Physics

Tim Sweitzer Colorado School of Mines, Environmental Health & Safety All lectures in Hill Hall 202 unless otherwise specified

Lawrence Wiencke Colorado School of Mines, Physics Department Abstract: Ultra-high energy cosmic rays are the highest energy subatomic particles known to exist. Although much harder to detect, very high-energy neutrinos also carry information about the most extreme environments in the universe. And since they have zero charge, they point back to their creation point. The […]

Benjamin Jones University of Texas-Arlington, Physics Department Abstract: The goal of future neutrinoless double beta decay experiments is to establish whether neutrino is its own antiparticle, by searching for an ultra-rare decay process with a half life that may be more than 10^28 years.  Such a discovery would have major implications for cosmology and particle […]

David Moore Yale University, Department of Physics Abstract: The development of optomechanical systems has revolutionized the detection of tiny forces over the past few decades. As such technologies reach (and surpass) quantum measurement limits, they can enable new searches for weakly coupled phenomena, including dark matter, gravitational waves, "fifth’’ forces, and sterile neutrinos. As a […]

Dylan Yost Colorado State University, Department of Physics Abstract: Because of atomic hydrogen’s simplicity, its energy levels can be precisely described by theory. This has made hydrogen an important atom in the development of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics (QED). While one can use hydrogen spectroscopy to determine the Rydberg constant and the proton charge […]

Mark Siemens University of Denver, Department of Physics & Astronomy Abstract: Entangled photons are a valuable resource for quantum logic, imaging, and information theory. While measuring entangled state amplitudes is relatively straightforward with coincidence-based correlation filters, the entangled state phases have received relatively little attention – despite the important role that phases play in defining […]

Raymond Ladbury NASA Abstract: Watching a part fail while radiation testing is not an uncommon experience.  However, when the previous testing on your part suggests that protons are too feebly ionizing to kill your part and it dies anyway…that will make you sit up and take notice!  And when your billion-dollar satellite is already flying […]

Ronald Fernando Garcia Ruiz Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Physics Abstract: A precise understanding of the interaction between the atomic nucleus and its bound electrons enables the exploration of physical phenomena across a wide range of energy scales. Atoms and molecules containing nuclei with extreme proton-to-neutron ratios can be artificially created to amplify and study […]

Tenio Popmintchev University of California, San Diego Abstract: Ultrafast imaging and spectroscopies using coherent EUV - X-ray light based on the nonlinear process of high harmonic generation are already addressing grand challenges in complex molecular systems, plasmas, and advanced nanomaterials. The exquisite quantum control of the attosecond dynamics of the rescattering electrons in this extreme […]

Giulia Mancini Universita di Pavia (Pavia, Italy), Department of Physics Abstract: Ultrafast scattering, spectroscopy and imaging are essential tools for understanding and quantifying the functionality of nanoscale systems in space and time domains. The past decades witnessed a revolution in ultrafast pulsed sources, from optical lasers to pulsed X-rays sources. In the X-ray regime, X-ray […]

Join the Physics Department for the graduate student poster session, food, and drink. Physics undergrad majors, graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni are all invited to attend. CoorsTek Lobby

No physics colloquium

Eliot Kapit Colorado School of Mines, Physics Department Abstract: A huge range of important problems in computer science--including task optimization, formal logic, encryption, and machine learning--can be solved by finding the sequence of binary variables that optimizes a cost function defined by a series of few-variable constraint relationships. Many of these problems are in the […]

Austin Cummings Penn State, Department of Physics Abstract: Cosmic rays and neutrinos provide a unique window into observations of the most violent physical phenomena in the universe. At the highest energies, the flux of these particles at Earth is incredibly low, making direct detection challenging. For neutrinos, the problem is further compounded by their miniscule […]

No physics colloquium

Eliot Kapit Colorado School of Mines, Department of Physics Abstract: A huge range of important problems in computer science--including task optimization, formal logic, encryption, and machine learning--can be solved by finding the sequence of binary variables that optimizes a cost function defined by a series of few-variable constraint relationships. Many of these problems are in […]

Paul Denholm NREL Abstract: The existing power grid relies heavily on physical inertia provided by thermal and hydropower generators to maintain a nearly constant frequency. But the inverters used by wind and solar do not inherently provide physical inertia, and there is concern that replacing conventional generators with renewable resources could compromise grid stability. In […]

Tianyu Wang Boston University Abstract: I will overview our work on analog neural networks based on photonics and other controllable physical systems. In particular, I will discuss why neural networks may serve as an ideal computational model that will enable us to harness the computational power of analog stochastic physical systems in a robust and […]

Rahul Nandkishore University of Colorado @ Boulder Abstract: When can isolated many body quantum systems fail to go to equilibrium under their own dynamics, and how robust can this `ergodicity breaking’ be? This question has been a central theme of research in quantum dynamics over the past decade, and I will share with you some […]

Name and topic to be announced Pre-seminar snacks will be served in CoorsTek 150 from 3:30-4:00pm; lecture will take place in CTLM102.

Kyle Leach Colorado School of Mines, Department of Physics Abstract: Nuclear beta and electron capture (EC) decay serve as sensitive probes of the structure and symmetries at the microscopic scale of our Universe. As such, precision measurements of the final-state products in these processes can be used as powerful laboratories to search for new physics […]