JILA Auditorium

A world from a sheet of paper

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Abstract: Starting from just a sheet of paper, by folding, stacking, crumpling, sometimes tearing, we will explore a diversity of phenomena, from magic tricks and geometry to elasticity and the traditional Japanese art of origami. Much of the lecture consists of table-top demonstrations, which you can try later with friends and family.

So, take a sheet of paper . . .

Economic inequality from a statistical physics point of view

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Abstract:  Inequality is an important and seemingly inevitable aspect of the human society. Various manifestations of inequality can be derived from the concept of entropy in statistical physics. In a stylized model of monetary economy, the probability distribution of money among the agents converges to the exponential Boltzmann-Gibbs law due to entropy maximization.

Toward Quantum Imaging of Nuclei

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Abstract: The atomic nucleus emerges from interacting quantum particles called quarks and gluons, but how this happens remains unknown. This might be elucidated with quantum-level "images" of their position, orbital motion, spin alignment, and entanglement. I will describe recent and upcoming experiments at the Thomas Jefferson Laboratory that use a high-intensity, high-energy electron beam to probe a wide range of nuclear targets, from polarized lithium to lead.

Improving the Performance of Superconducting Qubits

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Abstract: Superconducting quantum computers, once scaled up, could solve problems intractable to even the largest classical supercomputers, but better superconducting qubits are needed before this can occur. Superconducting qubit coherence is currently limited both by cryogenic low-power dielectric loss and by large temporal fluctuations due to strongly-coupled defects.