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Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Mississippi

Events

  • Tue
    17
    Nov
    2015
    6:00 pmLusa Bakery Bistro and Bar

    Curved space-time:
    Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of General Relativity

    Dr. Katherine Dooley,
    Department of Physics and Astronomy,
    University of Mississippi

    November 1915 was a revolutionary month in the history of science. Einstein published a series of four papers, week upon week, culminating with his presentation of the field equations of General Relativity. He told us that what we thought we knew about gravity from our everyday
    experience is not the whole story. Gravity is the result of massive objects warping space and time. After 100 years, his theory has survived a series of continuous tests of its validity. I will tell some of the early story of Einstein's rise to becoming a pop star and show examples of some of the bizarre consequences of his theory.

  • Tue
    16
    Feb
    2016
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Katherine Dooley and Marco Cavaglià
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger.

    On September 14, 2015 at 03:50:45 a.m. CST the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a
    transient gravitational-wave signal. The signal matches the prediction of
    general relativity for the coalescence of two black holes weighting about
    30 Suns into a single black hole at a distance of over one billion light
    years from Earth. This is the first direct detection of gravitational
    waves and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.
    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    08
    Mar
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Ken Bader
    Department of Internal Medicine
    University of Cincinnati

    Mechanical Ablation of Tissue with Focused Ultrasound

    Histotripsy is a transcutaneous focused ultrasound therapy that ablates tissue through the mechanical oscillations of microbubbles, or cavitation. Preclinical studies have found histotripsy effective for the treatment of prostate pathologies, cancer, deep vein thrombosis, and congenital heart disease. In this talk, the forms of histotripsy and their ablative mechanisms will be modeled in silico, and image-guidance techniques for mechanical ablation will be discussed. An analytic model will be presented to predict the extent of the treatment zone. This analytic model can be used for treatment planning, and to aid the FDA in the development of regulatory standards for histotripsy. Image-guidance of histotripsy will be demonstrated with a new ultrasound imaging modality called passive cavitation imaging (PCI). Studies in a prostate phantom demonstrate that PCI correlates well with the width of the ablation zone, indicating PCI can be used as a predictive metricfor tissue ablation from histotripsy. Finally, PCI will be used to monitor cavitation when histotripsy is used in combination with a lytic agent to lyse clots in a model of deep vein thrombosis. A significant improvement was observed in the thrombolytic efficacy for the combination treatment over histotripsy alone, suggesting a synergistic effect between histotripsy and the lytic agent.

  • Sun
    20
    Mar
    2016
    7:40 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • March 20, Sunday, 7:40 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    22
    Mar
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Thomas Sotiriou
    School of Physics & Astronomy
    University of Nottingham

    Black Holes Without Relativity

    Lorentz symmetry is central to the concept of a black hole, as it precludes superluminal motion. It is not obvious that one can even define what a black hole is if Lorentz symmetry is abandoned, so one might expect that any observational evidence supporting the existence of black holes will impose very stringent constraints on Lorentz violations. I will discuss some basic aspects of causality in theories that violate Lorentz symmetry and I will argue that, remarkably, the concept of a black hole survives in these theories. After defining the appropriate notion of black hole, I will explore their basic aspects and discuss how they differ from black holes in General Relativity.

  • Tue
    22
    Mar
    2016
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Joel Mobley
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    The physics of MRI

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of a broad spectrum of medical conditions. Since its clinical debut in the 1980ʼs, it has evolved to provide a level of anatomical detail not possible with any other imaging modality, all without the focus of an ultrasound probe or the directionality of an x-ray beam. The fundamental principles at work in MRI include quantum physics, spinning tops, flipping magnets and simple patterns of bright and dark. The aim of this talk is to remove some of the mystery of how the manipulation of the weakest
    magnets in the atom leads to the MR image and to look at emerging medical treatments enabled by
    MRI.

  • Tue
    29
    Mar
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Richard Brito
    Gravitation in Técnico
    Instituto Superior Técnico — CENTRA

    Interaction Between Bosonic Fields and Compact Objects

    Fundamental bosonic fields generically arise as possible dark matter candidates and in extensions of General Relativity, but are also a useful proxy for more complex interactions. In this talk I will discuss the rich phenomenology of fundamental bosonic fields around black holes and compact stars. In particular I will discuss: (i) the interaction of self-gravitating bosonic structures with compact stars; (ii) superradiant instabilities around black holes and how it can be used to constrain particle masses.

  • Tue
    05
    Apr
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Pengfei Zhang
    Department of Mathematics
    University of Mississippi

    Homoclinic Intersections for Geodesic Flows on Convex Spheres

    Transverse homoclinic intersection was discovered by Poincare in the study of stability properties of periodic orbits of n-body problem. Poincare realized that this is a mechanism which not only destroys the stability of periodic orbits but also leads the existence of chaos in the phase space.

    In this talk, we will study the geodesic flows on convex spheres. We show that, generically, every closed geodesic is either hyperbolic or irrationally elliptic. Moreover, every hyperbolic closed geodesic admits some transverse homoclinic intersection. Therefore, (everywhere) chaotic dynamics can happen generically on manifolds with simple/trivial topology.

  • Tue
    12
    Apr
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Greg Dooley
    Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Tidal Stripping with Self-Interacting Dark Matter

    Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) postulates that dark matter is not entirely collisionless, but self scatters at a low rate. By transforming dark matter halo cusps to cores, SIDM offers a solution to the “too big to fail” problem and cusp/core problem in the Milky Way and local field. Two classes of models exist, with velocity-independent and velocity-dependent cross sections. While tight constraints exist on velocity-independent models, constraining velocity-dependent models remain elusive. In this talk, I discuss the implications of both types of SIDM on the tidal disruption of satellite galaxies in a Milky Way-like host. While the total dark matter mass loss rate is not affected, stellar mass loss is enhanced due to lower binding energy in subhalo cores. I discuss the variables affecting the strength of the increased stellar mass loss rate, the effect on observables in the Milky Way, and where we need to look to further constrain or identify self-interacting dark matter.

  • Sun
    17
    Apr
    2016
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • April 17, Sunday, 8:00 - 10:30 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  planets, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    19
    Apr
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Alexander B. Yakovlev
    Department of Electrical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Non-local Susceptibility of the Wire Medium in the Spatial Domain Considering Material Boundaries

    The interaction of electromagnetic waves and wire media has been of interest for many years, driven by applications utilizing artificial plasma, epsilon-near-zero materials, negative refraction, wave canalization and other uses. When the period of the wires is small compared to wavelength, the structure can be considered as a homogeneous (homogenized) medium. Early models of wire media neglected spatial dispersion of the homogenized material, but it has more recently been shown that non-local effects are verystrong for wire media and often cannot be ignored.

    In this work, we show that the non-local susceptibility for a nontranslationally invariant homogenized wire medium is, modulo a constant, given by a simple Green's function related to the material geometry. We also show that two previous methods for solving wave interaction problems for bounded wire media (wave expansion method and transport equation) are equivalent to each other, and to a third method involving particle reflection at the boundary. We discuss the importance of the dead layer or virtual interface, and find it to be analogous to the excitonic semiconductor case. Several examples are provided to clarify the material.

  • Tue
    26
    Apr
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Ahmed Rashed
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Non-standard Tau Neutrino Interactions

    We now know that neutrinos have masses and that there is a leptonic mixing matrix just as there is a quark mixing matrix. The existence of neutrino masses and mixing requires physics beyond the standard model (SM). Hence, it is not unexpected that neutrinos could have new interactions beyond the standard model, or non-standard interactions (NSI). The effects of NSI have been widely considered in neutrino phenomenology. Bounds have been set on the NSI parameters. I will discuss the impact of the NSI on the measurement of neutrino mixing parameters such as the atmospheric and reactor mixing angles, mass hierarchy, and CP violation. We include form factor effects in our calculations and find the deviation of the actual mixing angle from the measured one, assuming the standard model cross section, can be significant and can depend on the energy of the neutrino.

    A key property of the SM gauge interactions is that they are lepton flavor universal. Evidence for violation of this property would be a clear sign of new physics (NP) beyond the SM. Recently, hints of lepton flavor non-universality emerged from B-meson decay channels observed in the BaBar and LHCb experiments. We proposed tests of lepton flavor non-universality in tau-neutrino scattering. Different models have been introduced in this study of which charged Higgs, W', and Leptoquark.

  • Tue
    26
    Apr
    2016
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Breese Quinn
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Particle Physics: The Sledgehammer and the Tweezer

    Particle physics is the field of research that seeks to discover and understand the most fundamental building blocks of the universe, and how they interact to form everything around us. One way to do this type of research is using the biggest machines in the world to smash particles together as hard as possible, and see what new comes out. We will take a look at the discovery of the Higgs Boson to examine this sledgehammer approach. Another method is using very sensitive tools to make high precision measurements of extremely rare processes. An introduction to the new Muon g-2 experiment will demonstrate this tweezer approach. We will discuss Ole Missʼ role in both of these efforts, as well as why it all matters.

  • Mon
    09
    May
    2016
    Sunrise - 2 PMKennon Observatory

    The planet Mercury will pass in front of the Sun, which is called a transit. This will start before Sunrise at 6:12 AM and end at 1:42 PM (CDT). It will be most visible about 10 AM. However, since this requires looking directly at the sun appropriate filters or a projection system must be used.

    The physics and astronomy department is hosting an open house at the Kennon observatory next Monday (May 9th) to observe the transit of Mercury occurring that morning. The public is invited to see this relatively rare event through filtered solar telescopes, as it is dangerous to look directly at the sun.

    The open house will will begin at 9 AM and end around noon unless inclement weather makes it impossible to watch the event. Come with your family and friends to watch the Sun and the passage of Mercury across the face of the Sun.

  • Tue
    10
    May
    2016
    11:00 amLewis Hall 101

    The 2016 induction ceremony for the National Physics Honors Society, ΣΠΣ will take place on May 10 at 11:00 AM in room 101 in Lewis Hall.

  • Sat
    14
    May
    2016
    11:30 am - 1:00 pmLewis Hall room 104

    The Department of Physics and Astronomy is hosting a buffet luncheon honoring the 2016 graduating students.  Family and friends are invited to attend.

    Undergraduates:
    Forrest N. Gamble
    Jeffrey D. Atkinson
    Piero R. Bracamonte
    Hunter A. Gabbard
    Peshani Herath
    Jared K. Wofford
    Graduates:
    Shanmuka Shivashankara - Ph.D.
    Sumudu P. Tennakoon - Ph.D.
    Salman Allahiad - M.A.
    Mohsen Rezaeizaheh - M.A.
    Nazanin Omidi - M.S.  (August)

  • Mon
    06
    Jun
    2016
    Tue
    07
    Jun
    2016
    9:00 AM – 4:00 PMJackson Avenue Center, G08, University of Mississippi, Oxford

    Two-day workshop, teachers will learn the basics of sound waves, light waves, and gravitational waves, a new kind of wave that has recently been observed for the first time. See http://umcmse.com/waves-here-there-and-everywhere/ for details.

  • Mon
    27
    Jun
    2016
    Tue
    28
    Jun
    2016
    9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Lewis Hall, University of Mississippi

    The department is hosting a 2 day QuarkNet Teacher Workshop on June 27 and June 28.  We will discuss the detection of Dark Matter, SuperSymmetry, and Cosmic Rays.  Teachers will learn how to operate cosmic ray detectors and take activities back to their class rooms. Contact the Department of Physics and Astronomy if you are a high school Physics teacher and are interested in the QuarkNet program.

    You can find more out about QuarkNet at the wiki site:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuarkNet

    (For more information please contact Dr. Cremaldi at cremaldi@phy.olemiss.edu)

     

  • Sun
    10
    Jul
    2016
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • July 10, Sunday, 8:30 - 11:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  planets, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    30
    Aug
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Ice Cream Social

  • Sun
    11
    Sep
    2016
    7:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • September 11, Sunday, 7:30 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  planets, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    13
    Sep
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Michael S Turner
    Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
    University of Chicago

    The Big Picture:  What We Know About How the Universe Began and What We Are Trying to Find Out

    Today the Universe is made out of dark matter, dark energy and a small amount of ordinary matter (the atoms we are made of).  We can trace the history of the Universe back to when it was a microsecond and was a formless quark soup.  We now have good evidence for an early burst of tremendous expansion (inflation) that stretched sub-atomic quantum fluctuations to astrophysical size and created the seeds for galaxies.  But there is much to figure out, including what dark matter is made of, what the nature of the mysterious dark energy is, and when inflation took place.

  • Tue
    13
    Sep
    2016
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Michael S Turner
    Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
    University of Chicago

    Einstein's Outrageous Universe: Gravitational Waves, Black Holes and the Big Bang

    Dr. Michael Turner, Bruce V. & Diana M. Rauner Service Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Director of the Kavli Institute at the University of Chicago will discuss the biggest mysteries of modern cosmology. Is the universe finite or infinite? What is speeding up the expansion of the universe? Turner will present the current state of knowledge about modern cosmology, from the discovery of cosmic expansion to dark matter and dark energy.

