin polarization of gauge bosons in rotating plasma", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, February 17th, 2020
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GS-413E
Dr. Andrey Sadofyev, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Spin polarization of gauge bosons in rotating plasma
I will show that the chiral vortical effect (CVE) known to take place for massless fermions in a rotating system can be, in fact, generalized to particles of arbitrary spin. These effects are particularly interesting since they describe the polarization of quarks, gluons, and photons in rotating QGP produced in heavy-ion collisions. For gauge bosons the local polarization current is not gauge invariant making it harder to use this object on practice. This issue can be resolved if one focuses on a class of gauge-invariant but non-canonical polarization currents of gauge bosons known as zilches. I will further show that CVE for gauge bosons has a counterpart in the general zilch current - zilch vortical effect (ZVE) and discuss how ZVE arises in a simple theoretical setup. -
Prof. G. Dunne, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Scientific Communication: Preparing a Talk, a Proposal, or a Paper", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
2/14
Prof. G. Dunne, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Scientific Communication: Preparing a Talk, a Proposal, or a Paper", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, February 14th, 2020
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. G. Dunne, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Scientific Communication: Preparing a Talk, a Proposal, or a Paper
An important part of the work of a scientist is to communicate clearly the results of their work, in a way that can be understood by the appropriate audience: scientific, political or general. In this talk I discuss some tips for preparing a paper, a seminar or a proposal, and encourage you to think carefully about this aspect of your work. The good news is that with a little dedicated effort it is a sure way to stand out from the pack and have your work recognized. -
Prof. Lorenzo Sorbo, Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Particle production during inflation: a case study", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
2/10
Prof. Lorenzo Sorbo, Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Particle production during inflation: a case study", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, February 10th, 2020
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GS-413E
Prof. Lorenzo Sorbo, Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Particle production during inflation: a case study
In this talk I will quickly review primordial inflation. After arguing that axion-like inflatons are especially well motivated, I will discuss how a derivative coupling of a pseudoscalar inflaton to vector and to fermions fields can amplify significantly the mode functions of those degrees of freedom which, in their turn, can lead to a very rich phenomenology. -
Prof. Reynold E. Silber, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, "Transport properties of liquid transition metals at extreme conditions: a lesson from metallic glasses with the forbidden symmetry", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Reynold Silber)3:30pm
2/7
Prof. Reynold E. Silber, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, "Transport properties of liquid transition metals at extreme conditions: a lesson from metallic glasses with the forbidden symmetry", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Reynold Silber)
Friday, February 7th, 2020
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus BPB-131
Prof. Reynold E. Silber, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University
Transport properties of liquid transition metals at extreme conditions: a lesson from metallic glasses with the forbidden symmetry
The Earth's core is a giant heat engine that supports the existence of life on our planet by providing heat to drive mantle convection, plate tectonics and volcanism. The convection of a liquid iron (Fe) alloy in the outer core generates the Earth's magnetic field. However, transport properties of liquid Fe-alloys (e.g., electrical, thermal and viscous transport properties) at extreme core conditions are some of the least constrained parameters. The high pressure experimental measurements of the transport properties are extremely challenging and a general theoretical understanding of the structures of liquid transition metals is still incomplete. Recent successful electrical resistivity measurements of liquid Fe, Ni and Fe-Si alloy at pressures up to 24 GPa show the invariant electrical resistivity along the melting boundaries. It was demonstrated that the Icosahedral Short Range Order (ISRO) structures in liquid transition metals and alloys strongly modulate transport properties at extreme conditions. Supporting evidence for the presence of the ISRO in the Earth's and other terrestrial outer cores comes from the recently discovered quasi-crystalline phases in natural metallic glasses with the forbidden symmetry, previously considered impossible to exist in nature. However, the existence of forbidden fivefold symmetry is not possible without super-cooling of metallic glass forming liquids that contain ISRO structures. Thus, metallic glasses represent one of the convergence points between planetary science and materials science. Here, I first discuss a new paradigm imposed by the ISRO structures on the transport properties of the outer cores of terrestrial planetary bodies. The discussion is then extended toward the important role ISROs play in formation of metallic glasses with exotic properties. Furthermore, I examine the potential application of high pressures toward manufacturing of metallic glasses with customizable concentration of structures with ISRO or any other forbidden symmetry. Considering the important role of metallic glasses in the high tech industry, this research has significant cross-disciplinary implications. -
Prof. I. Sochnikov, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Quantum sensing and imaging of materials", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
1/31
Prof. I. Sochnikov, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Quantum sensing and imaging of materials", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, January 31st, 2020
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. I. Sochnikov, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Quantum sensing and imaging of materials
I will describe our recent discoveries of fascinating emergent phenomena in several quantum materials, including high temperature and low temperature superconductors. I will provide details of our state-of-the-art experimental systems with a focus on quantum sensing and mesoscopic imaging.
Additionally, I will present my view of what a successful doctorate in experimental physics includes, as well as, what you might expect from our Ph.D. program and how to be successful in it. -
Prof. Dale Kocevski, Colby College, "Connecting Black Hole Growth and Galaxy Evolution Across Cosmic Time", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Dale Kocevski)3:30pm
1/24
Prof. Dale Kocevski, Colby College, "Connecting Black Hole Growth and Galaxy Evolution Across Cosmic Time", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Dale Kocevski)
Friday, January 24th, 2020
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus BPB 131
Prof. Dale Kocevski, Colby College
Connecting Black Hole Growth and Galaxy Evolution Across Cosmic Time
Supermassive black holes, and the active galactic nuclei (AGN) that they power, are thought to play an integral role in the evolution of galaxies by acting to regulate, and eventually suppress, the star formation activity of their host galaxies. I will discuss recent efforts to test this proposed connection by studying the demographics of galaxies experiencing active black hole growth. In particular, I will highlight results obtained using infrared imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope, which has allowed us to study galaxies back when the Universe was a quarter of its current age. It is during this era of cosmic history that black hole growth and star formation activity in the Universe are at their peak. I will discuss what Hubble has revealed about the mechanisms that fuel AGN activity at this epoch and the connection between black hole growth and the emergence of the first generation of passive galaxies in the Universe. I will also discuss future work planned with Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, which will soon allow us to view the first galaxies and black holes to form after the Big Bang.
Cookies will be served prior to the talk, at 3:00 p.m. outside BPB-131 -
Prof. R. Jones, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Resolving a Mystery in QCD with High Energy Photons", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
1/24
Prof. R. Jones, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Resolving a Mystery in QCD with High Energy Photons", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, January 24th, 2020
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. R. Jones, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Resolving a Mystery in QCD with High Energy Photons
Almost immediately after QCD was recognized as the correct theory of the strong force, it was realized that in addition to the stable nuclear particles (known hadrons) that had already been seen, other entire families of unstable nuclear particles should also exist, which decay into the known hadrons. These new particles, collectively known as "exotic hadrons", include glueballs, hybrids, tetraquarks, and pentaquarks. Experimental searches for exotics for the past 40 years have mostly turned up empty, until recently. I will describe recent results from the LHC that give convincing evidence of tetraquarks, and a new experiment recently begun at Jefferson Lab to search for hybrids.