Events During the Week of December 8th through December 15th, 2019
Monday, December 9th, 2019
- Plasma Physics (Physics/ECE/NE 922) Seminar
- Integrated Solenoid-Free Tokamak Startup Studies on Pegasus and Pegasus-III
- Time: 12:05 pm - 12:55 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Michael Bongard, UW-Madison
- Host: John Sarff
Tuesday, December 10th, 2019
- Chaos & Complex Systems Seminar
- The poetry of chaos
- Time: 12:05 pm - 1:00 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin (refreshments will be served)
- Speaker: Robin Chapman, UW Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
- Abstract: I have been writing poetry on the nonlinear, dynamic aspects of life, climate change, and our discussions of chaos for the past twenty years and will read selected work, including poems from my recently published book The Only Home We Know (Tebot Bach, 2019)
- Host: Clint Sprott
Wednesday, December 11th, 2019
- Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
- Dark Matter and Dark Radiation from Primordial Black Hole Domination
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Gordan Krnjaic, Fermilab
- Abstract: If even a relatively small number of black holes were created in the early universe, they will constitute an increasingly large fraction of the total energy density as space expands. It is thus well-motivated to consider scenarios in which the early universe included an era in which primordial black holes dominated the total energy density. Within this context, we consider Hawking radiation as a mechanism to produce both dark radiation and dark matter. If the early universe included a black hole dominated era, we find that Hawking radiation will produce dark radiation at a level ΔNeff∼0.03−0.2 for each light and decoupled species of spin 0, 1/2, or 1. This range is well suited to relax the tension between late and early-time Hubble determinations, and is within the reach of upcoming CMB experiments. The dark matter could also originate as Hawking radiation in a black hole dominated early universe, although such dark matter candidates must be very heavy (mDM>1011 GeV) if they are to avoid exceeding the measured abundance.
- Host: Nicholas Orlofsky
Thursday, December 12th, 2019
- Cosmology Journal Club
- Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Place: 5242 Chamberlin Hall
- Abstract: Please visit the following link for more details:
http://cmb.physics.wisc.edu/journal/index.html
Feel free to bring your lunch!
If you have questions or comments about this journal club, would like to propose a topic or volunteer to introduce a paper, please email Ross Cawthon (cawthon@wisc.edu) and Santanu Das (sdas33@wisc.edu). - CANCELLED: Making space telescopes happen
- Time: 12:00 pm
- Place: CANCELLED Supernova Conference Room (5117),WIPAC offices at 222 West Washington Ave., Suite 500
- Speaker: Max Mutchler
- Abstract: The era of big space telescopes has led to unique institutional arrangements, data access, workforce needs, and public engagement which are redefining how astronomy is done, and who does it. This evolution is broadening ideas of what a career in astronomy can consist of, with largely untapped potential to make the field more welcoming and inclusive of historically under-represented demographics. This talk will describe activities and innovations at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which manages the science programs for three of NASA's flagship astronomy missions (Hubble, Webb, and WFIRST) -- and which has deep roots at UW-Madison.
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Quantum combinatorial optimization algorithms
- Time: 1:00 pm
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Dr. Yuri Alexeev, Argonne Argonne National Laboratory
- Abstract: Quantum computing is a promising area of science, but after 20+ years of tremendous research efforts and enormous investments large scale, general purpose, universal quantum computers capable of solving realistic problems are not yet available. However, small scale universal quantum computers and "quantum annealers" capable of tackling certain classical optimization problems are now available with limited access. In this talk, I will present our recent advances in the development of quantum combinatorial optimization algorithms like QAOA. I will also overview the state of quantum computing in Argonne National Laboratory.
- Host: Saffman
Friday, December 13th, 2019
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Thermodynamics away from equilibrium: Watching biological systems break time reversal symmetry
- Time: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Michael Murrell, Yale
- Host: Pupa Gilbert
- NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forum
- Exploring the Cosmic Dark Ages: the Lunar Orbit Array
- Time: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
- Place: Sterling B343 (NOTE NEW LOCATION)
- Speaker: Xuelei Chen, National Astronomical Observatories of China/ Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC)
- Abstract: Radio observations of the redshifted 21 cm line of hydrogen will allow exploration of cosmic epochs before the first luminous objects formed: the epoch of reionization, cosmic dawn, and the cosmic dark ages. This talk will describe the Lunar Orbit Array, a Chinese instrument under study to orbit the Moon to measure the global spectrum of the sky and make sky maps from 1 MHz to 200 MHz, corresponding to redshifts from ~ 1000 to 7.
- Host: Peter Timbie