     

  • Tue
    20
    Sep
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Don Summers et al.
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Fascinating Physics Demonstrations

    Fifty minutes of fascinating physics demonstrations, including milk jug rockets, will be presented.

  • Tue
    27
    Sep
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Don Summers Presenting
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Powers of Ten

    Powers of Ten illustrates the universe as an arena of both continuity and change, of everyday picnics and cosmic mystery. It begins with a close-up shot of a man sleeping near the lakeside in Chicago, viewed from one meter away. The landscape steadily moves out until it reveals the edge of the known universe. Then, at a rate of 10-to-the-tenth meters per second, the film takes us towards Earth again, continuing back to the sleeping man's hand and eventually down to the level of a carbon atom.

  • Sun
    09
    Oct
    2016
    7:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • October 9, Sunday, 7:00 - 9:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  planets, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    11
    Oct
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Mike Reep and Scott Watkins
    Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

     

    Machine Shop Physics

     

    Abstract

    Experimental physics depends on instrumentation made in the University of Mississippi's Physics machine shop.  Instruments made for Acoustics, Atmospheric physics, Condensed Matter physics, and Particle physics will be shown.

     

  • Tue
    11
    Oct
    2016
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Arne – R. Diercks,
    School of Ocean Science and Technology
    University of Southern Mississippi

    Perpetual Snow - Sedimentation in the Deep Sea

    Sedimentation in the deep ocean is a slow and steady supply of material to the deep sea via small particles. Once glued together by organic matrices into larger aggregates, they become a main source of energy, food and sediments in the deep sea and the seafloor. Sedimentation rates in the deep ocean are small, ranging from a fraction to a few millimeters per year in the abyssal ocean. Anthropogenic impacts can alter the sedimentation even in remote areas. Following the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico, anthropogenic oil marine aggregates that had formed in the water column near the wellhead, were deposited as an unprecedented large amount of material on the seafloor within a few months following the spill.

  • Tue
    18
    Oct
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Chandrima Chatterjee
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Experimental Investigation of Impurities and Their Effect on Acousto-Electric Properties of Lithium Niobate

    The functional parameters of Lithium niobate that is used in various acousto-opto-electronic applications are questionable. The nonclassical nonlinear effect such as “acoustical memory” is not explained at full. Despite there being publications on crystal defects in Lithium niobate, the relationship between the defects and Acoustical Memory has not yet been established. Previous publications analyzed the Acoustical Memory effect without going into the microstructural detail of the level of point defects. The purpose of this research is to establish a connection between the microscopic point defects and the macroscopic nonlinear phenomena. The present research aims at finding new crystal characteristics including the identification of impurities and point defects, the distribution of the defects along the optical crystallographic z axis, and in a direction normal to the z axis. Bulk crystals and wafers are studied. The impurities are identified by their characteristic lines in the photoluminescence spectra, which are taken at room temperature in a range of 350 to 900 nm. The spectra reveal the following point defects: Ar, Ba, Cs, F-color center, Rb, Ru, Sn, Fe, K, Li, O, Nb, Kr, NbLi4+, Xe, etc. The peak corresponding to the F-center is found at 400.429 nm and has the highest number of photon counts. Further, the samples are shifted with a step of tens of microns along the z-axes or normal to it. This optical scanning allows to find a distribution of the impurities in the samples. The photon counts changes with crystal position for some impurities. The distribution of these defects is observed as peaks and valleys. The results may be used to discover the physical mechanisms behind nonclassical nonlinear phenomena in Lithium niobate.

  • Tue
    25
    Oct
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Matteo Rini
    Deputy Editor
    American Physical Society

    Science Communication: Take Charge of It!

    Scientists have a responsibility to share the meaning and implications of their work, but receive little training in communication, and often feel unprepared to communicate with the public, the media, public officers and others outside their own field. In this talk, I will discuss how our journal Physics (htttp://physics.aps.org) strives to communicate research to a broad audience and share some thoughts and tips on science communication from my experience as a writer, editor, press officer and scientific consultant to policy makers.

  • Fri
    28
    Oct
    2016
    7:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights, food and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday (Oct. 28) in Lewis Hall.

    The program will include a stage show at 8 p.m. Hands-on activities for the public through the evening include freezing objects in liquid nitrogen (at minus 320 degrees), generating sound waves with Bunsen burners and tubes, and levitating magnets with superconductors. Other fun presentations include optical illusions with mirrors, a Van de Graaff generator (a literally “hair-raising” electrical device), a bed of nails and other contraptions.

    Physics department personnel also will prepare ice cream with liquid nitrogen and award prizes for the most original, scariest and cutest costumes to kids aged 12 and under.

  • Tue
    01
    Nov
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101
    Jeremy Sakstein
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Pennsylvania

    Novel Tests of Gravity Using Astrophysics

    The expansion of the Universe is accelerating and we have little to no idea why! This has led to a proliferation of alternative theories of gravity that are not general relativity as one possible explanation. Classical alternatives are quickly ruled out by solar system tests but modern theories can evade them by utilising screening mechanisms. This has led to an active program developing new and novel tests of gravity by looking for objects that are not fully screened.

    In this talk, I will review the cosmological constant problem and modern alternative gravity theories before going on to describe some of my work looking for new and novel ways of testing gravity using objects such as dwarf stars, neutron stars, and pulsating Cepheids.

  • Sun
    06
    Nov
    2016
    6:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • November 6, Sunday, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  planets, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    08
    Nov
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Mairi Sakellariadou
    Department of Physics
    King's College — London

    Unweaving the Fabric of the Universe

    Our conventional understanding of space-time, as well as our notion of geometry, break down once we attempt to describe the very early stages of the evolution of our universe. The extreme physical conditions near the Big Bang necessitate an intimate interplay between physics and mathematics. The main challenge is the construction of a theory of quantum gravity, the long-sought unification of Einstein's general relativity with quantum mechanics. There are several attempts to formulate such a theory; they can be tested against experimental and observational results coming from high energy physics and astrophysics, leading to a remarkable interplay between gravity, particle physics and cosmology.

  • Fri
    11
    Nov
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 109
    Gregory Cook
    Department of Physics
    Wake Forest UniversityGravitational Waves from Colliding Black Holes: An Historical Perspective

    The landmark first direct detection of gravitational waves was announced on Feb. 11, 2016. The detection itself occurred on Sept. 14, 2015 and was the result of the collision of two black holes that happened around a billion years ago. The event marks a turning point in decades of work by hundreds of researchers. The goal of this talk is to provide at least a partial historical account of the research that lead to the detection and interpretation of this event. As a numerical relativist, my perspective will emphasize the work aimed at simulating black-hole collisions on computers. I have been involved in all aspects of the simulation of black-hole binary collisions for nearly 3 decades, with my work focusing primarily on the modeling of initial data for the simulations. However, I will try to give fair coverage of the broader theoretical and computational work involved, and a taste of the experimental milestones leading up to the detection. If time allows, I will also discuss some of my recent work exploring the ring-down signal produced by numerical simulations.

  • Tue
    15
    Nov
    2016
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Karelle Siellez
    Center for Relativistic Astrophysics
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    The Coincidence Between Gamma-Ray Bursts and Gravitational Waves: the Dawn of the Multi-Messenger Era!

    Last year, while we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Theory of the General Relativity of Einstein, we also detected the first direct observation of Gravitational Waves. LIGO opened the new area of Gravitational Wave Astrophysics with the detection of the coalescence of two black holes. Neutron star mergers (either double neutron star or neutron star - black hole systems) and collapsing massive stars are the next candidates for the detection of Gravitational Waves. They are though to be also the progenitor of respectively short and long Gamma-Ray Bursts. A detection in coincidence of both the Gravitational Waves and the electromagnetic emission would open the era of multimessenger astrophysics.

    To detect those coincidences between GRB and GW, LIGO uses a different analysis that searches for a GW triggers coincident within some time window and sky position of a GRB in nearly real time thanks to the GCN sent by the satellite. We estimated the rate of coincident events that could be detected during the next run of O2 using observations in one hand and Monte Carlo simulations on the other. The small number of coincidence could be improved by using the untriggered GRBs missed by the Fermi GBM satellite. Thanks to a new code developed by the GBM team, we will discuss about the new kind of coincident detection that we could obtain.

    This talk will describe the search of Gravitational Waves associated to GRBs. We will show the motivations and analysis made for the untriggered searches as well as the implication of those untriggered GRB on the expected rate of coincident event, the classification of long and short GRBs, and the possible new kind of progenitor for short GRBs at low redshift.

  • Sun
    04
    Dec
    2016
    5:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • December 4, Sunday, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  planets, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    24
    Jan
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Hartmut Grote
    Division of Laser Interferometry and Gravitational Wave Astronomy
    Albert Einstein Institute — Hannover, Germany

    The Physics of Climate, the IPCC, and the Public Discourse:
    A Tour D'Horizon of Global Warming

    Global warming is a topic of broad scientific inquiry as well as societal relevance. I will review the basic principles of climate physics, explain the role of the IPCC in assessing different aspects of global warming, and will try to shed some light on the public discourse around global warming and forces trying to obstruct the science.

  • Tue
    24
    Jan
    2017
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Randy M. Wadkins
    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
    University of Mississippi

    It’s a Small World After All
    Nanomaterials are types of matter that lie in size between single molecules and bacteria, or approximately one millionth of a millimeter. Where do you find such tiny little objects? Right in plain sight! Maybe you were hungry today and grabbed a slice of American Cheese or a tub of Greek yogurt from the fridge. Maybe afterward you brushed your teeth with toothpaste, or freshened your breath with gum. Maybe you took a shower and used a dandruff shampoo, then put on deodorant. Maybe you then put on stain-resistant pants, dabbed on a little sunscreen, and headed off to campus. All of those items I just mentioned contain nanoparticles, so small you can’t see each one, but essential for product performance.

    In this follow-up to my 2016 TEDxUM talk, I will describe what the nanoparticles do in these products, then talk a little about nanoengineering using DNA, with a particular focus on the future of nanomedicine. Like in the movie “Fantastic Voyage,” nanomedicine is close to being reality.
    See this page for details.

  • Sun
    05
    Feb
    2017
    6:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • February 5, Sunday, 6:30 - 9:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    07
    Feb
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Mauricio Richartz
    Centro de Matemática
    Universidade Federal do ABC — Brazil

    Analogue Black Holes: Theory and Experiments

    Analogue models of gravity, introduced by Unruh in 1981, have been (for some time now) very helpful towards a better theoretical understanding of several crucial phenomena at the boundary of gravity and quantum field theory. Experimental research on analogue models, however, started only very recently. In this talk, I will explain the basic theory behind analogue models of gravity and how they can be used to mimic important quantum field theory effects in curved spacetimes, like Hawking radiation. I will also focus on some experimental realizations of analogue models of gravity, including one based on surface waves propagating on water. which I have been involved with very recently (arXiv: 1612.06180).

  • Tue
    14
    Feb
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Graduate Students
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Temperature Dependent Behavior of Shear Waves in a Micellar Fluid (Sunethra Dayavansha)
    Development of Brain Tissue-Mimicking Phantom (Somayeh Taghizadehghahremanloo)
    Negative Refraction and Super-resolution by a Steel-methanol Phononic Crystal (Ukesh Koju)
    Development of a Tilt-free Seismometer (Reza Afrough)
    The RKKY Interaction for Link Variables on the Square Lattice (Huu Do)
    Experimental Test of an Omnidirectional Acoustic Enhancement Method (Maryam Landi)
    Deforming the Fredkin Spin Chain Away from its Frustration-free point (Khagen Adhikari)

  • Tue
    21
    Feb
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Maarten Buijsman
    Division of Marine Science
    University of Southern Mississippi

    The Equatorial Pacific "Graveyard" for Semidiurnal Internal Tides: Incoherence or Dissipation?

    The jets in the equatorial Pacific Ocean of a realistically-forced global circulation model with a horizontal resolution of 1/12.5 degree yield a strong loss of phase coherence in semidiurnal internal tides that propagate equatorward from the French Polynesian Islands and Hawaii. This loss of coherence is determined with a baroclinic energy analysis, in which the semidiurnal-band terms are separated into coherent, incoherent, and cross terms. For time scales longer than a year the coherent energy flux approaches zero values at the equator, while the total flux is 500 W/m. The time-variability of the incoherent energy flux is compared with phase speed variability computed with the Taylor-Goldstein equations. The variability of monthly-mean Taylor-Goldstein phase speeds agrees well with the phase speed variability inferred from steric sea surface height phases extracted with a plane-wave fit technique. On monthly time scales, the loss of phase coherence in the equatorward beams from the French Polynesian Islands is attributed to the time variability in the sheared background flow associated with the jets and tropical instability waves. On an annual time scale, the effect of stratification variability is of equal or greater importance than the background flow is to the loss of coherence. The model simulation suggests that low-frequency jets do not noticeably enhance the dissipation of the internal tide, but merely decohere and scatter it. Thus, the apparent demise of coherent internal tides seen in satellite altimetry maps of the equatorial Pacific may be due to incoherence rather than dissipation.

