Events on Thursday, November 30th, 2017
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- From Cat State to Entangled Cat State – Experimental Realization in Circuit QED
- Time: 10:00 am
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Chen Wang, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- Abstract: Quantum superpositions of distinct coherent states in a single-mode harmonic oscillator have been known as the (Schrödinger) cat states, drawing analogy between the quasi-classical nature of a coherent state to the state of a macroscopic entity. Creation and control of such cat states have been a hallmark of the modern quantum control era and lay the foundation for an interesting class of oscillator-based quantum information processing scheme. Here we take one step further and present experimental demonstration of entangled cat state of electromagnetic fields in two microwave cavities bridged by a superconducting artificial atom. We present full quantum state tomography of this two-mode cat state over a Hilbert space exceeding 100 dimensions via quantum non-demolition measurements of the joint photon number parity. The ability to manipulate such multi-cavity quantum states paves the way for logical operations between redundantly encoded qubits for fault-tolerant quantum computation and communication.
- Host: Vavilov
- Phenomenology Seminar
- Higgs and superparticle mass predictions from the string theory landscape
- Time: 3:30 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Howie Baer, University of Oklahoma
- Abstract: Assuming a fertile patch of the string theory landscape leading to a low energy effective
theory consisting of the MSSM+hidden sector N=1, d=4 supergravity, we derive probability distributions for Higgs and sparticle masses.
These predictions explain why there seems to be a m(weak)-m(susy) Little hierarchy and why so far no SUSY signal has been seen at LHC. They also provide guidance for future accelerator and dark matter searches.
Finally, they contradict the common misconception that string theory is not predictive. - Host: Vernon Barger
- Astronomy Colloquium
- Studying the Role of Magnetic Fields in Star Formation from the Stratosphere
- Time: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 4421 Sterling Hall, Coffee and Cookies at 3:30 PM, Talk Begins 3:45 PM
- Speaker: Laura Fissel, NRAO
- Abstract: Whether magnetic fields influence the formation and evolution of molecular clouds remains a key open question in our understanding of the star formation process. Maps of polarized thermal dust emission can be used to create “portraits” of magnetic field morphology, yet observing through the Earth’s atmosphere has long restricted polarimeters to map small areas or extremely bright clouds. In this talk I will discuss results from a survey of the young giant molecular cloud Vela C with the Balloon-borne Large Aperture Sub-mm Telescope for Polarimetry (BLASTPol). Operating from the upper stratosphere above 99.5% of the atmosphere BLASTPol created the most detailed magnetic field map ever made of a giant molecular cloud. By applying the same statistical analysis techniques to both our Vela C data and synthetic observations of MHD cloud formation models we find that the magnetic field of Vela C is likely significantly inclined with respect to the plane-of-the-sky. Comparisons between magnetic field orientation traced by BLASTPol and elongation of column density and molecular line map structures also indicate that the large-scale magnetic field of Vela C is strong enough to influence the cloud gas dynamics. With a new generation polarimeters (e.g. BLAST-TNG, TolTEC) we will soon be able to apply the same analysis techniques to dozens of clouds at even higher resolution, providing important constraints on the role of magnetic fields in star and planet formation.
- Host: Eric Wilcots