Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell – 2019 Katzenstein Lecturer
The UConn Physics Department is delighted to announce that our 2019 Distinguished Katzenstein Lecturer will be Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The lecture will take place on Friday November 8. Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell (pictured at left) is world famous for her discovery of pulsars in 1967. Pulsars are a special type of neutron […]
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Breaking Up is Hard To Do (for Electrons in High Temperature Superconductors)
Physicists used to think that superconductivity – electricity flowing without resistance or loss – was an all or nothing phenomenon. But new evidence suggests that it’s not so clear cut, at least in copper oxide superconductors. “If we understood why copper oxide is a superconductor at such high temperatures, we might be able to synthesize a better one”, says UConn physicist Ilya Sochnikov. Sochnikov and his colleagues at Rice University, Brookhaven National Lab and Yale recently figured out part of that puzzle, and they report their results in the latest issue of Nature.
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Daniel McCarron wins NSF Early Career Award
Daniel McCarron, assistant professor of physics, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will receive $645,000 over five years for his work on the development of techniques to trap large groups of molecules and cool them to temperatures near absolute zero. The possible control of molecules at this low temperature provides access to new research applications, such as quantum computers that can leverage the laws of quantum mechanics to outperform classical computers.
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Meet the Researcher: Carlos Trallero
When Carlos Trallero started his academic career in physics, he had no idea he would become a pioneer in a field of research that uses high-power lasers to investigate atomic and molecular physical phenomena. Originally from Cuba, where there isn’t much funding for experimental research, Trallero began his academic career by studying theoretical physics. But as a senior graduate student at Stony Brook University, he got the chance to work in a lab doing experimental work and quickly recognized it was his true passion.
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International Summer School “Strong interactions beyond simple factorization”
May 27-June 5 UConn Physics Department hosted an international summer school Strong interactions beyond simple factorization: collectivity at high energy from initial to final state. The school was supported by an NSF grant to Prof. Kovner and was devoted to modern approaches to the physics of high energy hadronic and heavy ion collisions.
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Amelia Henkel, Graduating President of the Undergraduate Women in Physics Club, speaks about her time at UConn
Amelia Henkel, graduating Double Major in Physics and Human Rights, and President of the Undergraduate Women in Physics Club, speaks on the CLAS website about her passion for physics and human rights, and how she mastered challenges in her remarkably interdisciplinary curriculum. “We really need to interact with other disciplines,” says Amelia, “because that’s […]
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2019 Pollack Lecture
On April 11th and 12 of 2019 Prof. Paul Corkum of the Joint Attosecond Laboratory (University of Ottawa and the National Research Council of Canada) visited the department. Prof. Corkum’s main area of research is on the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with matter broadly defined. His most notable contribution is perhaps the discovery of […]
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Astronomers Assemble View of Evolving Universe
The University of Connecticut’s Katherine Whitaker is part of a team of astronomers who have put together the largest and most comprehensive “history book” of the universe from 16 years’ worth of observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.This image, a mosaic of nearly 7,500 separate Hubble exposures, presents a wide portrait of the distant universe and contains roughly 265,000 galaxies that stretch back through 13.3 billion years to just 500 million years after the Big Bang.
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UConn Physics Professor elected to AAAS
UConn physics professor Nora Berrah has been elected to the historic and prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This year, more than 200 individuals were elected to the academy with compelling achievements in academia, business, government, and public affairs. Berrah, who was head of the physics department from 2014 to 2018, has been recognized […]
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UConn Astronomers React to First Photo of a Black Hole
This image is the first ever taken of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project. The black center is a direct view of the event horizon of a supermassive black hole with a mass of 6.5 billion times the Sun, lying at the center of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. The bright ring is emission from hot gas just above the event horizon, with an asymmetric shape caused by gravitational lensing of light in the strong gravity of the black hole. The EHT collaboration captured the image using a network of 8 radio telescopes that spanned the Earth.
[Read More]Charles Reynolds Lecture 2018: Prof Andrew Millis
The 2018 Reynolds lecture speaker was Prof Andrew Millis, a Professor of Physics at Columbia University and a co-Director of Center for Computational Quantum Physics at the Flatiron Institute. Dr. Millis’s research focus is theoretical condensed matter physics. He is the leading authority in theory of correlated materials, application of new theoretical ideas to actual […]
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2 for the price of 1: UConn researcher finds new mechanism making double ionization an efficient process
An international research team headed by Dr. Aaron LaForge from the research group of Prof. Nora Berrah in the Physics department at UConn has recently discovered a new type of decay mechanism leading to highly efficient double ionization in weakly-bound systems. The team has published its results in the science journal “Nature Physics”. Ionization is […]
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Kate Whitaker wins the Sloan Fellowship!