  • Tue
    21
    Feb
    2017
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Susan Pedigo and Lemuel Tsang
    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
    University of Mississippi

    Chemistry of Milk

     

    Why is some cheese stringy and other cheese crumbly? We will discuss this topic and others as we tour the chemistry of the proteins, lipids and carbohydrates in milk. Through the millennia, human cultures have exploited one biomolecule or another to create a wide range of foods from milk. We will cover a diverse range of topics including the incredible origin of milk, butter and its close cousin margarine and the art of cheese making.

    See this page for details.

  • Mon
    27
    Feb
    2017
    Thu
    02
    Mar
    2017
    9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Yerby Conference Center, University of Mississippi

    The “Strong Gravity and Binary Dynamics with Gravitational Wave Observations” workshop convenes Feb. 27 to March 2 in the Yerby Conference Center. The event is supported in part by Emanuele Berti’s National Science Foundation CAREER Award and by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Action network, funded by the European Union’s FP7 program.

    “This network supports exchanges of gravity researchers among the participating nodes,” said Berti, associate professor of physics and astronomy. “In addition to Ole Miss, there are five nodes in Europe, one in in Japan and one in Canada. A dozen researchers will visit campus for a month before and after the workshop.”

    About 50 scientists representing some 30 research agencies and institutions of higher learning are scheduled to attend. Researchers will discuss several topics in the newborn field of gravitational-wave astronomy, including the astrophysics of compact binary populations, spin measurements in compact binaries, strong-field tests of Einstein’s theory of general relativity and how to look for hints of new gravitational physics beyond Einstein’s theory.

    For more about the workshop, visit https://www.phy.olemiss.edu/StronGBaD/. For more about the Department of Physics and Astronomy, go to https://physics.olemiss.edu/.

    Also see the article from Inside Ole Miss.

  • Fri
    03
    Mar
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Carlos Herdeiro
    Departamento de Física
    Universidade de Aveiro — Portugal

    Can a Black Hole Have Hair?

    Black holes are one of the most fascinanting predictions of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. In their most paradigmatic guise, they are also the simplest objects in the Universe, made solely of space and time. Moreover, powerful mathematical theorems, known as uniqueness theorems, show that the way space and time can curve into a black hole is quite restricted, and these objects are only described by two parameters: their total mass and angular momentum. John Wheeler famously coined this simplicity into the mantra "Black Holes have no hair". But underlying this statement there is an unproved belief known as the "no-hair conjecture".

    I will start by discussing observational evidence for the existence of black holes in the universe. Then, I will explain why the existence of some simple types of matter, even if Einstein's theory holds, could challenge the no-hair conjecture and produce "hairy" black holes. Finally, I will discuss how ongoing and forthcoming electromagnetic and gravitational waves observations could test the existence of black hole "hair" of this sort.

  • Tue
    07
    Mar
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Seth Hopper
    Gravitation in Técnico
    Instituto Superior Técnico — Portugal

    Bound and Unbound Motion Around Static Black Holes

    A massive two-body system will interact gravitationally. Depending on the velocities and separation of bodies, their motion may be bound and periodic (as in the Earth-Sun system) or unbound (like a comet that passes the Sun only once). General relativity predicts that each of these systems will radiate energy in the form of gravitational waves. However, the qualitative difference between the systems implies that different techniques must be used to analyze them. In this talk I will briefly introduce the mathematical theory behind gravitational radiation of two body systems (specifically in the extreme mass-ratio regime) and consider how one can efficiently compute that radiation for different classes of problems.

     

    Andrea Nerozzi
    Gravitation in Técnico
    Instituto Superior Técnico — Portugal

    The Problem of Gauge Fixing in the Newman-Penrose Formalism

    Since its introduction the Newman-Penrose formalism has been widely used in analytical and numerical studies of Einstein's equations, like for example for the Teukolsky master equation, or as a powerful tool for wave extraction in numerical relativity. The problem of gauge fixing, or more specifically, tetrad fixing is however still debated and only partially understood when the NP formalism is used to extract gravitational waves from numerical simulations.

    In this talk I will approach the whole formalism with the goal of finding an invariant expression for all the variables in the NP formalism, namely Weyl scalars and the spin coefficients, once a specific yet generally defined tetrad is chosen.I will show that it is possible to do so, and give a general recipe for the task, as well as an indication of the quantities and identities that are required. The applications and importance of this approach to the problem of wave extraction in numerical relativity will be discussed.

    Laura Bernard
    Gravitation in Técnico
    Instituto Superior Técnico — Portugal

    Dynamics of Compact Binary Systems at the Fourth Post-Newtonian Order

    Templates of coalescing compact binaries' gravitational waveform are used for the detection and precise determination of the physical parameters of gravitational waves by the current and next generations of interferometric detectors. In order to compute the waveform with high accuracy, the dynamics of compact binary systems should be known to the same precision. In this talk, I will address the question of the dynamics of non-spinning compact binary systems at the fourth post-Newtonian order in harmonic coordinates. I will present a method based on a Fokker action adapted to the specificities of the post-Newtonian formalism, including the so-called tail effects which appear for the first time in the conservative dynamics at 4PN. I will then derive the energy and periastron advance for circular orbits and show a full agreement with previous results from gravitational self-force calculations.

  • Tue
    21
    Mar
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Sabrina Savage
    Science Research Office
    Marshall Space Flight Center

    Reconnecting with Solar Flares

    Because the Earth resides in the atmosphere of our nearest stellar neighbor, events occurring on the Sun's surface directly affect us by interfering with satellite operations and communications, astronaut safety, and in extreme circumstances, power grid stability. Solar flares, the most energetic events in our solar system, are a substantial source of hazardous space weather affecting our increasingly technology-dependent society. While flares have been observed using ground-based telescopes for over 150 years, modern space-bourne observatories have provided nearly continuous multi-wavelength flare coverage that cannot be obtained from the ground. We can now probe the origins and evolution of flares by tracking particle acceleration, changes in ionized plasma, and the reorganization of magnetic fields. I will walk through our current understanding of why flares occur, show several examples of these fantastic explosions, and describe the technology and instrumentation being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center to observe these phenomena.

  • Tue
    21
    Mar
    2017
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Sabrina Savage
    Science Research Office
    Marshall Space Flight Center

    Reconnecting with Solar Flares

    Because the Earth resides in the atmosphere of our nearest stellar neighbor, events occurring on the Sun's surface directly affect us by interfering with satellite operations and communications, astronaut safety, and in extreme circumstances, power grid stability. Solar flares, the most energetic events in our solar system, are a substantial source of hazardous space weather affecting our increasingly technology- dependent society. While flares have been observed using ground- based telescopes for over 150 years, modern space-bourne observatories have provided nearly continuous multi-wavelength flare coverage that cannot be obtained from the ground. We can now probe the origins and evolution of flares by tracking particle acceleration, changes in ionized plasma, and the reorganization of magnetic fields. I will walk through our current understanding of why flares occur, show several examples of these fantastic explosions, and describe the technology and instrumentation being developed at Marshall Space Flight Center to observe these phenomena.

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    28
    Mar
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Ulrich Sperhake
    Theoretical Astrophysics
    California Institute of Technology

    Searching for Smoking Gun Effects of Modified Gravity in Supernova Core Collapse

    Even though Einstein's theory of general relativity has been an incredibly successful theory and passed a plethora of tests ranging from light bending to the recent detection of gravitational waves, there are indications from theory, astrophysics and cosmology that modifications to the theory may ultimately be required. One of the most popular modifications applied to general relativity is the addition of a scalar field as an extra channel to mediate gravity. Through the introduction of additional degrees of freedom such scalar-tensor theories may explain some of the potentially troublesome phenomena in gravity while preserving compatibility with solar system and other tests. In this talk we explore the dynamics and gravitational wave emission of supernova core collapse in scalar tensor theory for the case of spherical symmetry. We analyse the resulting waveforms and explore under which conditions they may provide smoking gun signals detectable with present and future gravitational-wave detectors.

  • Tue
    04
    Apr
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Michael Allshouse
    Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
    Northeastern University

    Internal Wave Breaking and Boluses

    The shoaling of internal waves on a continental slope results in wave steepening and breaking that produces boluses, which are trapped regions of fluid that travel up the slope with the wave. Unlike a propagating solitary wave, these boluses transport material with the wave containing oxygen depleted water and induce rapid changes in temperature both of which have potential ramifications for marine biology. The dramatic difference between the fluid inside the bolus relative to the exterior may also impact local acoustic measurements of the sea floor. We extend a number of two-layer studies by investigating bolus generation and material transport in continuously stratified fluids. Laboratory experiments are conducted in a 4 m long tank and are complemented by 2-dimensional numerical simulations. The boundaries of the bolus are identified using a Lagrangian based coherent structure method relying on trajectory clustering. We use the structure identification to measure the properties of the bolus as a function of the pycnocline thickness and slope angle.

  • Sun
    09
    Apr
    2017
    8:15 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • April 9, Sunday, 8:15 - 10:30 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!
    Due to the buses we have moved from Friday to Sunday nights.
    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    11
    Apr
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Wanwei Wu
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    The Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermilab

    The muon anomalous magnetic moment (g-2) has played an important role in constraining physics beyond the Standard Model for many years. The Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment has a goal to measure it to unprecedented precision: 0.14 ppm, which will have a fourfold improvement compared to the BNL g-2 Experiment (0.54 ppm) as well as provide one of the most sensitive tests of the completeness of the Standard Model by comparing with the theory. The Fermilab g-2 Experiment is close to the end of installation and ready for the commissioning and physical running soon. In this talk, I will give an overview of the experiment and discuss the work involved by the OleMiss group.

  • Tue
    11
    Apr
    2017
    6:00 pmLusa Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde,
    Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience,
    State University of New York — Downstate Medical Center

    Vision is All About Change

    Your eyes are the sharks of the human body: they never stop moving. In the past minute alone, your eyes made as many as 240 quick movements called “saccades” (French for “jolts”). A portion of our eye movements we do consciously, and are at least aware of on some level. But most of these tiny back-and-forths and ups-and-downs are unconscious and nearly imperceptible; someone staring directly at your eyes would miss most of them. Scientists long believed that we use two types of oculomotor behavior to sample the visual world, alternating between big saccades to scan our surroundings and tiny ones to fix our gaze on a location of interest. Explore, fixate, repeat, all day, every day. It seemed to make intuitive sense that we would have one brain system for exploring the environment and another for focusing on specific objects. But it turns out that exploration and gaze-fixation are not all that different processes in the brain. Instead, our eyes scan visual scenes with a same general strategy, whether the images are huge or tiny, or even when we try to fix our gaze. This insight may offer clues to understanding normal oculomotor function in the healthy brain, and oculomotor dysfunction in neurological disease.

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    18
    Apr
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Tanaz A. Mohayai
    Department of Physics
    Illinois Institute of Technology

    Measurements Of Beam Cooling In Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment

    The international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment, MICE, is a high energy physics experiment located at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the U.K., and its aim is to demonstrate muon beam cooling for the first time. When muons are produced from pion decay, they occupy a large volume in the position-momentum phase space and the process of reducing their volume is known as beam cooling. Several beam cooling techniques exist, but the ionization cooling is the only technique fast enough to be used for muons within their short lifetime. Ionization cooling occurs when the beam loses momentum through energy loss, while traversing a material. In MICE, commonly used figures of merit for cooling are the beam emittance reduction, the phase-space volume reduction, and the phase-space density increase. Emittance is the measure of the size of the beam, and with a reduced beam emittance or phase-space volume, more muons can fit in a smaller aperture of a cost-effective accelerator. This may enable the construction of a future high-intensity muon accelerators, such as a Neutrino Factory or a Muon Collider. To demonstrate beam cooling, MICE makes use of two scintillating-fiber tracking detectors, immersed in the constant magnetic fields of the Spectrometer Solenoid modules. These trackers, one upstream and one downstream of the absorber reconstruct and measure the position and momentum coordinates of individual muons, and the absorber provides the ionization energy loss required for beam cooling. The choice of absorber material is dependent on the achievable energy loss, and the aim is to maximize beam cooling through energy loss while minimizing beam heating from multiple Coulomb scattering. In addition, given the precision with which MICE aims to demonstrate beam cooling, it is necessary to develop analysis tools that can work around any effects which may lead to inaccurate cooling measurements. Non-linear effects in beam optics is one example of such effects and it can result in apparent emittance growth or beam heating. The Kernel Density Estimation, KDE technique is an analysis tool which is insensitive to these non-linear effects and measures the muon beam phase-space density and volume. This talk will give an overview of the recent MICE results, the emittance measurement technique in the recent MICE data, and the novel application of the KDE technique in MICE.

