Past Events

Abstract: Rubble pile asteroids are thought to form in the aftermath of cataclysmic collisions between proto-planets. The details of how the detritus from such collisions reaccumulate to form these bodies are not well understood, yet can play a fundamental role in the subsequent evolution of these bodies in the solar system. Simple items such as how particle sizes and porosity is distributed within a body can have a significant influence on how they subsequently evolve.

Abstract: The efficiencies of devices utilizing semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are predominantly regulated by nonradiative processes. One key process in this regard is hot exciton cooling, wherein a highly excited electron-hole pair undergoes nonradiative relaxation to give rise to a band-edge exciton. The timescale and mechanism of this cooling process are not comprehensively understood.

Abstract: Over the last twenty years, physicists have learned to manipulate individual quantum objects: atoms, ions, molecules, quantum circuits, electronic spins... It is now possible to build "atom by atom" a synthetic quantum matter. By controlling the interactions between atoms, one can study the properties of these elementary many-body systems: quantum magnetism, transport of excitations, superconductivity...

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Seeing small things takes bright lights and great optics. But you still have to see something. This talk will discuss detectors for electron and X-ray microscopies: how they work, what are they challenges, and where are the opportunities. The competition is intense: the human eye has ~108 ‘pixels’ and a dynamic range of ~104 (and has a direct connection to a built-in neural processor). No camera today can match these specs (although we are getting close).

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In this seminar talk, the speaker will begin with a brief overview of how quantum computation has led to an exciting new set of features for designing generative models, emphasizing that these features should be utilized with intention to help researchers obtain a better understanding of how quantum is useful and for what specific learning tasks.

Abstract: Imagine a world where communication doesn't depend on words, but on flashes of light, scents, and movement. In the extraordinary world of insects, this is a daily reality. This talk will take you on a journey into the secret lives of fireflies and bees, exploring how they convey information through visual and chemical signals. Drawing on concepts from physics, mathematics, and computer science, we will uncover the universal rules that insects obey to make their communication efficient and effective.

The modern perspective on the classification of phases of matter is given in terms of circuit complexity: two many-body quantum states belong to the same phase of matter if and only if they can be related by a finite-d

Abstract: Gauge theories form the foundation of modern physics, with applications ranging from early-universe cosmology and heavy-ion collisions to condensed matter systems. However, simulating the real-time dynamics of such quantum many-body systems on classical computers is fraught with difficulties, motivating the pursuit of alternative venues. I will present recent experiments where we employ a large-scale Bose-Hubbard quantum simulator to emulate a U(1) lattice gauge theory, which couples charged matter fields through dynamical gauge fields.

Abstract: Our current understanding of planet formation is informed by ongoing observations of circumstellar disks around young stars.   The improving spatial resolution of these observations has revealed a variety of structures in these dusty gas disks, including gaps, spiral waves, warps, and lopsided distributions of dust particles.  These observations are restricted to a single viewing geometry from Earth and by limited spatial resolution.  Analogous structures are observed in Saturn’s rings with a mul