Original UConn Today article here Rising Star in Astrophysics Receives Sloan Foundation Fellowship February 19, 2019 – Jessica McBride – Office of the Vice President for Research Kate Whitaker, assistant professor of physics, stands next to a telescope inside the observatory on top of the Gant Complex on Feb. 14, 2019. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo) As […]
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Goodwin School 3rd grade visits the Physics Learning Labs
About one mile from the Gant plaza, Goodwin Elementary School teaches some really bright kids. On January 15, 2019, science teacher Nancy Titchen and Goodwin teachers brought the entire 3rd grade class on a field trip to the Physics Learning Labs mock-up studio for some science fun. Students enjoyed a liquid nitrogen show, witnessed quantum […]
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Nora Berrah Named 2018 AAAS Fellow
Physics professor Nora Berrah has been named a 2018 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Prof. Berrah has been recognized for her distinguished contributions to the field of molecular dynamics, particularly for pioneering non-linear science using x-ray lasers and spectroscopy using synchrotron light sources. View full story on CLAS website.
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Hands-On Approach to Physics
Step into a fall 2018 class section of PHYS 1602: Fundamentals of Physics II, and you’ll find a scene that’s far from the large introductory science lectures common on most college campuses. Anna Regan ’21 (CLAS) utilizes a whiteboard to try out solutions during her group’s problem-solving tutorial. (Bri Diaz/UConn Photo) To start, the class […]
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Faculty Profile: UConn Astrophysicist Cara Battersby
A young Cara Battersby once scrawled out the phrase “Science is curious” in a school project about what she wanted to do when she grew up.
This simple phrase still captures Battersby’s outlook on her research about our universe.
Recently shortlisted for the 2018 Nature Research Inspiring Science Award, Battersby has been working on several projects aimed at unfolding some of the most compelling mysteries of galaxies near and far.
“I’m really interested in how stars are born,” Battersby says. “They’re the source of all life on Earth.”
Battersby is leading an international team of over 20 scientists to map the center of the Milky Way Galaxy using the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, in a large survey called CMZoom. She was recently awarded a National Science Foundation grant to follow-up on this survey and create a 3D computer modeled map of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
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Welcoming Barrett Wells as new department head
In August 2018, Professor Barrett Wells entered as the new head of the Physics department, following Professor Nora Berrah. Barrett is an experimental condensed matter physicists with a robust research program involved in both synthesis and advanced experimentation around novel phases of quantum materials. Barrett brings to the department strong administrative talent, having served […]
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UConn Physics major wins national recognition for research
Connor Occhialini – Finalist 2018 LeRoy Apker Undergraduate Achievements Award by Jason Hancock One of our star undergraduates, Connor Occhialini, has won national recognition as a finalist in the 2018 LeRoy Apker Undergraduate Achievements Award competition for his research in the UConn Physics department. The honor and distinction is awarded not only for the excellent […]
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Professor Rainer Weiss: Katzenstein Distinguished Lecture
The Katzenstein Distinguished Lectures series continued in the 2018 academic year with its twenty second Nobel Laureate lecturer, with an October 26, 2018 lecture by Professor Rainer Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The title of Professor Weiss’ talk was “Exploration of the Universe with Gravitational Waves”, with abstract: The observations of gravitational waves […]
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Prof. P. Mannheim, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Quantum mechanics off the beaten track", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
9/13
All Events »Prof. P. Mannheim, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Quantum mechanics off the beaten track", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, September 13th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. P. Mannheim, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Quantum mechanics off the beaten track
We discuss some non-conventional options for quantum theory. We show that
it is not always possible to write the momentum operator as the familiar derivative operator \(-id/dx\) where x is real, and discuss what one should then do. We show that basis states do not need to be normalizable to be complete, and even if normalizable do not have to obey the standard Dirac
completeness relation \(\sum |n>
Prof. B. Spivak, Department of Physics, University of Washington, " Anomalous metals", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar2:00pm
9/10
Prof. B. Spivak, Department of Physics, University of Washington, " Anomalous metals", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Tuesday, September 10th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. B. Spivak, Department of Physics, University of Washington
Anomalous metals
The observation of metallic ground states in a variety of two-dimensional electronic systems poses a fundamental challenge for the theory of electron fluids. I will analyze evidence for the existence of a regime, which we call the "anomalous metal regime," in diverse 2D superconducting systems driven through a quantum superconductor to metal transition by tuning physical parameters such as the magnetic field, the gate voltage in the case of systems with a MOSFET geometry, or the degree of disorder. The principal phenomenological observation is that in the anomalous metal, as a function of decreasing temperature, the resistivity first drops as if the system were approaching a superconducting ground state, but then saturates at low temperatures to a value that can be orders of magnitude smaller than the Drude value. The anomalous metal also shows a giant positive magneto-resistance. This behavior is observed in a broad range of parameters. I will exhibit, by theoretical solution of a model of superconducting grains embedded in a metallic matrix, that as a matter of principle such anomalous metallic behavior can occur in the neighborhood of a quantum superconductor-metal transition. However, I will also argue that the robustness and ubiquitous nature of the observed phenomena are difficult to reconcile with any existing theoretical treatment and speculate about the character of a more fundamental theoretical framework. Prof. N. Berrah, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Towards Making Molecular Movies", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
9/6
Prof. N. Berrah, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Towards Making Molecular Movies", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, September 6th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. N. Berrah, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Towards Making Molecular Movies
In the past decade, improved laser technology from the Infrared to the X-ray regime has allowed scientists to advance the frontiers of time-resolved ultrafast science. Table-top ultrafast lasers as well as Free Electron Lasers (FELs) science have been identified as one of the highest priority for funding agencies.