  • Sat
    22
    Apr
    2017
    10:30 amUniversity Circle

    Join us for a celebration of science. Walk from Campus to Oxford square on April 22 to champion and support science.

    Science protects the health of our communities, the safety of our families, the education of our children, the foundation of our economy and jobs, and the future we all want to live in and preserve for coming generations. Science is a tool of discovery that allows us to constantly expand and revise our knowledge of the universe. In doing so, science serves the interests of all humans. Science education teaches children and adults to think critically, ask questions, and evaluate truth based on the weight of evidence. Science promotes diversity and inclusion in science to build robust and resilient communities for the benefit of all people. Science makes our democracy stronger.

    On April 22, scientists and supporters of science will march in cities and towns across the world to reaffirm these core values.

    Please stand up for science and join your fellow Ole Miss scientists in a celebration of science by walking from campus to Oxford square. This is a strictly non-political, non-partisan event. We value inclusion, diversity, equity, and access to everybody. We aim for a diverse group of participants, including first-time marchers. Families with young children are welcome.

    We will assembly on the steps of the Lyceum (University Circle) at 10:30 am and start walking at 11:00am. The planned route (about 1 mile) will take us through the Grove, University Avenue and South Lamar. We will end the march at Oxford Square.

    Please show your support for science as a vital feature of a working democracy, spurring innovation, critical thinking, increased understanding, and better, healthier lives for all people. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook (event).

  • Tue
    25
    Apr
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Guido Mueller
    Department of Physics
    University of Florida

    TBA

  • Tue
    02
    May
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall

    Bevin Etienne
    McIntire School of Commerce
    University of Virginia

    The Role of Microgrids and Community Choice Aggregation in Building a Sustainable and Resilient Energy System

    Energy plays a role in every facet of our lives - from food production to clothing and shelter, to the water we drink and the air we breathe and by great extent our ability to do the work we enjoy. With that being said, the energy sector, globally, is plagued with many challenges. For example, the electric grid and most of the energy infrastructure in the US was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s with a 50-year life expectancy1 which signifies the US is due for an overhauling of the system. This does not account for the fact that the energy system of the 1950s and 1960s was not engineered to meet today's energy demands and capability to withstand severe weather related events – in 2012, Super storm Sandy demonstrated our energy system vulnerability to severe weather. All of this suggests that the time is at hand for significant investment in maintaining, upgrading and rebuilding the electric energy infrastructure. Recently conducted research suggests that the replacement value of the U.S. electric grid is $4.8 trillion2.

    This discussion will focus on the use of Microgrids and Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in addressing the impending energy crisis and assess the social, economic and environmental benefits of employing such an approach to tackling the current energy challenge. Beyond the US, microgrids and CCA offer the opportunity for developing nations to leapfrog the centralized energy infrastructure and provide a more sustainable
    and secure energy system for the 21st century.


    1The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2017 Infrastructure Report Card
    2Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com

  • Tue
    09
    May
    2017
    11:15 amLewis Hall 101

    The 2017 induction ceremony for the National Physics Honors Society, ΣΠΣ will take place on May 9 at 11:15 AM in room 101 in Lewis Hall.

  • Fri
    30
    Jun
    2017
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • June 30, Friday, 8:30 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Mon
    17
    Jul
    2017
    Thu
    20
    Jul
    2017
    9:00 amRoom 109 Lewis Hall

    The 3rd Annual Belle II Summer School will be held at the University of Mississippi — Monday July 17, 2017 until Thursday July 20, 2017.

    Agenda Topics include:
    Computing, Analysis setup, KLM particle ID, TOP particle ID
    Nanobeams, Vertexing, BASF2, Early physics, BEAST, Reconstruction Code
    Drift Chamber, ARICH particle ID, Event Display

    The Registration will start in room 104 of Lewis Hall at 8:30 AM Monday morning. The meeting will start in room 109 of Lewis Hall at 9:00 AM Monday morning. Lectures will be in room 109 Lewis Hall and the Breakout rooms will be in rooms 109 and 228 Lewis Hall.

    Please see https://www.phy.olemiss.edu/b2ss2017/ for details

  • Fri
    28
    Jul
    2017
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • July 28, Friday, 8:30 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Mon
    21
    Aug
    2017
    12:00 pmQuad between Lewis Hall, the Library and the Lyceum

    On Aug. 21, Monday, a total solar eclipse swipes through the U.S., a once-in-a-lifetime event. It is best viewed in a narrow band that crosses Nashville, TN.

    It can be seen in Oxford, MS, as a partial solar eclipse, which is still a rare occurrence. While not a total eclipse the Sun will be over 90% covered so it will still be quite impressive. The Department of Physics and Astronomy will organize a viewing 12:00 noon - 3:00 PM. The maximum coverage is at 1:24 PM.

    The viewing is free, all are welcome. (In case clouds cover the Sun, there will be nothing to see.)

    Note: Never look into the eclipsed Sun without a proper solar filter, it is dangerous!!

     

  • Tue
    29
    Aug
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Mike Reep and Scott Watkins
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Machine Shop Physics

    Experimental physics depends on instrumentation made in the University of Mississippi's Physics machine shop. Instruments made for Acoustics,
    Atmospheric physics, Condensed Matter physics, and Particle physics will be shown.

  • Tue
    05
    Sep
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Vahid Naderyan
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    MEMS Microphones

    MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) microphones are acoustic sensors which translate sound waves to an electrical signal. Recent developments in MEMS technology have led to the development of very small size and high-performance microphones. Silicon fabrication creates the MEMS elements with the geometries of the order of microns. Due to their small size and high performance, MEMS microphones are used in mobile phones, hearing aids, “Internet of Things” devices, small electronic devices, etc. In this talk, I will explain the basic principles of the capacitive MEMS microphones and will talk about the Acoustical, Mechanical, and Electrical domains in a MEMS microphone and their connections.

  • Tue
    19
    Sep
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Ron Miles
    Department of Mechanical Engineering
    State University New York — Binghamton

    The Nanophone: Sensing Sound with Nanoscale Spider Silk

    Hundreds of millions of years of evolution resulted in hair-based flow sensors in terrestrial arthropods that stand out among the most sensitive biological sensors known. These tiny sensory hairs can move with a velocity close to that of the surrounding air at frequencies near their mechanical resonance, in spite of the low viscosity and low density of air. No man-made technology to date demonstrates comparable efficiency. Here we show that nanodimensional spider silk captures fluctuating airflow with maximum physical efficiency (Vsilk/Vair ≈1) from 1Hz to 50kHz, providing an unparalleled means for miniaturized flow sensing. Our mathematical model shows excellent agreement with experimental results for silk with various diameters: 500nm, 1.6µm, 3µm. When a fiber is sufficiently thin, it can move with the medium flow perfectly due to the domination of forces applied to it by the medium over those associated with its mechanical properties. By modifying a spider silk to be conductive and transducing its motion using electromagnetic induction, we demonstrate a miniature, directional, broadband, passive, low cost approach to detect airflow with full fidelity over a frequency bandwidth that easily spans the full range of human hearing, as well as other mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.

  • Tue
    19
    Sep
    2017
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Ronald Miles
    Department of Mechanical Engineering
    State University New York — Binghamton

    Biomimetic Acoustic Sensors for Hearing Aids

    Current hearing aids typically use a pair of miniature microphones in order to achieve directional acoustic sensing. Better hearing aids can be designed by examining how the hearing organs of very small animals such as insects and spiders enable these creatures to detect and localize sound. We have studied the hearing in mosquitoes, flies, crickets, midges, caterpillars, and spiders to explore remarkable ways these animals sense sound. This talk will describe our discovery of the amazing directional ears of a special fly, Ormia ochracea, which is able to localize sound better than humans can even though its ears fit in a space only 1 mm across. Our biomimetic microphones based on this discovery show better performance than existing hearing aid microphones. We have also recently discovered new ways to sense sound based on the use of nanoscale fibers such as insect hairs or spider silk. This has resulted in a directional microphone that has ideal flat frequency response from 1 Hz to 50 kHz, far beyond the range of human hearing. There remains much more to learn from nature to create technology to improve hearing.

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    26
    Sep
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Farhad Farzbod
    Department of Mechanical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Vibrations: from Periodic Structures to the Human Face

    This talk covers four different and yet connected subjects; Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS), vibration analysis of periodic structures,
    and using facial vibrations in wearable computers. RUS is a technique to characterize the elastic and anelastic properties of materials. It is based on the measurements of the vibration eigenmodes of a sample with simple geometry such as a parallelepiped. In Laser RUS, the excitation part is done by a pulsed laser, generating thermoelastically excited ultrasonic pulse. In the detection side, a photorefractive interferometer is used to detect ultrasound. Measured eigenmodes along with eigenfrequencies reveal much information with regard to micro-structural state of the sample material. Novel techniques/problems in laser RUS is discussed in this section. In the second part, periodic structures are discussed. In periodic lattice structures, analysis of wave propagation to uncover dispersion relationships can be greatly simplified by invoking the Floquet-Bloch theorem. The accompanying Bloch formalism, which was first introduced for the study of quantum mechanics and has been borrowed in structural analysis, allows a system's degrees of freedom to be reduced to a small subset contained in a single unit cell. When this is combined with the finite element method, the result is a powerful framework for analyzing wave propagation and dispersion in complex media. In this section, among other things, the manner in which damping affects dispersion is talked about. In the next part, I talk about reciprocity in acoustics and how to break it; one way to break time reversal symmetry is to have a moving wave propagation medium. If the acoustic wave vector and the moving fluid velocity are collinear, we can use the wave vector shift caused by the fluid flow to break reciprocity. An alternative approach we have taken, is to use a fluid velocity field which enters the differential equation of the system as a cross product term with the wave vector. In the final part, bone conduction hearing is discussed; how it helps hearing and how it can be utilized for better communications in wearable technologies.

  • Sun
    01
    Oct
    2017
    7:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • October 1, 2017  7:00 - 9:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon and Saturn. though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    03
    Oct
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    John Thompson
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Maine

    Investigating Student Understanding at the Physics-Mathematics Interface

    Because learning physics concepts often requires the ability to construct, interpret, and manipulate mathematical representations and formalism
    (e.g., equations, graphs, and diagrams), researchers in physics education and mathematics education have been examining how students navigate
    this interface between mathematics and physics. Our own research into student conceptual understanding of physics has led us to investigate how
    students use and reason about mathematics, especially calculus, to solve physics problems in several upper-division physics domains. Examples
    coming from thermal and statistical physics as well as from vector calculus as used in electromagnetism will be given. Instructional materials
    development and implementation will be discussed.

  • Tue
    10
    Oct
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Alex Yakovlev
    Department of Electrical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Recent Developments on Graphene and Graphene Periodic Surfaces at Microwave and Terahertz Frequencies

    Graphene, the first 2D material to be practically realized, has attracted great interest in the last decade. The fact that electrons in graphene behave as massless Dirac fermions leads to a variety of anomalous properties, such as charge carriers with ultra-high-mobility and long mean-free paths. Graphene's electrical properties are often represented by a local complex surface conductivity given by the Kubo formula. Since its surface conductivity leads to attractive surface plasmon properties, graphene has become a good candidate for plasmonic applications, especially in the terahertz regime.

    In this talk we will briefly discuss electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of graphene, and will focus on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with graphene and graphene periodic surfaces at microwave and terahertz frequencies. Specifically, we will discuss the enhanced transmission with a graphene-dielectric stack, dual capacitive/inductive nature of graphene periodic surfaces, high-impedance surfaces with graphene patches, excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on graphene, planar hyperlens based on a modulated graphene, subwavelength imaging with graphene loaded wire media, and cloaking with graphene for antenna applications.

  • Tue
    17
    Oct
    2017
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Carolyn Freiwald,
    Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
    University of Mississippi

    This is Your Life in a Tooth

    You might be surprised to learn that a single tooth contains a record of your life... from the types of food that you ate, to where you lived, to how healthy you were as a child. Vegetarians and BBQ lovers have different chemical markers, and so do people with jobs such as blacksmiths. It is "you are what you eat" at the molecular level. Archaeologists use chemistry to reconstruct the past, learning what ancient people ate and drank, and discovering just how mobile they were. Migrants made up part of cities such as Cahokia across North America 1000 years ago, and formed part of the social fabric in cities throughout Mexico, Latin America, ancient Rome and across the world. Immigration is not a new phenomenon and likely not a new debate. Bone chemistry also has important applications in forensic cases, including identifying missing persons. We'll look at how science works to help us solve both ancient and modern mysteries.

    See this page for details.

  • Fri
    20
    Oct
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Brian Daly
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Vassar College

    Picosecond Ultrasonics: Nanoscale Imaging and GHz Surface Acoustic Wave Studies

    Ultrafast lasers produce pulses of light that are less than 1 ps in duration, and can be used to generate and detect extremely high frequency ultrasound in the range of about 100 GHz. This technique can be applied to semiconductor metrology (nanometer scale thickness measurements, mechanical properties of thin films, imaging of sub-surface nanostructures) but also provides a window to the fundamental behavior of long-wavelength acoustic phonons that have a significant impact on thermal transport at the nanoscale. In this talk I will review the picosecond ultrasonic measurement technique and discuss recent work to advance nanoscale imaging and the study of surface acoustic waves.

