Condensed Matter & Biological Physics Seminar: Jakub Kołacz (Naval Research Laboratory)

Bloomberg 462

TITLE: Liquid Crystals as Cores and Claddings ABSTRACT: Liquid crystals (LCs) refer to structured mesophases that retain the ability to flow while exhibiting broken symmetries. One simple LC is the nematic phase (NLC), which is comprised of rod-shaped molecules that co-orient with a D∞h symmetry. Their anisotropic properties can be modeled locally using a prolate […]

Condensed Matter & Biological Physics Seminar: Alan Tennant (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

Bloomberg 462

TITLE: Is an information viewpoint useful in condensed matter experiment? ABSTRACT: Some of the most significant developments in science concern information, from artificial intelligence to quantum computation and communications. In this regard there has long been a close connection between statistical mechanics and information theory. An interesting question then is whether we can use new […]

High energy physics theory seminar: Bob Holdom

Bloomberg 462

TITLE: Ghosts on the way to a QFT for gravity ABSTRACT: Ghosts have been a stumbling block in the development of a UV complete quantum field theory for gravity. We discuss how difficulties associated with ghosts are overcome in the context of 0+1d QFT. Obtaining a probability interpretation is the key issue, and for this […]

Condensed Matter & Biological Physics Seminar: Debanjan Chowdhury (Cornell University)

Bloomberg 462

Title: The unreasonable effectiveness of optical sum-rules in quantum many-body physics   Abstract: Inspired by the discovery of a variety of correlated insulators in the moire universe, controlled by interactions projected to a set of isolated bands with a narrow bandwidth, we examine here a variety of partial optical sum-rules restricted to low-energies. Unlike standard […]

High energy physics theory seminar: Alexander J. Millar

Bloomberg 462

TITLE: Revisiting the axion-electron coupling  ABSTRACT: In the presence of axion dark matter, fermion spins experience an “axion wind” torque and an “axioelectric” force. We investigate new experimental probes of these effects and find that magnetized analogs of multilayer dielectric haloscopes can explore orders of magnitude of new parameter space for the axion-electron coupling. We also […]

Condensed Matter & Biological Physics Seminar: Gregory S. Boebinger (Florida State University)

Bloomberg 462

TITLE: Exploring Weird Quasiparticles at the Heart of Quantum Matter (often using Extreme Magnetic Fields) ABSTRACT:  Materials science has provided technologies to advance humanity through the millenia. In the wide range of modern materials grouped under the heading of “Quantum Matter”, electron charges and electron spins conspire in weird and collective ways to create new […]

Condensed Matter & Biological Physics Seminar: Zhen Bi (Penn State University)

Bloomberg 462

TITLE: Quantum Many-Body Topology in Mixed States ABSTRACT: The classification of gapped quantum phases in pure states has seen significant progress over the past decades, particularly with the identification of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases. While much has been understood about these phases in ideal, isolated systems at zero temperature, their behavior under non-ideal conditions—such as […]