Physics Colloquia Spring 2011

The Large Hadron Collider: Entering a New Era of Fundamental Science

Details: Created: Tuesday, March 29 2011 09:48; Last Updated: Tuesday, March 29 2011 09:51; Written by Carole Kiger; Hits: 5604

Rolf-Dieter Heuer, CERN
April 12, 2011

With the start of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, particle physics is entering a new era. The LHC will open up a new chapter in high-energy physics, providing a deeper understanding of the universe and any of the insights gained could change our view of the world. We expect revolutionary results about the origin of matter, the nature of dark matter and possibly glimpses of extra spatial dimensions. The talk will address the exciting physics prospects offered by the LHC, present first results since the start of data taking on 30th March last year and will have a forward look to particle physics at the energy frontier.

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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.

How symmetric is the electron? Looking for out-of-roundness of 10^-15 Femtometers

Details: Created: Tuesday, March 29 2011 09:48; Last Updated: Monday, April 04 2011 10:22; Written by Carole Kiger; Hits: 12784

Eric Cornell, NIST
April 5, 2011

The electron's electric dipole moment (eEDM) will be sensitive to particle physics beyond the standard model. We make use of the extreme electric fields found within a molecular bond to pursue an experiment to set a new limit on eEDM at a level that should severely constrain supersymmetric models.

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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.

Our Changing View of the TeV Sky

Details: Created: Tuesday, March 29 2011 09:48; Last Updated: Friday, April 15 2011 16:37; Written by Carole Kiger; Hits: 4191

Jordan Goodman, University of Maryland
April 26, 2011

The advent of ground-based atmospheric and water Cherenkov gamma-ray detectors, as well as, the Compton and Fermi satellites has revolutionized our view of the TeV sky. Twenty years ago there was only one known TeV gamma-ray source, the Crab. Today there are well over 100 detected sources - steady and variable, point-like and diffuse. We have also made great strides studying Gamma Ray Bursts, the most energetic processes in the Universe. Most recently, we have even discovered that charged TeV cosmic rays have unexpected anisotropies in their arrival directions suggesting the existence of local cosmic ray sources. The next generation detectors, CTA, HAWC and, IceCube will undoubtedly give us a better understanding of these exciting phenomena and almost certainly reveal more surprises. In this talk, I will review some of these results and show results from the Milagro gamma ray observatory. In addition, I describe our next generation HAWC observatory currently under construction at high-altitude in Mexico.

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory

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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.

Cosmological Structure Formation and the Interpretation of Dark Matter Experiments

Details: Created: Tuesday, March 29 2011 09:48; Last Updated: Wednesday, April 13 2011 08:48; Written by Carole Kiger; Hits: 3645

Savvas Koushiappas, Brown University
April 19, 2011

Cosmological structure formation gives rise to a distribution of dark matter that is set by the complex process of hierarchical assembly. Dark matter experiments are inextricably linked to the details of this cosmological structure formation. I will discuss how structure formation influences the interpretation of dark matter experiments by focusing on small-scale structure and its effects in direct, indirect and energetic neutrino experiments.

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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.

Chemical Patterns in Time and Space

Details: Created: Tuesday, March 29 2011 09:48; Last Updated: Monday, May 02 2011 12:00; Written by Carole Kiger; Hits: 3151

Kenneth Showalter, West Virginia University
May 10, 2011

Chemical waves are propagating concentration disturbances, typically with constant velocities and constant concentration profiles, which arise from the coupling of autocatalytic reaction with molecular diffusion. Wave propagation is influenced by medium inhomogeneities and can be supported by imposed noise. Wave behavior can be controlled by imposing feedback-regulated excitability gradients to guide propagation in specified directions. We also describe dynamical quorum sensing and synchronization in populations of chemical oscillators.

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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.