  • Fri
    27
    Oct
    2017
    7:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights, food and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday (Oct. 28) in Lewis Hall.

    The program will include a stage show at 8 p.m. Hands-on activities for the public through the evening include freezing objects in liquid nitrogen (at minus 320 degrees), generating sound waves with Bunsen burners and tubes, and levitating magnets with superconductors. Other fun presentations include optical illusions with mirrors, a Van de Graaff generator (a literally “hair-raising” electrical device), a bed of nails and other contraptions.

    Physics department personnel also will prepare ice cream with liquid nitrogen and award prizes for the most original, scariest and cutest costumes to kids aged 12 and under.

  • Sun
    29
    Oct
    2017
    6:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • October 29, 2017  6:30 - 9:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon and other interesting objects. though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    31
    Oct
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Shaon Ghosh
    Department of Physics
    University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

    From the Ashes of a Pair of Neutron Stars: The Tale of a Kilonova

    The observation of the binary neutron star coalescence and the resulting electromagnetic counterpart by LIGO & Virgo and the various observing partners around the world has been one of the most amazing discoveries in physics and astronomy in recent times. The multitude of results that were obtained from this discovery, each in their own rights are fascinating. In this talk, I will attempt to condense these results and put them in the context of the efforts that have been carried out for many decades. I will first give a very short history of the subject, then I will talk about the description of the model of the physical process that we thought were responsible for the observed phenomenon. Next, I will talk about the proposed test to verify our model, and how we conducted them. Finally, I will summarize the important results of the multi-messenger observation.

  • Tue
    07
    Nov
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Jake Bennett
    Department of Physics
    Carnegie Mellon University

    Prospects for Hadron Spectroscopy at Belle II

    The Belle II experiment, currently under construction at the KEK laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan, is the next generation of the highly successful B-factories. A substantial upgrade of both the Belle detector and the KEKB accelerator represent an essentially new experiment. Commissioning of the new SuperKEKB accelerator will start at the end of 2017. Physics running is planned to start in 2018 with a goal of collecting 50 times more data than the first generation B-factories. Belle II is uniquely positioned to make detailed studies of "exotic" hadron states, the so-called XYZ states, that provide the first possibility to explore long-conjectured, nonstandard quarkonium-like states. This talk will give an overview of the detector and accelerator upgrades and describe some of the capabilities of Belle II to explore both conventional and exotic bottomonium and charmonium physics.

  • Fri
    10
    Nov
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Chris Moore
    Departamento de Fisica
    Instituto Superior Técnico — CENTRA, Portugal

    The Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy

    The era of gravitational wave astronomy has begun. The LIGO and Virgo observatories are already revealing the properties of neutron star and stellar mass black hole coalescences. However, many more discoveries await. In the coming years we expect to observe gravitational radiation across a frequency spectrum spanning >10 orders of magnitude, generated by a diverse array of sources from white dwarf stars to supermassive black holes. I will discuss what I consider to be some of the most exciting prospects, and identify several key challenges that must be addressed for these discoveries to be fully utilised in the fields of astronomy, fundamental physics, and cosmology.

  • Tue
    14
    Nov
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    William E. East
    Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Canada

    Uncovering the Dynamics of Spacetime

    With the ground-breaking gravitational wave detections from LIGO/VIRGO, we have entered the era where we can actually observe the action of strongly curved spacetime originally predicted by Einstein. Going hand in hand with this, there has been a renaissance in the theoretical and computational tools we use to understand and interpret the dynamics of gravity and matter in this regime. I will describe some of the rich behavior exhibited by sources of gravitational waves such as the mergers of black holes and neutron stars. I will also discuss some of the open questions, and what these events could teach us, not only about the extremes of gravity, but about the behavior of matter at nuclear densities, the solution of astrophysical mysteries, and even the existence of new particles.

  • Tue
    14
    Nov
    2017
    6:00 pmLuca Bakery and Cafe, 1120-1122 North Lamar Blvd Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Jason Hoeksema,
    Department of Biology,
    University of Mississippi

    Wild Mushrooms: Ecology, Edibility, and More

    What is a mushroom? What is it's natural function for fungi? Which ones are delicious and which ones will make you ill or worse? We will answer all these questions. We'll start with a discussion of fungal ecology, especially focusing on how fungi obtain food, and the really interesting ways that fungi can change the ecology of plants and nutrient cycling. We'll talk about the role of mushrooms in the life cycles of fungi. Finally, we'll discuss strategies for finding and safely enjoying wild mushrooms in northern Mississippi.

    See this page for details.

  • Thu
    16
    Nov
    2017
    2:45 pmLewis 101

    Leo Stein
    Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics
    California Institute of Technology

    Probing Strong-Field Gravity: Black Holes and Mergers in General Relativity and Beyond

    General relativity—Einstein's theory of gravitation—has been studied for more than 100 years. Over the past century, we have learned that the theory agrees with all available experimental and observational tests. At the same time we know that the theory is incomplete, as it leads to inconsistencies when coupled with quantum mechanics.

    The strong-field regime is our best hope to study GR, both observationally and theoretically, and thus understand how to correct its shortcoming. In this talk, I will discuss investigations in the strong field, including black holes and neutron stars, in GR and theories beyond GR. The main focus will be predicting gravitational waves from merging black holes beyond GR. These predictions will allow for the most rigorous testing of general relativity, using LIGO, in the dynamical strong-field regime.

  • Thu
    16
    Nov
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Graduate Students
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Graduate Student Research Symposium

     

  • Tue
    28
    Nov
    2017
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Matthias Kaminski
    Department of Physics and Aastronomy
    University of Alabama

    Gauge/Gravitational Holography — Strong Physics far from Equilibrium

    One natural question within physics is the choice of fundamental variables for describing nature. Is gravity more fundamental than quantum field theory? The holographic principle has lead us to a re-formulation of quantum field theories in terms of gravitational theories, or vice versa. After an introduction to the concepts of this emerging field, we are going to discuss applications to experimentally testable observables, and apply new ways of thinking about non-perturbation physics at strong coupling, and potentially the fabric of spacetime.

  • Tue
    23
    Jan
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Jake Bennett
    Department of Physics
    Carnegie Mellon University

    Amplitude Analysis: A Powerful Tool for Hadron Spectroscopy

    Extracting useful information from experimental data is often far from straightforward. This is particularly true for studies in hadron spectroscopy that seek to determine the properties of constituent quark states. The presence of multiple, often broad, states leads to potentially intricate interference patterns that make the extraction of meaningful information challenging. Amplitude analysis is a powerful tool to disentangle the effects of interference and extract useful properties of hadronic states. This information is vital for a deeper understanding of the fundamental laws of nature. In this talk, I will review the experimental challenges that are associated with amplitude analysis, as well as its potential as a tool for hadron spectroscopy at Belle II.

  • Tue
    30
    Jan
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis 101

    Brian Anderson
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Brigham Young University

    Listening For Cracks Using Resonance And Time Reversal Techniques To Prevent Radiation Leakage From Nuclear Storage Containers

    Spent nuclear fuel is often stored in stainless steel canisters in the United States. Stainless steel is susceptible to Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). This presentation will discuss progress on the use of the Time Reversed Elastic Nonlinearity Diagnostic (TREND) and Nonlinear Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (NRUS) to determine whether SCC is present and attempt to quantify the depth of the cracking. NRUS is the measurement of the amplitude dependence of a sample's resonance frequency, which occurs because of a softening of the elastic modulus in damaged media. NRUS provides a global indication of damage in a sample. TREND employs time reversal acoustics, which focuses wave energy at various points of interest to excite localized high amplitude. The amplitude dependence of this localized energy allows pointwise inspection of a sample.

  • Thu
    08
    Feb
    2018
    4:00 pmNCPA Auditorium

    Aaron Zimmerman
    Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
    University of Toronto

    Black Holes, Alone and in Pairs

    The recent detections of gravitational waves have revealed an invisible side of the universe: black holes in binaries. These observations test our understanding of black holes, their violent mergers, and the theory of general relativity. A combination of analytic approximations and full numerical simulations is required to understand black hole binaries and predict the gravitational waves they emit. I will take us on a tour of these systems, discuss the “ringdown” of the final merged black hole, and present the most recent results from the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors.

  • Thu
    15
    Feb
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jessica McIver
    Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
    California Institute of Technology

    Gravitational Wave Astrophysics: A New Era of Discovery

    Large-scale interferometric detectors including LIGO and Virgo sense gravitational waves; minuscule fluctuations in space-time from the most extreme phenomena in the Universe. The recent detection of gravitational waves by LIGO and Virgo in concert with an associated electromagnetic counterpart was a breakthrough in multi-messenger astronomy that confirmed the association between neutron star collisions and short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and yielded new insight into the physical engine driving GRBs. Future gravitational wave observations have the potential to provide critical insight into key open questions in astrophysics, including the distribution of compact objects in the Universe, the evolution of compact binary systems, galaxy formation, and the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae.

    I will present the major outstanding challenges in gravitational wave astrophysics, including searching for transient signals in noisy data that contains a high rate of transient noise artifacts. I will discuss future prospects for how this quickly growing field will shape our understanding of the Universe.

  • Tue
    20
    Feb
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Dan Cherdack
    Department of Physics
    Colorado State University

    Searching for CP-Violation with the DUNE Experiment

    Of the four known fundamental forces the weak force has many unique properties. It is the only standard model force that couples to all known fermions, that has massive exchange bosons, and that induces particle flavor changes. Even more surprising is that the weak force maximally violates parity symmetry, and has even been demonstrated to break charge-parity (CP) symmetry, meaning the weak force interacts differently with matter and anti-matter. This last property may hold the key to understanding several fundamental mysteries of the universe from the three-generation structure of matter, to the missing link between the big bang and the observed universe.

    Neutrinos only interact via the weak force which means they are hard to detect, but provide a unique test bed for studying the weak interaction. Over the past few decades it was discovered that neutrinos have mass and change flavors. Studying the way neutrinos change flavors, termed neutrino oscillations, allows us to search for a new source of CP-violation. The next-generation Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will usher in an era of high precision neutrino physics with the worlds most intense neutrino beam and high resolution Liquid Argon (LAr) Time Projection Chamber (TPCs) detectors. The Fermilab Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program will employ three LAr TPCs, which will provide and excellent test bed for LAr TPC R&D, and allow for many important measurements crucial to DUNE. I will discuss the theoretical framework we use to describe neutrino oscillations, and the exciting opportunities and new challenges afforded us by these experiments.

     

  • Fri
    23
    Feb
    2018
    Sat
    24
    Feb
    2018
    Lewis Hall 101 (Friday) and the Law Center (Saturday)

    This is a Meeting of the Zone X region of the Society of Physics Students.

  • Tue
    27
    Feb
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Tony Jun Huang
    Pratt School of Engineering
    Duke University

    Acoustofluidics: Merging Acoustics and Microfluidics for Biomedical Applications

    The past two decades have witnessed an explosion in lab-on-a-chip research with applications in biology, chemistry, and medicine. The continuous fusion of novel properties of physics into microfluidic environments has enabled the rapid development of this field. Recently, a new lab-on-a-chip frontier has emerged, joining acoustics with microfluidics, termed acoustofluidics. Here we summarize our recent progress in this exciting field and show the depth and breadth of acoustofluidic tools for biomedical applications through many unique examples, from exosome separation to cell-cell communications to 3D bioprinting, from circulating tumor cell isolation and detection to ultra-high-throughput blood cell separation for therapeutics, from high-precision micro-flow cytometry to portable yet powerful fluid manipulation systems. These acoustofluidic technologies are capable of delivering high-precision, high-throughput, and high-efficiency cell/particle/fluid manipulation in a simple, inexpensive, cell-phone-sized device. More importantly, the acoustic power intensity and frequency used in these acoustofluidic devices are in a similar range as those used in ultrasonic imaging, which has proven to be extremely safe for health monitoring during various stages of pregnancy. As a result, these methods are extremely biocompatible; i.e., cells and other biospecimen can maintain their natural states without any adverse effects from the acoustic manipulation process. With these unique advantages, acoustofluidic technologies meet a crucial need for highly accurate and amenable disease diagnosis (e.g., early cancer detection and prenatal health) as well as effective therapy (e.g., transfusion and immunotherapy).