We have pursued photo-induced molecular dynamics research with complementary table-top as
well as XUV and X-ray FELs with the ultimate goal of making molecular movies. These movies
follow the electronic and nuclear dynamics induced by the absorption of photons by molecules that occur because of the coupling between the electronic and nuclear motion in the molecules. This coupling first leads to attosecond electron excitation within the molecules, followed by nuclear motion in the femtosecond range, eventually resulting in the formation and breaking of chemical bonds on the picosecond timescale. Research highlights will be presented.
Dr. Molly Gallagher, Department of Physics,University of Connecticut, "Mapping Extragalactic Dense Molecular Gas: Ties to Environment and Star Formation ", Astronomy Seminar2:00pm
9/4
Dr. Molly Gallagher, Department of Physics,University of Connecticut, "Mapping Extragalactic Dense Molecular Gas: Ties to Environment and Star Formation ", Astronomy Seminar
Wednesday, September 4th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Dr. Molly Gallagher, Department of Physics,University of Connecticut
Mapping Extragalactic Dense Molecular Gas: Ties to Environment and Star Formation
Gas density plays an important role in galactic evolution via its connection to star formation. Yet because dense gas is difficult to observe, we are only beginning to explore how interstellar gas density and its relationship to the star formation rate depend on galactic environment. We will explore how gas density, star formation rate, and galactic environment interact on scales ranging from Galactic scale down to the scale of individual molecular clouds. This work relies on new dense gas observations of nearby spiral galaxies from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Prof. V. Kharchenko, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Non-equilibrium Processes in Atomic Science, Astrophysics, and Biology", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
8/30
Prof. V. Kharchenko, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Non-equilibrium Processes in Atomic Science, Astrophysics, and Biology", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, August 30th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Prof. V. Kharchenko, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Non-equilibrium Processes in Atomic Science, Astrophysics, and Biology
Non-equilibrium processes arise in transitions between different steady /equilibrium states. Experimental and theoretical investigations of these processes are most formidable tasks for researches in various scientific disciplines, including quantum mechanics, plasma physics, astrophysics, climate change, and biology. Examples of theoretical analysis of non-equilibrium processes in atomic physics, astrophysics, and biology will be discussed and current research projects will be described.
Dr. Jan M Rost, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany, Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar2:00pm
8/21
Dr. Jan M Rost, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany, Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar
Wednesday, August 21st, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GS-119
Dr. Jan M Rost,
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems,
Dresden, Germany
Sculpting electron dynamics through its environment
Interfacing an electron with a well-controlled environment can generate unusual dynamics, in particular if the electron is easily polarizable. The Rydberg Composite, a highly excited Rydberg electron whose spatial density encompasses many atoms or molecules on sites of a designed spatial lattice is one example. We will show that a 2D Composite with a two-dimensional lattice in form of an atomic monolayer has a particularly reach electron spectrum which features energy bands and exhibits regular as well as chaotic features depending on the ratio of lattice spacing and the wavelength of the Rydberg wave function. Possibilities for experimental realizations in the ultracold will be discussed.
The second part of the talk concerns noisy photo electron spectra as generated, e.g., by short and intense SASE free electron laser pulses. Learning the corresponding electron dynamics with a deep neural network by introducing synthetic Hamilton matrices, we can purify the spectrum as if it would have been created with a normal Gaussian pulse. Perspectives of this novel way to construct ultrafast electron dynamics from given noisy spectra will be discussed. Prof. Keith Horne, University of St. Andrews, "Echo Tomography of Black Hole Accretion Flows in Active Galactic Nuclei", Special Astronomy Seminar2:00pm
7/26
Prof. Keith Horne, University of St. Andrews, "Echo Tomography of Black Hole Accretion Flows in Active Galactic Nuclei", Special Astronomy Seminar
Friday, July 26th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West P121
Prof. Keith Horne,
University of St. Andrews
Echo Tomography of Black Hole Accretion Flows in Active Galactic Nuclei
Echo Tomography uses light travel time delays to resolve micro-arcsecond structure of black hole accretion flows in active galactic nuclei. I will discuss methods used to map the temperature-radius profile of black hole accretion discs, and to construct velocity-delay maps that probe the geometry, kinematics and ionisation structure of the associated broad emission-line regions. In particular, I will present results from the 2014 STORM campaign using HST, Swift, and ground-based telescopes to monitor spectral variations in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548. I will discuss anomalous behaviour observed during the campaign, and present a determination of the inclination and temperature-radius profile of its accretion disc and velocity-delay maps exhibiting evidence for an inclined Keplerian flow extending from 2 to 20 light days. Tilting the inner disc to align with black hole spin may help to address several features we are seeing in the reverberation mapping studies.
