JILA Auditorium
Optical Tweezers: Light and Life, Studied One Molecule at a Time
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Abstract: Prominent among biophysical techniques is the optical trap, for which Arthur Ashkin (Bell Labs) received a Nobel Prize in 2018. Among the successes of optical traps have been direct measurements of the steps taken by biological motor proteins, such as kinesin, and by nucleic-acid enzymes, such as RNA polymerase. Optical traps facilitate studies of replication, transcription, and translation at the single-molecule level. They’ve been especially useful in mapping the free-energy landscapes of folding by small, structured RNAs.
Fault-tolerant fermionic quantum simulation with fermionic atoms
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Experiments with fermionic atoms in optical lattices have led to breakthroughs in understanding fundamental condensed-matter phenomena. However, elevating such experiments from a tool of scientific exploration to a computational tool capable of quantitatively predicting molecule and material properties requires overcoming decoherence with fault-tolerance techniques. Existing approaches encode qubits into atoms, losing one of the fundamental advantages of cold-atoms: their fermionic nature.
Oceanic turbulence regimes and their impact on the climate system
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Abstract: The ocean absorbs most of the heat and about a quarter of the carbon emissions caused by human activities. These anthropogenic perturbations significantly influence the ocean circulation, with direct and critical implications for the climate system. The ocean circulation is characterized by diverse turbulence regimes that span a vast range of spatial and temporal scales.
Decoding the Dialogue Between Clouds and Land through Boundary-Layer Turbulence
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Abstract: The planetary boundary layer (PBL), the lowest part of the atmosphere, plays a key role in regulating interactions between the land surface, clouds, and atmospheric turbulence. These interactions drive the exchange of energy, moisture, and aerosols, shaping both weather and climate. However, turbulence within the PBL adds complexity to these processes, making them challenging to understand and predict.
The Role of Clouds in Earth’s Changing Climate
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Abstract: How much will Earth warm in response to increasing carbon dioxide emissions? Climate projections are highly uncertain yet have important societal implications. Climate models are the most effective tools for making climate projections, however, their ability to reliably project climate has been hindered primarily by challenges in representing clouds in Earth’s atmosphere. Cold clouds composed of supercooled liquid droplets and ice crystals are particularly challenging to represent in climate models due to the large number of complex micro-s