     

     

  • Tue
    06
    Mar
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Harry Swinney
    Center for Nonlinear Dynamics
    University of Texas — Austin

    Universality in Nature

    In the seventeenth century Newton thought about the gravitational force between the earth and an apple falling from a tree, and he said “I began to think of gravity extending to the orb of the Moon.” This led him to postulate that his gravitational force law is a universal law of nature, applying to any two masses in the universe. We now know that there are three other fundamental universal forces in nature, the electromagnetic and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Systems of many atoms or molecules can similarly exhibit universal behavior. For example, studies of phase transitions in the 20th century culminated with Kenneth Wilson's theory of universality in phase transitions of systems as different as fluids and magnets. The present talk examines spatial patterns that emerge in systems driven away from thermodynamic equilibrium by imposed gradients in pressure, temperature, or nutrient concentration. Experiments and mathematical models provide insights into the formation of patterns in physical, chemical, and biological systems, as will be illustrated through examples that reveal mathematical similarity in phenomena such as in the fractal wrinkling of flower petals and plastic sheets.

  • Tue
    20
    Mar
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Tyrone Porter
    Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
    Boston University

    Tensionless Bubbles and Exploding Droplets

    Fluid-filled particles play a pivotal role in biomedical applications of ultrasound. This talk will cover two examples, lipid-coated microbubbles and vaporizable nanoemulsions, highlighting their interesting nonlinear dynamics and utility. Due to their compressibility, microbubbles are more echogenic than tissue, making them ideal ultrasound contrast agents. The microbubble surface must be coated with surface-active molecules such as lipids in order to reduce the interfacial tension and stabilize the microbubble against dissolution. The interfacial tension is a function of lipid surface density, which varies from zero upon deep compression to that of an uncoated bubble upon expansion. The forces acting on the microbubble wall vary as the interfacial tension changes, resulting in a nonlinear response to acoustic excitation. Using monodisperse lipid-coated microbubbles, we have studied this nonlinear behavior, including pressure-dependent resonance frequency and subharmonic emissions at ultralow excitation pressures. In contrast to microbubbles, liquid perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions are incompressible and thus poorly echogenic. The nanoemulsions can be vaporized with high pressure acoustic pulses. The phase conversion is immediate and highly energetic and thus resembles an explosion on a microscale. The resultant bubbles can be used to transiently permeabilize cell membranes, thus enabling drug delivery to intracellular targets, or can be used to enhance tissue absorption of ultrasound, making ultrasound-mediated ablation more efficient. These studies provide insight into the unique nonlinear behavior of these fluid-filled particles and how they may be leveraged for exciting biomedical applications.

  • Tue
    27
    Mar
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    David Meyer
    Department of Mathematics
    University of California — San Diego

    Data Science and Quantum Gravity

    Data, even “big data”, is finite, and thus discrete. A common goal is to describe them as the outcome of a random process specified by a small number of parameters; doing so at least compresses the data, and at best explicates the process by which they were generated. Some important approaches include low-rank matrix factorization and multi-dimensional scaling, both of which reveal a geometry behind the data. Such interplay between the discrete and the continuous is familiar in theoretical and computational physics, from the definition and regularization of path integrals to numerical methods for fluid dynamics. In this talk I'll explain how recent data science results in non-metric multidimensional scaling provide a new perspective on the Hawking-Malament theorem that is the foundation of the causal set program for quantum gravity. I'll describe a new algorithm for embedding causal sets in Lorentzian manifolds motivated by this perspective. And I'll end with some speculations about possible quantum dynamics for causal sets. Familiarity with the causal set program for quantum gravity will not be assumed.

  • Tue
    03
    Apr
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Mir Emad Aghili, Vishal Baibhav, and Shrobana Ghosh
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Presentations by Graduate Students

    "Manifoldlikeness of Causal Sets" by Mir Emad Aghili
    Abstract: We study the distribution of maximal-chain lengths between two elements of a causal set, and its relationship with the embeddability of the causal set in a region of flat spacetime. We start with causal sets obtained from uniformly distributed points in Minkowski space. After some general considerations we focus on the 2-dimensional case and derive expressions for the expected number nk of maximal chains as a function of their length k, the most probable maximal-chain length k0, and the width Δ of the length distribution, as functions of the number N of causal set elements in the interval between the two points. These results, together with the results of numerical simulations of causal sets embedded in Minkowski space of various dimensionalities, show that for a given N the values of k0 and Δ can be used to estimate the dimensionality of a causal set embeddable in Minkowski space. Other dimension estimators are known for manifoldlike causal sets, but the length distribution also gives us a way to evaluate the embeddability of a causal set. We provide a first test of manifoldlikeness based on k0 and Δ, and end with a few simple examples of nk distributions for non-manifoldlike causal sets.

    "Systematic Errors and Energy Estimates in Binary Black Hole Ringdown" by Vishal Baibhav
    Abstract: High signal-to-noise ratio gravitational wave observations will enable us to measure the quasinormal frequencies of binary black hole merger remnants. In general relativity, these frequencies depend only on the remnant's mass and spin, so they can be used to test general relativity and the Kerr nature of the remnant. To carry out these tests, systematic errors must be subdominant with respect to statistical errors. I'll talk about how accurately ringdown frequencies can be extracted from state-of-the-art numerical simulations from the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) catalog. I'll also present some results on the relative excitation of different quasinormal modes. To quantify these excitations, one must define a suitable “starting time“, e.g. by maximizing the energy content “parallel” to a quasinormal mode (as suggested by Nollert). We used Nollert's method to quantify the energy radiated in quasinormal modes for aligned-spin binaries, and we produced post-Newtonian inspired fits of the resulting energy estimates.

    "Detectability of Gravitational Radiation from Superradiant Instabilities" by Shrobana Ghosh
    Abstract: An incident wave, when scattered off a black hole may get amplified, at the expense of the rotational energy of the black hole. This process is known as superradiance and due to this rotating black holes can serve as particle detectors. For a massive field, the mass of the field helps in confining the field. Therefore, even an ultralight bosonic field can form a non-axisymmetric cloud around the black hole due to repeated amplification from the black hole. This leads to emission of gravitational radiation that can be detected by ground-based or space-based gravitational wave detectors, depending on the mass of the boson. Based on astrophysical models we show that adLIGO should see 104 events in a 4 year mission for a scalar field mass of 3×10-12 eV, while LISA will see about 103 events in a 4 year mission for a scalar field mass of 10-17 eV. In the absence of detection at a particular detector, we can rule out the corresponding mass range of the scalar field. We also look at the detectability of such events from the remnants of the merger events already seen by adLIGO at the present and future ground-based detectors.

  • Sun
    08
    Apr
    2018
    9:30 amRobert C. Khayat Law Center

    University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University
    Featuring Research talks and Poster presentations
    Open to Faculty, Staff, Undergraduate students, and Graduate students
    9:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

  • Mon
    09
    Apr
    2018
    2:45 pmLewis Hall 228

    You are invited to attend Wanwei Wu's defense of his Ph.D. dissertation

    at 2:45 p.m. on Monday, April 9, in 228 Lewis Hall. The title of his

    dissertation is "The Beam Dynamics and Beam Related Uncertainties in the

    Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment."

  • Tue
    10
    Apr
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Bruno Uchoa
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Oklahoma

    Topology and Quantum Phenomena in Nodal Matter

    Nodal matter describes a new metallic form where the Fermi surface collapses into sets of points or lines, and is not stabilized by Fermi pressure but by symmetries. The non-trivial quantum phenomena of those systems are described by topology, a field of mathematics that studies properties that remain invariant under continuous deformations of shapes and surfaces. In the first part of the talk I will give a general overview of the field. In the second one, I will describe a particular class of nodal materials where the Fermi surface has the shape of closed lines. I will show that interactions can drive this system into an exotic topological phase in three dimensions (3D) known as the 3D anomalous quantum Hall effect, where the system has spontaneous and topologically protected surface currents.

  • Tue
    17
    Apr
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Mukunda Acharya, Khagendra Adhikari, and Xudong Fan
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Presentations by Graduate Students

    "Sound Speed Profiles of the Global Ocean calculated from Physical Oceanographic Data" by Mukunda Acharya
    Abstract: Sound speed profiles in the global ocean are useful for modeling of sound propagation over the global oceans. This talk presents the sound speed profiles calculated from physical oceanographic data that were collected in the world ocean circulation experiment. They are data of conductivity, temperature, and pressure, taken from multiple cruises with a typical spacing of 60 km along the route of each cruise and consisting of an elaborate series of zonal (east-west) and meridional (north-south) coast-to-coast cruises across the global oceans. Nearly 8000 sound speed profiles were mapped out that were then used to determine the dependence of sound speed minimum and depth for those minima on the longitude and latitude. Based on the characterization, practical formulas of the dependence were given.

    "Deforming the Fredkin Spin Chain Away from its Frustration-free Point" by Khagendra Adhikari
    Abstract: The Fredkin model describes a spin-half chain segment subject to three-body, correlated-exchange interactions and twisted boundary conditions. The model is frustration-free, and its ground state wave function is known exactly. Its low-energy physics is that of a strong xy ferromagnet with gapless excitations and an unusually large dynamical exponent. We study a generalized spin chain model that includes the Fredkin model as a special tuning point and otherwise interpolates between the conventional ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic quantum Heisenberg models. We solve for the low-lying states, using exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization group calculations, in order to track the properties of the system as it is tuned away from the Fredkin point. We identify a zero-temperature phase diagram with multiple transitions and unexpected ordered phases. The Fredkin ground state turns out to be particularly brittle, unstable to even infinitesimal antiferromagnetic frustration. We remark on the existence of an “anti-Fredkin” point at which all the contributing spin configurations have a spin structure exactly opposite to those in the Fredkin ground state.

    "Enhancing Sound Emission by Using Subwavelength Metacavities" by Xudong Fan
    Abstract: Efficient directional emission of sound waves is critical in imaging and communication, yet is held back by the inefficient emission of a small source. A change in the surrounding environment of an acoustic source can lead to enhanced emission and mode conversion. This talk will present frames of enclosing small sound sources in subwavelength meta-cavities to achieve sound enhancement and conversion with high efficiency. The enhancement is an analog of modifying spontaneous emission rate of a quantum source in a resonant cavity. The enhancement by a subwavelength meta-cavity offers a practical path toward miniaturization in applications that demand efficient emission, such as sonar, loudspeakers, or ultrasound transducers.

  • Wed
    18
    Apr
    2018
    3:00 pmLewis Hall 228

    You are invited to attend Chandrima Chatterjee's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 3:00 PM on Monday, April 18, in 228 Lewis Hall.
    The dissertation title is: "Experimental Investigation of Impurities and Their Effect on Acousto-Electric Properties of Lithium Niobate".

  • Fri
    20
    Apr
    2018
    Sat
    21
    Apr
    2018
    3:00 pmLewis Hall and Swayze Field (Friday) and the Field Station (Saturday)

    S.T.E.M. Fest 2018 at the University of Mississippi

    The physics department will participate in the 2018 S.T.E.M. Fest.

    Friday, April 20, 2018

    • Physics Open House. Learn why a curve ball curves or how to hit the perfect home run from the Society of Physics Students.
      Lewis Hall & Swayze Field 3 - 5 PM.
    • National Center for Physical Acoustics Tours. Discover cutting-edge research on a variety of acoustic phenomena, from ultrasonic to infrasonic. NCPA, 3 PM & 4 PM.
    • Hidden Figures: The movie. The 2016 blockbuster presented by the Women in Physics and the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement. Overby, 5 - 7:15 PM.
    • Astronomy Open House: Viewings of the moon and Jupiter with the historic 1893 Grubb telescope, weather permitting.
      Kennon Observatory, 8 - 10 PM.

    Saturday, April 21, 2018

    • Lightning Research at UM Field Station. Lecture on lightning and atmospheric physics by Professor Tom Marshall.
      Field Station, 10:40-11am.
    • Fun Demos at UM Field Station. Explore the physics of sound, a fire tornado, liquid nitrogen, and what happens when you lay down on a bed of nails. Field Station, 2:30-3:30pm.

     

  • Fri
    20
    Apr
    2018
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • April 20, 2018 on Friday 8:00 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    24
    Apr
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Deidre Shoemaker
    School of Physics
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    Numerical Relativity in the Age of Gravitational Wave Observations

    The advent of gravitational wave astronomy has created opportunities to probe strong-field gravity as we measure the merger of black holes. Numerical relativity provides the means to confront the measurements with theoretical prediction. In this talk, I'll discuss the role numerical relativity played in the observed black hole binaries by LIGO and Virgo and the future potential for unveiling strong-field gravity in both future ground and space based detectors.

  • Tue
    01
    May
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Emanuele Berti
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Strong Gravity and Astrophysics with Compact Binaries at the Dawn of Gravitational-wave Astronomy

    Einstein's general relativity has passed all experimental verifications with flying colors, but cosmological observations and difficulties in quantizing gravity suggest that general relativity should be modified at some level. Strong-field modifications of general relativity (if they occur in nature) will in general affect the dynamics of black holes and neutron stars, with potentially observable signatures. Therefore compact objects - whether in isolation or in binary systems - are excellent astrophysical laboratories for high-energy physics and strong-field gravity. Furthermore, the gravitational radiation emitted during the inspiral and merger of compact binaries encodes important information on their astrophysical formation mechanism. I will discuss potential smoking guns of modified gravity in gravitational-wave detectors, and the theoretical and observational challenges associated with their search. I will also discuss the potential of Earth- and space-based detectors to further our understanding of the formation and evolution of compact binaries.

