Events During the Week of April 20th through April 27th, 2025
Monday, April 21st, 2025
- No events scheduled
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025
- NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forum
- MAIA - a detector for muon collider
- Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall &
- Speaker: Benjamin Rosser, University of Chicago
- Host: Sridhara Dasu
- Wisconsin Quantum Institute
- Quantum Coffee Hour
- Time: 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
- Place: Rm.5294, Chamberlin Hall
- Abstract: Please join us for the WQI Quantum Coffee today at 3PM in the Physics Faculty Lounge (Rm.5294 in Chamberlin Hall). This series, which takes place approximately every other Tuesday, aims to foster a casual and collaborative atmosphere where faculty, post-docs, students, and anyone with an interest in quantum information sciences can come together. There will be coffee and treats.
- Wisconsin Quantum Institute
- PsiQuantum's Vision for Utility-Scale, Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place: Rm.5280, Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Aaron Fluitt, PsiQuantum
- Abstract:
Since its founding ten years ago, PsiQuantum has been singularly focused on its goal of building and deploying a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer as fast as possible. In this talk, aimed at students and postdoctoral researchers, I will outline the pillars of PsiQuantum's technology that have brought this ambitious goal within reach: silicon photonic architecture, high-volume manufacturing at a Tier 1 foundry, high-power cryogenic cooling, and error correction. I will share recent work on applications designed to deliver impact to many industries, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and energy. I will also outline plans for our deployment of a utility-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in Chicago. Finally, I will share information on the types of opportunities that are available now and in the foreseeable future at PsiQuantum.
- Host: Mark Saffman
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Title to be announced
- Time: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Alex High , University of Chicago
- Host: Tiancheng Song
Thursday, April 24th, 2025
- Astronomy Colloquium
- Galactic Correlates of Supermassive Black Hole Growth and Their Application
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place: 4421 Sterling Hall
- Speaker: Niel Brandt, Penn State
- Abstract: The co-evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and galaxies can be effectively constrained through sample-based analyses of the galactic correlates of long-term SMBH growth. Relevant correlates include galaxy stellar mass (M*), star formation rate (SFR), and compactness. The sample-averaged SMBH accretion rate (BHAR), which constrains long-term SMBH growth in galaxy populations of interest, is statistically measured using data from sensitive X-ray surveys including the Chandra Deep Fields, XMM-SERVS, COSMOS, and eFEDS. We have been advancing such investigations using partial-correlation analyses and complete, high-quality samples now reaching 8100 AGNs in 1.3 million galaxies, and I will briefly summarize some key findings. Specifically, (1) for the general galaxy population at z = 0.1-4, SMBH growth correlates most strongly with M*; (2) for bulge-dominated systems, a strong BHAR-SFR correlation is observed, indicating synchronized growth between SMBHs and bulges; (3) BHAR also clearly correlates with galaxy compactness among star-forming galaxies, likely due to enhanced nuclear gas density for compact galaxies. Furthermore, combining these empirical correlations with large-scale numerical simulations of galaxy evolution enables improved tracking of SMBH growth through accretion and mergers across cosmic history. This approach provides insights into the evolution of the SMBH mass function, the SMBH mass-M* scaling relation, the relative importance of accretion and mergers to overall SMBH growth, and long-lived wandering SMBHs.
- Host: Melinda Soares-Furtado
Friday, April 25th, 2025
- Physics Department Colloquium
- Carbon Dioxide Removal: Scaling Technologies to Combat Climate Change
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place: 2241 CH
- Speaker: Jan Huckfeldt, Climeworks
- Abstract: As the climate crisis intensifies, innovative CO2 removal technologies offer a beacon of hope. This lecture will explore cutting-edge Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) methods, evaluating their potential impact and scalability. We'll delve into the current state of climate science, assess various CDR technologies, and discuss the challenges and prerequisites for their widespread implementation, offering insights into the future of climate mitigation strategies.
- Host: Mark Saffman