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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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.
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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 […]
[Read More]Search for teaching laboratory technicians
Laboratory Technician II (UCP 4) Department of Physics College of Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Connecticut The Department of Physics seeks 2 dynamic and energetic applicants to join its teaching laboratory team. The Department is undergoing a deep renovation of teaching pedagogy in large-scale learning labs with full support of the University. The successful […]
[Read More]Postdoctoral Research Associate: Galactic Center, Star Formation, ISM, numerical or observational
University of Connecticut, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Physics Department Postdoctoral Research Associate: Galactic Center, Star Formation, ISM, numerical or observational Job Summary: Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join Prof. Cara Battersby’s research group in the Astrophysics Program at the University of Connecticut. The successful candidate will work closely with the group […]
[Read More]Postdoctoral Research Associate: Galaxy Formation and Evolution
University of Connecticut College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Physics Department Postdoctoral Research Associate: Galaxy Formation and Evolution Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research position in extragalactic astronomy at the University of Connecticut in collaboration with Professor Kate Whitaker. The successful candidate will focus on the analysis, interpretation and modeling of space-based multi-wavelength data […]
[Read More]Tenure-track faculty position in Astrophysics at UConn/CCA
University of Connecticut College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Physics Assistant Professor in Astrophysics The Department of Physics at the University of Connecticut invites applications for a tenure-track position in Astrophysics at the rank of Assistant Professor with an anticipated start date of August 23, 2019. This is an open search with a […]
[Read More]Open Search: Faculty position (APIR)
University of Connecticut College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Physics Assistant Professor In-Residence (Storrs Campus) The Department of Physics at the University of Connecticut invites applications for positions at the rank of Assistant Professor in Residence with an anticipated start date of August 23, 2019. Two positions will be filled at the UConn […]
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Physics Nobel prize 2018
The Physics Nobel prize in 2018 was awarded to Gérard Mourou (École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay), Arthur Ashkin (Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies), and Donna Strickland (University of Waterloo) for ground-breaking inventions in the field of laser physics.
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Workshop ‘Dynamic Quantum Matter’ organized by UConn faculty
Dynamic Quantum Matter, Entangled orders and Quantum Criticality Workshop, June 18- June 19, 2018, sponsored by UConn, NSF, Nordita, Villum Center for Dirac Materials, Institute for Materials Science. The conference focused on entangled and non-equilibrium orders in quantum materials.
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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. -
Prof. Stephen Pate, New Mexico State University, "Exploring the Axial Structure of the Nucleon", Physics Colloquium (Professor Stephen Pate, NMSU)3:30pm
3/8
Prof. Stephen Pate, New Mexico State University, "Exploring the Axial Structure of the Nucleon", Physics Colloquium (Professor Stephen Pate, NMSU)
Friday, March 8th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Prof. Stephen Pate,
New Mexico State University
Exploring the Axial Structure of the Nucleon
Modern electron-scattering facilities, such as CEBAF at Jefferson Lab and MAMI at Mainz, have made possible a deep exploration of the electric and magnetic distributions in the nucleon, via measurement of the so-called "vector form factors" accessible via elastic electron scattering experiments. Our knowledge of the "axial form factor", on the other hand, has lagged behind because this sector, related to angular momentum, is suppressed in electron scattering and is more easily explored in elastic and quasi-elastic neutrino scattering. Of particular interest is the isolation of the strange quark contribution to the nucleon axial form factor, as this is related to the strange quark contribution to the nucleon spin, a quantity which has so far resisted a definitive determination. The MicroBooNE experiment at Fermilab is uniquely suited to explore the axial form factor through both neutral-current and charge-current neutrino interactions. I'll present an overview of the general MicroBooNE physics program and an in-depth look at our current status with respect to the axial form factor determination. -
Prof. Robin Cote, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "AMO Theory at UConn: Ultracold Physics", Graduate Student Seminar12:15pm
3/8
Prof. Robin Cote, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, "AMO Theory at UConn: Ultracold Physics", Graduate Student Seminar
Friday, March 8th, 2019
12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Storrs Campus P121
Prof. Robin Cote, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut
AMO Theory at UConn: Ultracold Physics
Whenever a new window of parameters open up in Science, new discoveries follow. Examples range from ultrafast physics with atto-second lasers probing the time scale of electrons' motion, or the Kepler space telescope which allows the discovery of thousands of exo-planets. Another such new regime arises from ultracold temperatures, where the slow motion of particles allow to probe new behaviors, such as Bose-Einstein condensation of atoms or molecules, degenerate Fermi gases, and much more. In this presentation, I will introduce what ultracold AMO physics is, and describe the current research in my group on ultracold Rydberg physics and ultracold chemistry, and their applications to quantum information science and astrophysics. -
Prof. Zohreh Davoudi, University of Maryland., "Towards analog and digital quantum simulations of strongly-interacting dynamics", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar2:00pm
3/4
Prof. Zohreh Davoudi, University of Maryland., "Towards analog and digital quantum simulations of strongly-interacting dynamics", Particle, Astrophysics, and Nuclear Physics Seminar
Monday, March 4th, 2019
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West (Physics Building), P121
Prof. Zohreh Davoudi, University of Maryland.