  • Sat
    12
    May
    2018
    11:30 amLewis Hall, Room 104

    You are invited to a buffet luncheon Honoring our 2018 Physics Graduates. It will take place in room 104 Lewis Hall from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

  • Fri
    22
    Jun
    2018
    8:45 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • June 22, 2018 on Friday 8:45 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  Jupiter, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    26
    Jun
    2018
    2:00 pmLewis Hall 228

    You are invited to attend Nilmini Karunarathne's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, June 26, in 228 Lewis Hall.
    The dissertation title is: "Modeling Studies of Lightning Initiation and Propagation".

  • Sun
    22
    Jul
    2018
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • July 22, 2018 on Friday 8:30 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon,  Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    19
    Aug
    2018
    8:15 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • August 19, 2018 on Sunday 8:15 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    21
    Aug
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Zheguang Zou
    National Center for Physical Acoustics
    University of Mississippi

    Underwater Sound Propagation in Estuarine Environments

    Estuaries are shallow-water regions that are highly dynamic due to a variety of environmental variability, such as tidal flow, water mixing,
    wind-driven water surface waves, etc. The environmental variability has significant effect on underwater sound propagation and acoustic
    communication. This talk will present some of these effects in the Delaware bay. The examinations include water-column variations due to tidal
    dynamics, and surface variations due to wind-wave dynamics. The results gain insight into the link between physical environments and underwater
    acoustic fields, suggesting the demanding of next-generation underwater acoustic communication systems for dynamic oceans.

  • Tue
    04
    Sep
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Robert J. Doerksen
    Department of BioMolecular Sciences
    University of Mississippi

    Laws of Physics Applied to Molecules: Accurate Electronic Structure Calculations and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

    Quantum mechanics, classical mechanics (so-called “molecular mechanics”) and molecular dynamics (which could be classical- or quantum-based) methods can be used to study molecules and molecular systems to provide accurate fundamental properties, to compare to experimental results or to provide insight. In this seminar I will give a brief explanation of a variety of fundamental calculation approaches. I will illustrate the use of the methods for solving practical problems with calculations of optical rotations, NMR chemical shifts and electronic circular dichroism spectra that assist in assigning the absolute configuration of newly discovered natural product molecules and molecular dynamics simulations used to study the role of allosteric modulators of cannabinoid receptors.

  • Tue
    11
    Sep
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Parsa Bakhtiari Rad
    National Center for Physical Acoustics
    University of Mississippi

    3D Seismic Oceanography: The New Frontier in Ocean Water-Column Exploration

    Seismic oceanography is a newly-introduced technique that links exploration seismology and physical oceanography. It consists of the application of the multi-channel seismic reflection method, commonly used in the oil and gas industry to image the subsurface geological structure, to the investigation of the fine structure of the ocean interior. Seismic reflection sections provide high quality images of the oceans fine structures with higher vertical and horizontal resolution and complement conventional physical oceanography measurements and logs. These images consist of seismic reflections that occur and are recorded whenever a seismic wave traveling in a heterogeneous media encounters interfaces between different water layers and is reflected back to the surface and recorded by special receivers. This talk will report the implement of a three dimensional (3-D) seismic study to better image the ocean interior. A very large seismic data set collected from the Mississippi canyon in the Gulf of Mexico is used to produce the 3-D seismic images of the ocean interior. The initial images obtained using massive hardware/software efforts exhibit promising results for further studies.

  • Sun
    16
    Sep
    2018
    7:15 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • September 16, 2018 on Sunday 7:15 - 9:30 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    18
    Sep
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Eyal Schwartz
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Single Atoms Dynamics in Tight Optical Tweezers

    One of the enduring ambitions in atomic physics is to build an understanding of interacting macroscopic systems completely from knowledge of the underlying microscopic dynamics. In recent years, experimental advancements in the near-deterministic isolation and control of single atoms, paved the way for this connection of the few-body and many-body regimes. As experimental techniques in engineering atom-atom interactions become more reliable and widespread, further opportunities for direct observations of quantum phenomena come to light.

    In this talk I will give an overview of our past and present work. From laser cooling and trapping of a single atom in optical tweezers, through different manipulations to study few body dynamics in an atomic level. I will detail our latest works of “Thermally-robust spin correlations between two atoms” and “Direct measurements of collisional dynamics in ultra-cold atom triads”.

    Our facility gives a push button mechanism for future quantum chemistry, quantum computers and cool fundamental quantum experiments to explore the relations between the micro and macro worlds.

  • Tue
    25
    Sep
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Stefanos Kourtis
    Physics Department
    Boston University

    Quantum-inspired Approaches to Hard Computational Problems

    Many classes of complex computational problems admit no efficient solution or even approximation, yet have a vast reach in applications across science and industry. From a physics perspective, computational complexity originates from strong correlations between bits of information. It is reasonable to ask whether computational approaches to quantum many-body problems can be practically useful in this context. In this talk, I will present newly found cases where the answer is affirmative. I will introduce constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) and reformulate them as interacting models whose ground states represent the solution manifold. A procedure that reaches the ground states of these models implements a protocol of computation. In some protocols, the complexity that arises during computation can be viewed as quantum entanglement, and efficiency is achieved by controlling its growth. Using this reasoning, I will introduce practical methods for solving CSPs based on tensor network contraction and demonstrate that they outperform state-of-the-art solvers for some of these problems by a significant margin. I will conclude with an outline of ongoing work on extensions and applications to problems of current interest, such as the simulation of existing and near-term quantum circuits.

     

  • Tue
    02
    Oct
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Surajit Sen
    Department of Physics
    State University of New York at Buffalo

    A New Look at Nonlinear Dynamics - Fundamental Physics, Shocks and Metamaterials

    Nonlinear dynamics as a subject began in the late 1600s and matured into a broad based area in the late 20th century. The talk will shed light on the breadth of the subject, the characters that seem to inhabit the nonlinear world, how they interact, and the newly introduced quasi-equilibrium phase. What nonlinear dynamics gives us in terms of making novel metamaterials and technologies will be highlighted.

     

  • Tue
    09
    Oct
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Ryan C. Fortenberry
    Department of Chemistry
    University of Mississippi

    Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy: A Match Made in the Heavens

    The chemistry of the Earth is tied to only a small set of conditions while most of the rest of the Universe is often grossly different from terrestrial circumstances. Consequently, astrochemical experiments can be quite difficult to perform, but quantum chemistry does not suffer the same difficulties. Here, quantum chemistry is applied to the prediction of gas-phase spectroscopy and molecular formation of various “unstable” molecular systems including radicals, cations, and anions. The spectra of seemingly strange species including proton-bound complexes (i.e. OC—H+—CO), noble gas molecules (i.e. ArCH2+, NeON+, & ArOH+), premineral molecules (i.e. Mg2O2 & MgF2), and odd bonding in chalcogen hydrides (H2S—S+) have been produced and even linked with laboratory and astrophysical detections. The applications of these findings stretch from the esoteric of cool and novel chemistry to indicators of early stages of planet formation even to abiotic molecular oxygen synthesis in comets, atmospheres, and the early Earth.

  • Sun
    14
    Oct
    2018
    6:45 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • October 14, 2018 on Sunday 6:45 - 8:15 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    16
    Oct
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Karim Sabra
    George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    Ocean Remote Sensing Using Passive Acoustics

    Acoustic waves carry information about their environment as they propagate, especially in the ocean which can conduct sound very efficiently over significant distances. Hence underwater acoustic waves can be exploited for a wide variety of ocean remote sensing activities. Modern acoustic remote sensing involves receiver arrays and array signal processing to recover multidimensional results, for instance the characterization of medium inhomogeneities due to sound speed fluctuations or discrete sound scatters. On one hand receiver arrays are becoming increasingly autonomous, miniaturized and capable of long term deployment thus enabling the practical use of acoustics for ocean remote sensing applications. However, on the other hand, conventional acoustic remote sensing techniques still typically rely on controlled active sources which can be problematic to deploy and operate over the long term, especially if multiple sources are required to fully illuminate the ocean region of interest. To address this crucial limitation, totally passive versions-i.e. using only receiver arrays- of existing remote sensing techniques can be developed by taking advantage of uncooperative sources of opportunity (e.g. shipping noise) or the ubiquitous ocean ambient noise which have not typically been used in traditional ocean sensing applications due to their apparent complex nature. This fully passive approach can also be advantageous when regulations forbid the use of active sound sources to prevent the disruption of natural animal activities or when no active sources are readily available-e.g. at very low frequencies (~10Hz) or during covert operations. This presentation will discuss recent development of ocean remote sensing using passive acoustics notably 1) Passive acoustic thermometry to estimate deep ocean temperatures variations using coherent processing of low-frequency ambient noise, 2) Localization of drifting sensor networks using ambient noise to enable random volumetric ad-hoc receiver array for tracking underwater targets; and 3) Monitoring of shallow water sound channel using shipping sources of opportunity. Additionally the extension of these passive remote sensing techniques to seismic and structural health monitoring applications will also be presented.

  • Tue
    23
    Oct
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Baharak Sajjadi
    Department of Chemical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Efficient Carbon Modification for Sustainable Food/Energy/Water Nexus

    Climate change mitigation is arguably the leading grand challenge facing mankind. Our critical reviews of physical modifications (Reviews in Chemical Engineering, 2018. in press, doi.org/10.1515/revce-2017-0113) and chemical modifications (Reviews in Chemical
    Engineering
    , 2018. in press, doi.org/10.1515/revce-2018-0003) of biochar in addition to our experimental results suggest that acoustic, photochemical and plasma treatments, in selected reaction environments and conditions; are capable of inducing either structural or functional group changes on carbonaceous materials. These tunable, low energy treatments have potential to mitigate climate change through a number of transformative tracks.

    The pioneering work of our transdisciplinary team revealed that single-staged ultrasound and photochemical treatments of
    biochar in H2O with dissolved CO2 results in fixation of C from CO2 on biochar, fixation of H from water on biochar, mineral leaching by water including minerals detrimental to gasification, increase in biochar's heating value (due to the 3 processes stated above), and increase in biochar's internal surface area (AIChE Journal, 2014. 60 (3):1054-1065). These synergisms seem to be tunable by feedstock, reactants stoichiometry and reaction conditions in pyrolysis, and treatments (Fuel, 2019. 235:1131-1145). Carbon and hydrogen fixations seem to be connected to the formation of H2, CO, formic acid, formaldehyde, and associated radicals during sonolysis of aqueous CO2. Similar to ultrasound waves, non-thermal plasma  can split water vapor and CO2 to excited chemicals and fuels including methanol, H2 and CO (Current Opinion in Green & Sustainable Chemistry, 2017. 3:45-49). The presence of carbon in the plasma system has not been explored. However, treatment of biochar in non-thermal chlorine plasma yields a high adsorption capacity of elemental mercury in flue gas due to the creation of Cl-active sites (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2018. 331C:536-544).

    In this seminar, we will discuss the potential routes of the observed synergisms in mitigation of climate change through CO2
    capture/recycle, energy production through advanced gasification, Remediation of global carbon cycle
    (Fuel, 2018. 225
    :287-298) & water resource (Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2018, in press). These treatments can also open new routes for tackling challenges such as water desalination through functionalized defected graphene membrane.

  • Fri
    26
    Oct
    2018
    7:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights, food and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday (Oct. 26) in Lewis Hall.

    The program will include a stage show at 8 p.m. Hands-on activities for the public through the evening include freezing objects in liquid nitrogen (at minus 320 degrees), generating sound waves with Bunsen burners and tubes, and levitating magnets with superconductors. Other fun presentations include optical illusions with mirrors, a Van de Graaff generator (a literally “hair-raising” electrical device), a bed of nails and other contraptions.

    Physics department personnel also will prepare ice cream with liquid nitrogen and award prizes for the most original, scariest and cutest costumes to kids aged 12 and under.

  • Tue
    06
    Nov
    2018
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Andrea Welsh
    School of Physics
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    Coming Together: Individuals at Different Scales Working for A Common Goal

    Patterns in time and space are ubiquitous in everyday life, from the formation of structure by cell morphogenesis, to the coloration of animal's skin and fur, to the construction of large sand dunes from the driving and dissipation of the environment. My thesis can be classified into two threads: investigating the formations of patterns by the collective motion of systems — such as swarms of brine shrimp and human spiral waves — and the exploration of “chimera states,” a spatio-temporal pattern with more than one distinct behavior, both of which occur in biologically-relevant models of excitable tissue. I use a combination of computer simulation, mathematical methods, and table-top experiments to study these instances of pattern formation and learn how they are formed in biological systems, as well as the relevant physical parameters that control what sort of patterns are formed. Investigation of these systems have important consequences in how we understand our world, quantify and predict their dynamics and gain insights on why some patterns are physically chosen over others, and how to control them for our benefit.