Dissertation Defense, Niraj Ghimire- Density Matrix Renormalization Group studies of interacting dipoles in a zigzag chain- Ph. D. defense11:00am
6/26
Dissertation Defense, Niraj Ghimire- Density Matrix Renormalization Group studies of interacting dipoles in a zigzag chain- Ph. D. defense
Wednesday, June 26th, 2019
11:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West Room 103-A
Dissertation Defense
Niraj Ghimire
Physics Department
University of Connecticut
"Density Matrix Renormalization Group studies of interacting dipoles in a zigzag chain"
The goal of my research is to simulate quantum mechanics, which is known to be a very challenging problem even for the most advanced supercomputers of today. The system I have chosen consists of molecular dipoles in a quasi-one-dimensional optical lattice. For the first part of the talk, I will discuss the situation where the dipoles are polarized in the plane of the lattice at half-filling and double occupancy is not allowed on any lattice sites. The dipoles can hop around between sites and the interactions between them can be attractive or repulsive, with the hopping and interaction allowed up to second neighbors. I am particularly interested in the zero-temperature quantum phases induced by geometrical frustration, a situation where not all the interactions are satisfied. By mapping the dipoles in this lattice to a spin-1/2 model and by using the numerical approximation method known as density matrix renormalization group (DMRG), I have studied this system and produced a complex phase diagram.
For the second part of the talk, I will discuss the situation where a dipole is trapped in each lattice site such that the dipole moment vector can be oriented in any direction. The dipoles interact with one another via dipole-dipole potential and also interact with the external field, but they do not hop around between lattice sites. I will talk about some results for this classical model. Then I will explain how I have mapped it to a spin-2 model (which is quantum mechanical) and explain some results obtained using DMRG.
Major Advisor: Dr. Susanne Yelin
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
11:00 AM
Gant Science Complex
GW-103A
Dr. Ryan C. Hickox, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, "Black Holes Near and Far: Environments and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei ", Sigma Pi Sigma Colloquium4:00pm
5/3
Dr. Ryan C. Hickox, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, "Black Holes Near and Far: Environments and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei ", Sigma Pi Sigma Colloquium
Friday, May 3rd, 2019
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Dr. Ryan C. Hickox,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College
Black Holes Near and Far: Environments and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are ubiquitous in the centers of galaxies, and astronomers have now spectacularly obtained the first image of one in the nearby galaxy M87. Yet SMBHs are not just fascinating objects in their own right; they also have a key role to play in the cosmic evolution of their host galaxies and large-scale structures, as they grow and radiate energy in the form of active galactic nuclei (AGN). I will give an overview of recent breakthroughs in our understanding of AGN, exploring the smallest scales around the SMBH to the huge surrounding dark matter halos, and tracing the growth of SMBHs from the early Universe to the present epoch. I will conclude with a look forward at exciting prospects in AGN science with upcoming and proposed future observatories.
Coffee will be served prior to the talk, at 3:00 p.m., In Room GW-103 Dr. Jim Zickefoose, Senior Research Scientist, Mirion Technologies, "Applying a physics degree to positions in industry", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
5/3
Dr. Jim Zickefoose, Senior Research Scientist, Mirion Technologies, "Applying a physics degree to positions in industry", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, May 3rd, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Dr. Jim Zickefoose,
Senior Research Scientist, Mirion Technologies
Applying a physics degree to positions in industry
I received my PhD from the University of Connecticut 9 years ago and since that time have been working in industry as a physicist for Canberra Inc. (now Mirion Technologies). There were a number of skills I gained during my studies as a PhD student that helped me obtain my job in industry as well as progress up the technical ladder. I will briefly discuss my primary PhD research topic, experimental nuclear astrophysics, identifying some of the skills obtained during my research that are vital in industry. Mirion is involved in the detection, quantification, remediation of nuclear radiation on a number of levels, most notable in the development of High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors. I will provide an overview of Mirion's core interests and describe how my current and previous roles there have contributed to those interests. As is true with any sector you will choose to work in, there are benefits and drawbacks to working there. I will discuss a number of aspects that are in my opinion assets of industrial work as well as number of points of frustration that I have found in industry. Finally, I have been involved in the hiring of a number of incoming physicist personnel at Mirion. I will discuss some key points to consider when searching for, applying to, interviewing for, and accepting positions in industry. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar2:15pm
5/2
Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar
Thursday, May 2nd, 2019
02:15 PM - 03:15 PM
Storrs Campus Physics Building, P121
Dr. Ryan Carollo,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bates College
Blowing Bubbles... in Space!
Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) can be used as sensitive probes or tests of delicate physics. However, gravitational sag equivalent to 100 nanokelvin per micron can adversely affect sensitive measurements or delicate potentials. NASA and JPL have solved this problem by installing a BEC machine (the Cold Atom Laboratory - CAL) on the International Space Station. We're using it to blow bubbles - fully-connected, quasi-2-dimensional shells of weakly-trapped condensate - and study them in a shape that can't be achieved on Earth. Astronomy Seminar12:15pm
5/1
Astronomy Seminar
Wednesday, May 1st, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West P121
Dr. Erin Cox, UConn Counseling & Mental Health Services
Career Development Series
In this semester's "Career Development Series" we will have a special session focusing on Mental Health. We will have a presentation from Dr. Erin Cox. Dr. Erin Cox is the Assistant Director/Director of Outreach at UConn's Counseling & Mental Health Services (CMHS). With over nine years in university counseling, she has expertise in supporting students with a wide variety of mental health concerns that can impact academic performance. In this workshop, Dr. Cox will provide tips on managing stress, and an overview of services available at CMHS.
Prof. Gerald Dunne, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Resurgent Extrapolation: Squeezing Non-Perturbative Information from Perturbation Theory", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
4/29
Prof. Gerald Dunne, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Resurgent Extrapolation: Squeezing Non-Perturbative Information from Perturbation Theory", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, April 29th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West (Physics Building), P121
Prof. Gerald Dunne, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Resurgent Extrapolation: Squeezing Non-Perturbative Information from Perturbation Theory
Extrapolation is an important problem in physics: how to use asymptotic data in one parametric regime to learn about the behavior of a physical function in another parametric regime. For example: extending weak coupling expansions to strong coupling, or high temperature expansions to low temperature, or vice versa. I present new methods from "resurgent asymptotics" that dramatically improve standard numerical procedures for performing such an extrapolation: Borel summation, Pad'e approximants and conformal mapping. I illustrate the method with the concrete example of one of the Painlev'e equations, a class of nonlinear equations with many applications in physics. Starting solely with a finite number of asymptotic coefficients, we obtain a high precision extrapolation of the function throughout the complex plane, even across a phase transition. The precision far exceeds that of state-of-the-art numerical integration methods. Prof. Tracy Webb, Department of Physics, McGill University, "The Growth of the Most Massive Galaxies in the Highest Density Regions: Evidence for In-Situ Star Formation in Brightest Cluster Galaxies", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Tracy Webb, McGill)3:30pm
4/26
Prof. Tracy Webb, Department of Physics, McGill University, "The Growth of the Most Massive Galaxies in the Highest Density Regions: Evidence for In-Situ Star Formation in Brightest Cluster Galaxies", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Tracy Webb, McGill)
Friday, April 26th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Prof. Tracy Webb, Department of Physics, McGill University
The Growth of the Most Massive Galaxies in the Highest Density Regions: Evidence for In-Situ Star Formation in Brightest Cluster Galaxies
The most massive galaxies in the local universe reside at the centres of galaxy clusters. These so-called Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs) exhibit, as a class, highly uniform properties and are distinct from the general galaxy population. This suggests formation processes which are themselves distinct from those which dominate in massive galaxies outside of cluster cores. The mass growth of BCGs is likely linked to the overall physics of hierarchical structure formation on galaxy cluster scales, including the fundamental processes of gas cooling, star formation, energy feedback and galaxy mergers, at the centers of giant dark matter halos. In this talk I will present new results from the largest study of high-redshift BCGs conducted to date, drawn from the SpARCS optical/NIR cluster survey. Using archival infrared data we show the star formation rate within BCGs increases to z~2, and can add as much mass to the BCG population as the previous standard model of growth by dry mergers. At low redshifts, and in X-ray/SZ selected clusters, the rare examples of star forming BCGs appear to be fed by large-scale cooling flows. However, the first of the SpARCS systems we have studied in detail, SpARCS1049, has revealed a very different phenomenon -- a train-wreck of a galaxy merger at the center of the cluster. This is the first example of such a process in high-redshift cluster cores and may represent a new phase of BCG evolution, previously unaccounted for.
Coffee and tea will be served prior to the talk, at 3:00 p.m., In Room GW-103 Dr. Drew Chieda, ASML, "Physics Ph.D.'s in Private Sector Careers", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
4/26
Dr. Drew Chieda, ASML, "Physics Ph.D.'s in Private Sector Careers", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, April 26th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Dr. Drew Chieda, ASML
Physics Ph.D.'s in Private Sector Careers
Careers outside academia are a less common choice for Ph.D. physicists. Drew Chieda (Ph.D. 2012) took the less common path and is currently employed by ASML where he provides technical oversight into the development of semiconductor lithography tools.
This talk will be an open discussion forum where Drew will share his experiences and motivations to transition into the private sector. He will review some of what ASML does and why it's interesting work (for him), where some of his friends and former students are employed, how his Ph.D. skills fit into a commercial environment, and some interesting data from the American Institute of Physics.
Please come with questions! Dr. Sarah Wellons, CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University, "Wild and Crazy Kids: Simulating Galaxy Formation in the Early Universe", Astronomy Seminar12:15pm
4/24
Dr. Sarah Wellons, CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University, "Wild and Crazy Kids: Simulating Galaxy Formation in the Early Universe", Astronomy Seminar
Wednesday, April 24th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West P121
Dr. Sarah Wellons,
CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow,
Northwestern University
Wild and Crazy Kids: Simulating Galaxy Formation in the Early Universe
As techniques have improved over the last decade, observations have peered deep into the Universe's history and begun to glimpse galaxies which formed in the first few billion years after the Big Bang. Evidence is mounting that galaxies in the early Universe appear and behave very differently from those nearby - for example, the most massive galaxies are extremely compact, and star-forming disks appear to have strange clumpy morphologies. In this talk, I will discuss galaxy formation at z > 2 from a theoretical perspective, presenting results drawn from both large-volume cosmological simulations (which allow us to compare and predict the statistical properties of galaxy populations) and high-resolution zoom-in simulations (which allow us to drill down on the physics governing individual systems). I will focus in particular on massive compact galaxies, whose varied formation and evolution present a case study on how galaxy populations evolve over time, and on massive disks, which are independently predicted by both simulation approaches to be very rapidly rotating at high redshift. The advents of JWST, LSST, and WFIRST over the next decade will provide us an unprecedented view of this dynamic and exciting time in the Universe's history. I will conclude by discussing future prospects for how high-z galaxy theory and simulation can anticipate and meet the challenges that these new observations will inevitably bring. Prof. Jordy de Vries, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Neutrinoless double beta decay in effective field theory", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
4/22
Prof. Jordy de Vries, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Neutrinoless double beta decay in effective field theory", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, April 22nd, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West (Physics Building), P121
Prof. Jordy de Vries, University of
Massachusetts Amherst
Neutrinoless double beta decay in effective field theory
Next-generation neutrinoless double-beta decay (0nu2beta) experiments aim to discover lepton number violation in order to shed light on the nature of neutrino masses. A non-zero signal would have profound implications by demonstrating the existence of elementary Majorana particles and possibly pointing towards a solution of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. However, the interpretation of the experimental signal (or lack thereof) requires care as complicated hadronic and nuclear input is required to connect the experimental data to a fundamental description of lepton-number violation. In this talk, I use effective field theories to connect 0nu2beta measurements to the fundamental lepton-number-violating source. In particular, I will argue that interpretation in terms of a light Majorana neutrino mass is more complicated than normally considered, and a new leading contributions must be included. Women in Physics Colloquium3:30pm
4/19
Women in Physics Colloquium
Friday, April 19th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Women in Physics Colloquium Prof. George Gibson, High-Intensity Laser Physics Group, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Exploring EXTREME Nonlinear Physics and Quantum Molecular Dynamics with High-Intensity Laser Pulses ", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
4/19
Prof. George Gibson, High-Intensity Laser Physics Group, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Exploring EXTREME Nonlinear Physics and Quantum Molecular Dynamics with High-Intensity Laser Pulses ", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, April 19th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Prof. George Gibson, High-Intensity Laser Physics Group,
Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Exploring EXTREME Nonlinear Physics and Quantum Molecular Dynamics with High-Intensity Laser Pulses
Ultrafast laser systems can now produce ultrashort (attosecond) pulses of light with extremely high intensity (\(10^{22}\) W/cm\(^2\)), as recognized by the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. This has opened up a new world in nonlinear physics and may even test the nonlinear polarizability of the vacuum, itself. More immediate applications may include direct imaging of molecular orbitals and ultrafast atomic scale dynamics. Dr. Yu-Sheng Liu, Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai , "First Principle Calculation of PDFs from LaMET", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
4/15
Dr. Yu-Sheng Liu, Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai , "First Principle Calculation of PDFs from LaMET", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, April 15th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West (Physics Building), P121
Dr. Yu-Sheng Liu, Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai
First Principle Calculation of PDFs from LaMET
Parton distribution functions (PDFs) are important
quantities describing the probability densities of constituents of hadrons and serve as key inputs in high energy experiments. PDFs, with their nonperturbative nature and intrinsic Minkowski time dependence, can only obtain from phenomenological global fits for decades. A breakthrough came with the Large Momentum Effective Theory (LaMET), which allows us to extract PDFs on the lattice. In this talk, I will introduce the framework of LaMET, then give a lattice simulation example to demonstrate how it works.
Edward Pollack Distinguished Lecture , Pollack Distinguished Lecture3:30pm
4/12
Edward Pollack Distinguished Lecture , Pollack Distinguished Lecture
Friday, April 12th, 2019
03:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38 (formerly PB-38)
Edward Pollack Distinguished Lecture
Attosecond Pulses Generated in Gases and Solids
P.B. Corkum
Joint Attosecond Science Lab
University of Ottawa and National Research Council of Canada
Abstract: Attosecond pulses are generated by electron wave packets that are extracted from a quantum system by an intense light pulse and travel through the continuum under the influence of the electric field of the light. Portions of each electron wave packet are forced to re-collide with its parent ion after the field reverses direction. Upon re-collision, the electron and ion can recombine, emitting soft X-ray radiation that can be in the form of attosecond pulses. This highly nonlinear process occurs in atoms, molecules and solids and offers unique measurement opportunities -- for measuring the attosecond pulse itself; the orbital(s) from which it emerged; and the band structure of material in which the wave packets moved.
Bio: Dr. Corkum is a fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada and London; a foreign member of the US, the Austrian and the Russian Academy of Science. In 2013, he was awarded Saudi Arabia's King Faisal Prize for science and Israel's Harvey Prize for physics. In 2014 he was named "Thompson Reuters Citation Laureate for work that is of Nobel class and likely to earn the Nobel someday". In 2018 he received the SPIE Gold medal and the IOP's Newton Medal, both societies' highest awards.
Friday, April 12, 2019
3:30 p.m.
Gant Science Complex
Physics, Room GW-38
Refreshments will be served prior to the talk at 2:30 outside of the lecture hall Prof. Menka Jain, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Interests in Multiferroics and Other Functional Materials", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
4/12
Prof. Menka Jain, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Interests in Multiferroics and Other Functional Materials", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, April 12th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Prof. Menka Jain,
Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Interests in Multiferroics and Other Functional Materials
A multiferroic combines any two or more of the primary ferroic orderings (ferroelectric, ferroeleastic, ferromagnetic) in the same phase, such as the ferroelectric-ferroelastics that form the basis of piezoelectric transducers. The term "magnetoelectric multiferroics" is used for materials that combine ferroelectricity with ferromagnetism or, more loosely, with any kind of magnetism. One of the most appealing aspects of such multiferroics is their so-called magnetoelectric coupling. Even though first experimental observation of magnetoelectric multiferroicity was done in 1960s; today's renaissance of these material was enabled by a combination of theoretical and experimental factors. This includes the availability of modern synthesis techniques--particularly thin-film allowing good control over crystallinity and chemical stoichiometry in samples. In my talk, I will discuss some of the basic properties of ferroics/multiferroics and my group's research work on a few other function and multifunctional materials. Prof. Carlos Trallero, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Your job most likely won't be in academia: Transferring your skills to industry", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
4/5
Prof. Carlos Trallero, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Your job most likely won't be in academia: Transferring your skills to industry", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, April 5th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Prof. Carlos Trallero,
Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Your job most likely won't be in academia: Transferring your skills to industry
Statistically Ph.D. and M.Sc. in physics are more likely to obtain a job in industry. I will present some of examples of very successful transfers to industry jobs and some of the skills that you will gain working in the lab that will help you with the transition. Prof. Ben Heidenreich, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Quantum gravity and the swampland", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
4/1
Prof. Ben Heidenreich, University of Massachusetts Amherst, "Quantum gravity and the swampland", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, April 1st, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West (Physics Building), P121
Prof. Ben Heidenreich, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Quantum gravity and the swampland
I review the "swampland" approach to extracting testable predictions from quantum gravity, with a particular focus on the Weak Gravity Conjecture as a well developed example. Prof. Beth Parks, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Colgate University, "Air Quality Measurements in Uganda ", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Beth Parks, Colgate University)3:30pm
3/29
Prof. Beth Parks, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Colgate University, "Air Quality Measurements in Uganda ", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Beth Parks, Colgate University)
Friday, March 29th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Prof. Beth Parks, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Colgate University
Air Quality Measurements in Uganda
During the 2015-16 academic year, I was a Fulbright scholar at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda, where I initiated a program to monitor PM10 concentrations in three distinct environments: an urban center (Kampala), a small city (Mbarara) and a village location (Rubindi), both in the wet season and the dry season. These measurements are still underway through the PhD project of a Ugandan student I am supervising. These concentrations were measured using co-located gravimetric (filter-based) collectors and real-time optical instruments.
The results show that particulate levels are high in all three locations, with average PM10 levels measured gravimetrically of 157 mg/m3 in Kampala; 124 mg/m3 in Mbarara; and 188 mg/m3 in Rubindi. (WHO guidelines for maximum PM10 levels are 20 mg/m3; US EPA levels are somewhat more lenient.) Ongoing work involves correlating the different measurement techniques, as well as analysing the particulates to determine the sources. Prof. Boris Sinkovic, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Topological Insulators, New Paradigm for Quantum Electronics", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
3/29
Prof. Boris Sinkovic, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "Topological Insulators, New Paradigm for Quantum Electronics", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, March 29th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Prof. Boris Sinkovic,
Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
Topological Insulators, New Paradigm for Quantum Electronics
Recent discovery of topological insulators (TI) and realization that they present new states of matter has generated much excitement in the condensed matter physics community and beyond. TI are insulators in the bulk but their boundaries support gapless spin-chiral state with extraordinary properties and relativistic momentum dispersion. Because of the time reversal symmetry, the electrons at the boundaries cannot back-scattered by non-magnetic impurities and their spin-coherence is preserved over very long distances, which is of great technological interest in spintronics and quantum computing. In particular, magnetic TI are predicted to exhibit opening of the energy gap at the Dirac point and give rise to massive Dirac fermions, leading to the experimental realizations of quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE). On the other hand the superconducting TI are proposed to induce new collective particle, Majorana fermions that have a potential to be a platform for quantum computing. In this talk I will present our group's attempts to induce the magnetism and superconductivity in TI, and the challenges to overcome. The studies combine growth of atomically thin films of TI and momentum resolving spectroscopy of Dirac states by angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) technique, performed at our UCONN lab and at the Brookhaven National Lab. The talk has been rescheduled for April 22, RESCHEDULED: Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
3/18
The talk has been rescheduled for April 22, RESCHEDULED: Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, March 18th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West (Physics Building), P121
The talk has been rescheduled for April 22
Prof. Jordy de Vries, University of
Massachusetts Amherst
Neutrinoless double beta decay in effective field theory
Next-generation neutrinoless double-beta decay (0nu2beta) experiments aim to discover lepton number violation in order to shed light on the nature of neutrino masses. A non-zero signal would have profound implications by demonstrating the existence of elementary Majorana particles and possibly pointing towards a solution of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. However, the interpretation of the experimental signal (or lack thereof) requires care as complicated hadronic and nuclear input is required to connect the experimental data to a fundamental description of lepton-number violation. In this talk, I use effective field theories to connect 0nu2beta measurements to the fundamental lepton-number-violating source. In particular, I will argue that interpretation in terms of a light Majorana neutrino mass is more complicated than normally considered, and a new leading contributions must be included. 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", Charles Reynolds Distinguished Lecture3:30pm
3/15
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", Charles Reynolds Distinguished Lecture
Friday, March 15th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW 38, Physics Building
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 Prof. Alan Wuosmaa, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "The Structure of "Exotic" Nuclei", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
3/15
Prof. Alan Wuosmaa, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "The Structure of "Exotic" Nuclei", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, March 15th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Prof. Alan Wuosmaa, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
The Structure of "Exotic" Nuclei
Atoms you can't dig out of the ground, and why you should care about them.