Towards analog and digital quantum simulations of strongly-interacting dynamics
According to Feynman, quantum computers will be the most suitable platforms to simulate nature. Although as of today, quantum computers with capability and reliability comparable or beyond those of classical computers do not exist, rapid progress in quantum technologies, and a vast growth in interest and resources in quantum information sciences, promise a future in which quantum computation may play an important role in addressing computationally-challenging problems in all areas of sciences and technology. Nuclear and high-energy physics are among the areas in which high-performance computing has been applied successfully to address a range of problems arising from the strong-interactions dynamics. However, our current approach has severe limitations when it comes to investigations of finite-density systems or real-time dynamics. It is believed that a quantum computational approach to such problems is superior to classical approaches, but it remains an open question how to reformulate problems accordingly to harness the quantum advantage on
near-term and future devices. This talk will report on some of the progress made in addressing this question in simple strongly-interacting models, with a focus on an ongoing work at the University of Maryland that leverages on the existing quantum hardware, in particular the ion-trap quantum simulator and quantum computer. -
Prof. Philip Mannheim, University of Connecticut, "Title: Is dark matter fact or fantasy -- clues from the data", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Philip Mannheim)3:30pm
3/1
Prof. Philip Mannheim, University of Connecticut, "Title: Is dark matter fact or fantasy -- clues from the data", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Philip Mannheim)
Friday, March 1st, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Prof. Philip Mannheim, University of Connecticut
Title: Is dark matter fact or fantasy -- clues from the data
Abstract: We discuss the arguments both in favor of and against dark matter. With the repeated failure of experiment to detect dark matter we discuss what could be done instead, and to this end look for clues in the data themselves. We identify a contribution to galactic rotation curves coming from the rest of the visible Universe, and suggest that dark matter is just an attempt to describe this global effect in terms of standard Newtonian gravity within galaxies. -
Dr. Vladimir Juricic, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, "Interacting spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 nodal fermions: Quantum criticality and transport", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar2:30pm
3/1
Dr. Vladimir Juricic, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, "Interacting spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 nodal fermions: Quantum criticality and transport", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Friday, March 1st, 2019
02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW121
Dr. Vladimir Juricic,
Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics
Interacting spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 nodal fermions: Quantum criticality and transport
Theoretical proposals and experimental realizations of the condensed matter systems, such as topological insulators, Weyl and Dirac semimetals, displaying emergent pseudorelativistic nodal quasiparticles, have triggered a surge of activity in understanding their stability against interactions and disorder. This also motivated exploration of their universal responses, such as optical conductivity.
I will first discuss the quantum critical theory of an interacting nodal Fermi liquid of quasirelativistic pseudospin-3/2 fermions featuring a noninteracting birefringent spectrum with two distinct Fermi velocities [1]. As I will show using perturbative field-theoretical renormalization group analysis, when such quasiparticles interact via either the long-range Coulomb interaction or its short range component (responsible for spontaneous symmetry breaking), in the quantum critical regime, in two dimensions, the system is, respectively, described by a marginal Fermi liquid (featuring interaction-driven log-corrections to observables) or a non-Fermi liquid of relativistic spin-1/2 fermions, and is always a marginal Fermi liquid in three dimensions. I will also discuss our conjecture that critical spin-1/2 excitations represent a superuniversal description of the entire family of interacting quasirelativistic fermions.
In the second part of the talk, I will consider the quantum transport close to a relativistic quantum critical point, separating two-dimensional massless Dirac fermions from a fully gapped insulator or superconductor. In particular, I will consider the scaling of optical conductivity in the (high-frequency) collisionless regime (ω ≫ T) [2]. Close to such a critical point, gapless fermionic and bosonic excitations are strongly coupled, which inside the critical regime leads to a universal suppression of the interband optical conductivity as well as of the Drude peak. These results are obtained by performing the leading order 1/Nf- and ϵ-expansions, where Nf counts the fermion flavor number and ϵ is the distance from the upper-critical three spatial dimensions in the problem.
[1] B. Roy, M. P. Kennett, K. Yang & V. J., PRL 121, 157602 (2018).
[2] B. Roy & V. J., PRL 121, 137601 (2018). -
Prof. Michael Lubell, CCNY, "Navigating the Maze. How Science and Technology Policy Shape America and the World", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Michael Lubell, CCNY)3:30pm
2/22
Prof. Michael Lubell, CCNY, "Navigating the Maze. How Science and Technology Policy Shape America and the World", Physics Colloquium (Prof. Michael Lubell, CCNY)
Friday, February 22nd, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus GW-38
Prof. Michael Lubell, CCNY
Navigating the Maze. How Science and Technology Policy Shape America and the World -
Dr. Elisa Chisari, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, "Cosmology with weak gravitational lensing: challenges and opportunities", Astronomy Seminar12:30pm
2/22
Dr. Elisa Chisari, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, "Cosmology with weak gravitational lensing: challenges and opportunities", Astronomy Seminar
Friday, February 22nd, 2019
12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Storrs Campus Gant West 103B
Dr. Elisa Chisari,
Department of Physics,
University of Oxford
Cosmology with weak gravitational lensing: challenges and opportunities
68% of the energy density of the Universe today is in the form of a mysterious "dark energy" component which seems to be driving its accelerated expansion. To elucidate the nature of this component, and to assess whether it is compatible with General Relativity, a next generation of experiments is at our doorstep. These experiments use weak distortions of galaxy shapes ("gravitational lensing") as one of their main probes, and will soon reach an unprecedented high-precision regime. In such regime, accurate modeling of the large-scale structure of the Universe becomes crucial to realize the goal of obtaining unbiased constraints on the cosmological model. I will describe efforts to build and test models of the large-scale structure using a combination of analytical theory, cosmological simulations and existing observational data sets. In particular, I will demonstrate that the incidence of galaxy formation on our interpretation of gravitational lensing observables is significant. Effects such as the impact of Active Galactic Nuclei feedback on the distribution of matter, or tidal correlations between the shapes of galaxies, are starting to play a role in our efforts to constrain cosmology. At the same time, I will show that these effects can also open up new windows into the Universe. Looking ahead to the next decade, I will describe the construction of a robust software pipeline for cosmological model predictions for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. -
Alexey Onufriev, Departments of Computer Science and Physics, Virginia Tech, "The nucleosome: from structure to function through physics", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar3:30pm
2/19
Alexey Onufriev, Departments of Computer Science and Physics, Virginia Tech, "The nucleosome: from structure to function through physics", Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
Tuesday, February 19th, 2019
03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Storrs Campus BPB131
Alexey Onufriev, Departments of Computer Science and Physics, Virginia Tech
The nucleosome: from structure to function through physics
The nucleosome, a complex of 147 base-pairs of DNA with eight histone proteins, must protect its DNA, but, at the same time, allow on-demand access to it when needed by the cell. The exact mechanism of the control remain unclear.
We consider a series of physics-based models of the nucleosome, from the highly coarse-grained cylinders model, to fully atomistic, to multi-state atomistic.
One key conclusion is that at physiological conditions the nucleosome complex is close to the phase boundary separating it from the "unwrapped" states where the DNA is more accessible. A small drop in the positive charge (e.g. through acetylation of a lysine) of the globular histone core can significantly lower the DNA affinity to the core, and thus increase DNA accessibility. The findings suggest that charge-altering post-translational modifications in the histone core might be utilized by the cell to modulate accessibility to its DNA at the nucleosome level.
The multi-state atomistic model explores virtually all possible charge-altering post translational modifications (PTMs) in the globular histone core. The model reveals a rich and nuanced picture: the effect of PTMs varies greatly depending on location, including counter-intuitive trends such as decrease of DNA accessibility for some lysine acetylations in the core. A detailed connection to transcription regulation in-vivo is made.