Dr. Andrew Millis, Center for Computational Quantum Physics, The Flatiron Institute and Department of Physics, Columbia University

Meeting Dirac's Challenge:
From Quantum Entanglement to Materials Theory


About 90 years ago, P. A. M. Dirac established the foundations of many-body quantum mechanics. Summarizing, he wrote ``The underlying physical laws necessary for the mathematical theory of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and the difficulty is only that the exact application of these laws leads to equations much too complicated to be soluble. It therefore becomes desirable that approximate practical methods of applying quantum mechanics should be developed, which can lead to an explanation of the main features of complex atomic systems without too much computation.'' Meeting Dirac's challenge, in other words developing approximate practical methods of determining the properties of interacting many-electron systems, so as to predict e.g. which materials will be novel magnets or high transition temperature superconductors, is one of the grand challenges of modern science. Recent progress has been enabled by remarkable developments in ideas, algorithms and computational power. The interplay between theoretical materials science and research into the fundamental phenomenon of quantum mechanical entanglement, has been crucial to progress in both fields. In this talk I will give an overview of modern quantum many-body theory, outlining the difficulties, describing some recent successes, and presenting a vision for the future.


Friday, March 15, 2019
3:30 p.m.
Gant Science Complex
Physics, Room GW-38

Refreshments will be served prior to the talk at 2:30 in room GW-103

Professor Rainer Weiss, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017 Nobel Prize Winner,
Member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration

Exploration of the Universe with Gravitational Waves

The observations of gravitational waves from the merger of binary black holes and from a binary neutron star coalescence followed by a set of astronomical measurements is an example of investigating the universe by "multi-messenger" astronomy. Gravitational waves will allow us to observe phenomena we already know in new ways as well as to test General Relativity in the limit of strong gravitational interactions -- the dynamics of massive bodies traveling at relativistic speeds in a highly curved space-time. Since the gravitational waves are due to accelerating masses while electromagnetic waves are caused by accelerating charges, it is reasonable to expect new classes of sources to be detected by gravitational waves as well. The lecture will start with some basic concepts of gravitational waves. Briefly describe the instruments and the methods for data analysis that enable the measurement of gravitational wave strains of 10-21 and then present the results of recent runs. The lecture will end with a vision for the future of gravitational wave astrophysics and astronomy.

22nd Annual Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture

Refreshments will be served at 3:00 p.m. outside of GW-38

Professor Takaaki Kajita of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo and 2015 Nobel Prize

Oscillating Neutrinos

Neutrinos have been assumed to have no mass. It was predicted that, if they have masses, they could change their type while they propagate. This phenomena is called neutrino oscillations. Neutrino oscillations was discovered by deep underground neutrino experiments. I will describe the discovery of neutrino oscillations and the implications of the small neutrino masses. The status and the future neutrino oscillation studies will also be described.

21st Annual Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture