Colloquium

Is Dark Matter Fact or Fantasy? -- Clues from the Data

Location
Gore 104
Speaker
Philip Mannheim, University of Connecticut
Host
Shafi
We discuss the arguments both in favor of and against dark matter. With the repeated failure of experiment to detect dark matter we discuss what could be done instead, and to this end look for clues in the data themselves. We identify a contribution to galactic rotation curves coming from the rest of the visible Universe, and suggest that dark matter is just an attempt to describe this global effect in terms of standard Newtonian gravity within galaxies.
Event Types
Colloquium
Link
Prof. P. Mannheim

Vernon Lecture: NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touching the Sun's atmosphere: A Tale of an Extreme Spacecraft and Solar Storms

Location
John M. Clayton Hall
Speaker
Kelly Korreck, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, SWEAP Head of Science Operations
Host
Provencal
On August 12, 2018, after 60 years of planning, NASA launched Parker Solar Probe. This coolest hottest mission will visit the Sun! It is an extreme mission. Parker Solar Probe is the fastest human made object, closest to the sun, and has the hottest operating temperatures. This extreme satellite aims to solve mysteries of our closest star: for example, why does the solar wind blow, why it is so hot and how can we live with solar storms. Dr.
Event Types
Colloquium
Link
HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS

Spin-Orbit Technologies: From Magnetic Memory to Terahertz Generation

Location
****SHL116**** Please note special TIME and LOCATION
Speaker
Hyunsoo Yang, National University of Singapore
Host
Xiao
Spintronic devices utilize an electric current to alter the state of a magnetic material and thus find great applications in magnetic memory. Over the last decade, spintronic research has focused largely on techniques based on spin-orbit coupling, such as spin-orbit torques (SOTs), to alter the magnetic state.
Event Types
Colloquium
Link
Yang Group

Contraindication and its Resolution in Thermoelectric Materials

Location
Gore 104
Speaker
David Singh, University of Missouri
Host
Nikolic

Thermoelectric materials are important for spacecraft power, waste heat recovery, thermal management and cooling applications. Here I discuss the basic physics of thermoelectric effects and approaches for discovering new thermoelectric materials. A key issue is the contraindication of high thermoelectric performance, which places thermoelectrics into an interesting group of materials that includes transparent conductors, magnetic semiconductors and multiferroics. The efficiency of thermoelectric systems is limited by materials performance.

Event Types
Colloquium
Link
David Singh

Observing the Universe Broadly, Deeply, and Frequently

Location
Gore 104
Speaker
Steven Ritz, University of California, Santa Cruz
Host
Bianco
The combination of wide field of view, high sensitivity, broad energy range, and agility offers huge scientific opportunities and new ways of operating. I’ll discuss two seemingly very different observatories that share these characteristics. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction, is an integrated survey system with an eight-meter class primary mirror and 3 gigapixel camera, designed to conduct a decade-long, deep, wide, fast time-domain survey of the optical sky from Cerro Pachón in central Chile.
Event Types
Colloquium
Link
UCSC and SCIPP

Rank One Perturbations and Anderson Localization Conjecture

Location
Gore 104
Speaker
Constanze Liaw, University of Delaware
Host
Chui
In the theory of rank one perturbations, we assume we know all the spectral properties (eigenvalues, scattering states and singular continuous spectrum) of a given Hermitian operator and then add another Hermitian operator whose range is one-dimensional. We are interested in the the spectral properties of the resulting operator. This seemingly simple problem gives way to a surprisingly rich theory.
Event Types
Colloquium

Multi-TeV Particle Astrophysics with the HAWC Observatory

Location
Gore 104
Speaker
Miguel Mostafa, Penn State
Host
Chui
High-energy gamma-ray observations are an essential probe of cosmic-ray acceleration mechanisms. The detection of the highest energy gamma rays and the shortest timescales of variability are the key to improve our understanding of the acceleration processes and the environment of the cosmic accelerators. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) experiment is a large field of view, multi-TeV, gamma-ray observatory continuously operating at 14,000 ft since March, 2015.
Event Types
Colloquium
Link
Miguel Alejandro Mostafá

>> The Ghostly Messengers of the Universe

Location
Gore 104
Speaker
Irene Tamborra, Associate Professor at the Neils Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen and winner of the Shakti Duggal Award 2019
Host
Gaisser
Neutrinos are key particles in a wide range of astrophysical sources. Neutrinos affect the stellar dynamics, drive the formation of new elements, carry information about the physics of the most energetic events in our Universe, and reveal hints of possible physics beyond the one foreseen by the Standard Model. Recent developments on the role of neutrinos in cosmic sources will be reviewed. The detection perspectives of neutrinos will be outlined.
Event Types
Colloquium
Link
Irene Tamborra