Past Events
Turbulent Origins of the Sun's Hot Corona and the Solar Wind
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Abstract: The solar corona is the hot and ionized outer atmosphere of the Sun. It traces out the complex solar magnetic field and expands into interplanetary space as the supersonic solar wind. In 1958, Eugene Parker theorized that the presence of a million-degree corona necessarily requires the outward acceleration of a wind. However, despite many years of exploration of both phenomena, we still do not have a complete understanding of the processes that heat the coronal plasma to its bizarrely high temperatures.
Recent progress towards a solid-state nuclear clock with Thorium-229
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Abstract:
Among all known isotopes, Thorium-229 has the lowest nuclear excited
state, only 8.4 eV above the ground state. This so-called "isomer" is
accessible to VUV laser excitation and has been proposed as a robust
clock transition for future frequency standards. The talk will present
most recent progress on measuring the exact nuclear excitation energy
and the isomer lifetime in a solid-state environment.
TBA
When
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Data-informed discovery of earth-abundant semiconductors for solar hydrogen generation
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Abstract: Solar hydrogen generation is pivotal to diversifying the global energy supply away from fossil fuels in the transportation sector and across major industries, including ammonia synthesis, process metallurgy, and hydrocarbon production [1,2].
Exact insights into driven-dissipative quantum systems using hidden time-reversal symmetries
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Abstract: Quantum systems subject to both driving and dissipation are ubiquitous in many fields, and often have com
Studying exoplanet atmospheres in the era of JWST
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Abstract: The recent launch of JWST is revolutionizing our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres by providing observations at an unprecedented level of detail. In this talk, I will discuss two methods for studying the atmospheres of exoplanets with JWST. First, I will discuss the potential for spectroscopic eclipse mapping with JWST. Spectroscopic eclipse mapping is the only observational technique which allows for simultaneous resolution of the atmosphere in three spatial dimensions: latitude, longitude, and altitude.
Exciting 1D gases
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Abstract: 1D gases with point contact interactions are special because they are integrable many-body systems, which means that they have many extra conserved quantities, beyond the usual few (energy, momentum, etc.). I will explain how we make bundles of 1D Bose gases in the lab, the various ways we excite them out of equilibrium, and how we use them as model systems for studying quantum dynamics.
TBA
When
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Frequency combs as the route to the spectroscopic trifecta: high time resolution, high frequency resolution, and high sensitivity
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Abstract: Many consequential chemical processes take place on ultrafast timescales, including molecular vibrations and bond breaking. Measurements that follow ultrafast molecular dynamics in real time are changing our understanding of these processes. We are designing new tools to study ultrafast molecular dynamics and quantum mechanics with the sensitivity enough to study the molecules in molecular beams and the spectral resolution sufficient for vibrational and rotational resolution.
Industrial Applications of Ultrafast Lasers II: Illustrative Examples
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As a follow-up to Seminar I, I will discuss specific examples of fs UPS and photovoltage experiments on industrially relevant materials and stacks. Aside from single crystal Si wafers, virtually all materials found in MOS devices, photovoltaics, oxides, organic films (OLEDs, resists) and phase change materials, are polycrystalline or amorphous. Angle integrated UPS provides high count rates that increase sensitivity useful for identifying defect state densities in materials.
A Matter of Mystery
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Abstract: Neutrinos are enigmatic particles. Their properties are rather basic and yet so bizarre and surprising that at times we hardly believe them. We barely notice their presence, and yet they are everywhere and are essential to things as glaring as the sun’s energy production. The minuscule but non-zero mass of a neutrino, nearly a million times smaller than the electron (the next lightest particle), has enormous consequences for our understanding of these particles and their role in shaping the universe.
Search for New Physics with Electron Dipole Moments
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A major goal of modern particle physics is to search for phenomena that are in conflict with our best theoretical understanding of nature, the Standard Model (SM). One approach in the search occurs at the laboratory scale where the SM’s most precise predictions are tested by the most precise measurements of fundamental particles. Deviations at this high-precision frontier would inform the search for Beyond the SM (BSM) physics.