Nuclear physicists developed a basic understanding of the properties of atomic nuclei many decades ago, and that understanding has evolved to the point where the structure of stable or near-stable nuclei is reasonably well understood through a combination of modeling, theory and experiment. The theories used to explain stable and near-stable radioactive nuclei, however, are not well tested for nuclei that possess a large imbalance in the numbers of protons and neutrons that makes them behave very differently than stable nuclei. Such unstable nuclei are not typically present on Earth, however play a very significant role in violent astrophysical events that are responsible for the formation of many of the elements that are found in nature. I will describe some of the characteristics that make such nuclei "exotic," and present some new experimental methods that are being used to provide data that can help understand the properties of these systems that can be used to guide new, modern theories of nuclear structure. Dr. Adam Summers, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, "Ultrafast, Strong-Field Investigation of Nanosystems", Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar1:30pm
3/14
Dr. Adam Summers, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, "Ultrafast, Strong-Field Investigation of Nanosystems", Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar
Thursday, March 14th, 2019
01:30 PM - 02:30 PM
Storrs Campus Physics Building, P103A
Dr. Adam Summers, Department of Physics, Kansas State University
Ultrafast, Strong-Field Investigation of Nanosystems
Here I present work investigating the evolution of various nanosystems in extremely intense, ultrafast laser pulses. We study the dynamical processes initiated in these nanosystems over five order of magnitude of peak laser intensity, from 10^10 W/cm2 to 10^15 W/cm2. Specific processes include: thermal evolution and damage of nanowires under irradiation of a train of intense pulses, photoelectron reqscattering on the surface of nanoparticles, plasmonic enhancements of photoionization and the ultrafast formation of nanoplasmas from nanoparticles. Multimodal Spectroscopies of Correlated Materials" Dr Ilya Drozdov, Brookhaven National Laboratory , Condensed Matter Physics Seminar2:00pm
3/13
Multimodal Spectroscopies of Correlated Materials" Dr Ilya Drozdov, Brookhaven National Laboratory , Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Wednesday, March 13th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus GW103A
Multimodal Spectroscopies of Correlated Materials"
Dr Ilya Drozdov,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
In this talk Ilya will present the ongoing work, plans and past results on spectroscopy of correlated oxides. Ilya is a part of the BNL team building a unique capability mergin ARPES, local spectroscopy and MBE growth at BNL. The talk will highlight the past work and present new directions. Dr. Catherine Kealhofer, Department of Physics, Williams College, "Generating and controlling ultrafast electron pulses for time-resolved electron diffraction", Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar3:30pm
3/11
Dr. Catherine Kealhofer, Department of Physics, Williams College, "Generating and controlling ultrafast electron pulses for time-resolved electron diffraction", Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar
Monday, March 11th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus Physics Building, P121
Dr. Catherine Kealhofer,
Department of Physics,
Williams College
Generating and controlling ultrafast electron pulses for time-resolved electron diffraction
Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is a powerful technique that lets us measure the positions of atoms in a crystal as they evolve during chemical and physical transformations. These measurements can give insight into how materials work on a microscopic level as well as guide the design of devices that respond on fast timescales. For some time, the best-available time resolution in UED has hovered around 100 fs (1 fs =10-15 s), just shy of the 10 fs resolution required to see the fastest atomic motions. In my talk, I'll explain how ultrafast electron diffraction works and why it's challenging to break the 100-fs resolution barrier. I'll show experimental results on a recent technique that uses terahertz electromagnetic fields to compress electron pulses in time. This technique has the potential to improve the resolution of UED below 100 fs and maybe even below ~1 fs, into the regime of electronic dynamics. The talk will also introduce ultrafast electron sources based on laser-triggered electron emission from nanometrically sharp metal tips. Not only is the physics of ultrafast electron emission in this system very rich, but the extraordinarily small source size in comparison with typical ultrafast flat photocathode sources can dramatically improve the beam quality, leading to smaller probe sizes, higher quality diffraction patterns, and enabling new techniques like ultrafast electron holography.