     

  • Sun
    18
    Nov
    2018
    5:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • November 18, 2018 on Sunday 5 - 7 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    16
    Dec
    2018
    5:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • December 16, 2018 on Sunday 5 - 7 PM

    We plan to observe  the Moon, Mars, Uranus and Neptune, Venus, nebulae  and  star  clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    20
    Jan
    2019
    9:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • January 20, 2019 on Sunday 9:00 PM - Midnight

    We plan to observe  a total eclipse of the Moon though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    29
    Jan
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Thomas Werfel
    Department of Chemical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Targeted Therapies at the Interface of Nanotechnology and Cancer Biology

    In the Interdisciplinary NanoBioSciences (iNBS) Lab, we work largely at the interface of nanotechnology and cancer biology. The complexity of cancer necessitates creative, multi-faceted solutions that nanotechnologies have the potential to offer. However, the successful application of nanotechnologies is currently stymied by oversimplified biological models and a dearth of data from advanced biological studies that faithfully recapitulate human disease. Ultimately, our scientific goals are to better understand nanomaterial-biological system interactions to improve the performance of nanotechnologies in humans, discover new cancer molecular targets ideal for nanotechnology-based therapies, and identify cellular and molecular processes that impact drug delivery efficiency, cancer metastasis, and resistance to therapy. In this colloquium, I will highlight three research thrusts in the iNBS Lab that span nanotechnology and targeted cancer therapy: 1) Drugging previously 'undruggable' cancer-causing genes with siRNA nanomedicines, 2) Combating the immunosuppressive impact of efferocytosis in the tumor microenvironment, and 3) Targeting the platelet-tumor cell interaction to prevent breast cancer metastasis.

  • Tue
    05
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Kyle Parfrey
    Astrophysics Division
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

    The Magnetic Lives of Black Holes and Neutron Stars

    The most extreme and surprising behaviors of black holes and neutron stars are driven by their surrounding plasmas and magnetic fields. Numerical simulations which capture basic physical processes like particle acceleration, magnetic reconnection, and magneto-rotational turbulence can yield insight into such disparate phenomena as black-hole jets and X-ray coronae, magnetar giant gamma-ray flares, and the spin limit of millisecond pulsars. I will focus on what simulations can teach us about the launching of relativistic jets in compact binary mergers, and will describe how a new technique for general-relativistic plasma kinetics will aid in understanding black holes' jets and particle acceleration, and in interpreting future observations with the Earth-spanning Event Horizon Telescope.

  • Thu
    07
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Shaon Ghosh
    Department of Physics
    University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee

    Astrophysics with Synergy of Electromagnetic and Gravitational Wave Observations

    About three and a half years ago, the direct detection and measurement of gravitational waves from a pair of coalescing black holes by the LIGO interferometers opened a new window for astrophysicists to look into the universe. Almost two years later, the discovery of gravitational wave from a binary neutron star system marked the beginning of the era of joint electromagnetic and gravitational wave astronomy. In this talk, I will present a brief history of this discovery and its importance in that context. I will then focus on the rich scientific results of the multi-messenger observation and finally, discuss how such joint observations can help us extract astrophysical information from some of the most extreme objects in the universe. Specifically, I will highlight how observations of neutron stars can help us understand how matter behaves in conditions that cannot be replicated in earth-based laboratories. The required information for such studies comes to us from various avenues of astrophysical observations. I will delineate the methods that we will be employing in combining these information to make robust inferences on the neutron star equation of state.

  • Sun
    10
    Feb
    2019
    6:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • February 10, 2019 on Sunday 6:00 -8:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, Mars and Uranus, nebulae and star clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    12
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Stephen Taylor
    Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
    California Institute of Technology

    Frontiers of Multi-Messenger Black-Hole Physics

    The bounty of gravitational-wave observations from LIGO and Virgo has opened up a new window onto the warped Universe, as well as a pathway to addressing many of the contemporary challenges of fundamental physics. I will discuss how catalogs of stellar-mass compact object mergers can probe the unknown physical processes of binary stellar evolution, and how these systems can be harnessed as standard distance markers (calibrated entirely by fundamental physics) to map the expansion history of the cosmos. The next gravitational-wave frontier will be opened within 3-6 years by pulsar-timing arrays, which have unique access to black-holes at the billion to ten-billion solar mass scale. The accretionary dynamics of supermassive black-hole binaries should yield several tell-tale signatures observable in upcoming synoptic time-domain surveys, as well as gravitational-wave signatures measurable by pulsar timing. Additionally, pulsar-timing arrays are currently placing compelling constraints on modified gravity theories, cosmic strings, and ultralight scalar-field dark matter. I will review my work on these challenges, as well as in the exciting broader arena of gravitational-wave astrophysics, and describe my vision for the next decade of discovery.

  • Thu
    14
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    David Nichols
    Institute of Physics
    University of Amsterdam

    Gravitational Waves and Fundamental Properties of Matter and Spacetime

    Gravitational waves from the mergers of ten binary black holes and one binary neutron star were detected in the first two observing runs by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors. In this talk, I will discuss the eleven gravitational-wave detections and the electromagnetic observations that accompanied the neutron-star merger. These detections confirmed many of the predictions of general relativity, and they initiated the observational study of strongly curved, dynamical spacetimes and their highly luminous gravitational waves. One aspect of these high gravitational-wave luminosities that LIGO and Virgo will be able to measure is the gravitational-wave memory effect: a lasting change in the gravitational-wave strain produced by energy radiated in gravitational waves. I will describe how this effect is related to symmetries and conserved quantities of spacetime, how the memory effect can be measured with LIGO and Virgo, and how new types of memory effects have been recently predicted. I will conclude by discussing the plans for the next generation of gravitational-wave detectors after LIGO and Virgo and the scientific capabilities of these new detectors. These facilities could detect millions of black-hole and neutron-star mergers per year, and they can provide insights on a range of topics from the population of short gamma-ray bursts to the presence of dark matter around black holes.

  • Tue
    19
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Sarah Vigeland
    Department of Physics
    University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee

    Probing Massive and Supermassive Black Holes with Gravitational Waves

    Observations have shown that nearly all galaxies harbor massive or supermassive black holes at their centers. Gravitational wave (GW) observations of these black holes will shed light on their growth and evolution, and the merger histories of galaxies. Massive and supermassive black holes are also ideal laboratories for studying strong-field gravity. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are sensitive to GWs with frequencies ~1-100 nHz, and can detect GWs emitted by supermassive black hole binaries, which form when two galaxies merge. The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a planned space-based GW detector that will be sensitive to GWs ~1-100 mHz, and it will see a variety of sources, including merging massive black hole binaries and extreme mass-ratio inspires (EMRIs), which consist of a small compact object falling into a massive black hole. I will discuss source modeling and detection techniques for LISA and PTAs, as well as present limits on nanohertz GWs from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration.

  • Tue
    19
    Feb
    2019
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Erin Calipari,
    Department of Pharmacology,
    Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

    The Neuroscience of Addiction

    We are currently in the middle of an opioid epidemic. Thus, understanding the behavioral and neurobiological factors that drive drug addiction is urgent and critical to public health. One of the most important aspects of drug addiction is the active decision to seek out and take the drug, most often at the expense of other rewards or in the face of negative consequences. Normally, organisms use information in their environment to make decisions that maximize positive – and minimize negative – outcomes. However, addicted individuals value taking drugs above all other outcomes, an effect that drives their decision- making strategies. By using animal models that allow animals to “self-administer” drugs we can determine which cells in the brain are controlling their decision to take the drug and then silence or activate these neurons to change the way that animals are behaving in their environment. By combining complex behavioral models with tools that allow us to record and manipulate different cells and circuits in the brain in awake and behaving animals we can determine how these cells help animals make decisions and develop pharmacological tools to promote abstinence and prevent relapse in addicted individuals.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Thu
    21
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Anuradha Gupta
    Department of Physics
    Pennsylvania State University

    Physics and Astrophysics with Gravitational Waves from Compact Binary Coalescences

    The recent detections of gravitational waves from several binary black holes and binary neutron star mergers have opened up new avenues for gravitational wave astronomy and astrophysics. These detections provide us with great opportunities to study astrophysical sources in both weak and strong gravity regimes. In this presentation, I'll tell you how one does physics and astrophysics with gravitational waves emitted from compact binary coalescences. In particular, how to constrain binary formation mechanisms from their observed properties, how to test general relativity and other theories of gravity and lastly how to do precision cosmology with gravitational waves. I'll also touch upon the future prospects of these efforts.

  • Wed
    27
    Feb
    2019
    12:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Mukunda Acharya
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Mukunda Acharya will discuss the article entitled "Three-dimensional Features of Sound Channel Axis in the Global Ocean"

    Dr. Jake Bennet
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Dr. Bennet will host a discussion session to share the Job Interview Experience. The main goal of this discussion is to provide some basic guidelines for the graduate students who step to the job market after the graduation.

  • Thu
    28
    Feb
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Libo Jiang
    Department of Physics & Astronomy
    University of Pittsburgh

    MicroBooNE - Using Neutrinos to Probe Nuclear Physics for the Future

    MicroBooNE is a large 170-ton liquid-argon-Time Projection Chamber Neutrino experiment located on the Booster neutrino beamline at Fermilab. The detector serves as a next step in a phased program towards the construction of massive kiloton scale LArTPC detectors for future long-baseline neutrino physics (DUNE) and is the first detector in the short-baseline neutrino program at Fermilab. A major physics goals of the experiment is to probe the source of the anomalous excess of electron-like events in MiniBooNE/LSND with improved detection capabilities. In addition, MicroBooNE has an extensive cross section physics program that will improve current models on neutrino-nucleus interactions, especially nuclear effects in argon, and decrease systematic errors in the oscillation program. This colloquium introduces the detector & performance of MicroBooNE and summarizes the status of MicroBooNE's neutrino cross section analyses.

  • Mon
    04
    Mar
    2019
    4:00 pmNCPA Auditorium

    Jonathan Eisch
    Department of Physics & Astronomy
    Iowa State University

    Reviving the Poltergeist: Bringing Water-Based Neutrino Experiments into the Precision Era with Efficient Neutron Detection

    Advances in water-based neutrino-detection technology are setting the stage for a new generation of detectors to answer questions about the nature of matter in the universe and to make our world a safer place. Leading the way in these new technologies is the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) at Fermilab. ANNIE will revisit the use of neutron capturing salts, pioneered in the first experiment to detect the neutrino, to detect the number of neutrons produced in GeV-scale neutrino interactions. This measurement, the first on a neutrino beam, will help push future neutrino-oscillation experiments into the precision era by separating quasi-elastic charged-current interactions from more complicated many-body neutrino interactions and thus improving the models of neutron production in neutrino interactions. The WATCHMAN experiment, under construction in the UK, will use the same technology at a much larger scale to demonstrate the ability to remotely monitor nuclear reactors from tens of kilometers away. This demonstration will enable remote reactor monitoring to be a part of future nuclear nonproliferation treaties. In this talk, I will describe the ANNIE and WATCHMAN experiments along with their impacts on detector technology development toward future large multipurpose neutrino detectors like Theia.

  • Tue
    05
    Mar
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Gavin Davies
    Department of Physics
    Indiana University

    The Wonderful World of Neutrino Oscillations

    In 1998 it was discovered that neutrinos oscillate and have mass which led to the award of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics. That discovery generated a global campaign to better understand neutrino properties using oscillations of neutrinos produced in the Sun, in the atmosphere, at reactors, and by accelerators. The community has learned much but several important questions remain such as: Which neutrino is heaviest? Do neutrinos break the symmetry between matter and antimatter? Are there more than three neutrino types?

    In my talk, I will introduce neutrinos and the questions surrounding them, their chameleon-like flavor-changing behavior, and the experiments that hunt for them including the leading-edge, international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

  • Wed
    06
    Mar
    2019
    12:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Kevin Lin
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Kevin Lin will host a workshop on COMSOL Multiphysics - A Finite Element Software

    A message from Kevin: "COMSOL has become an essential simulation package that is widely used in both the industry and academia research. I'll first introduce the basic and tricks of COMSOL, and then I'll show some case studies I've done in Dr. Mobley's Ultrasonic group. We currently looking for grads to join our group. This will also be a good chance to get to know the variety of projects we do."

  • Thu
    07
    Mar
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jingbo Wang
    Department of Physics
    University of California — Davis

    Exploring the Neutrino Physics with the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

    One of the biggest surprises in particle physics is that the neutrinos have mass, which was discovered by the neutrino oscillation experiments. This fundamental property of neutrinos leads to some new questions. What is the ordering of the neutrino mass states? Do the neutrinos violate the matter/antimatter symmetry? What characteristics does the neutrino mixing matrix have? The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will address these questions with the high-precision Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) technology. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of neutrino oscillations, then describe DUNE and its physics programs. I will also talk about the Pulsed Neutron Source as a newly proposed calibration technique for liquid argon TPCs. The precision measurements of the neutrinos will open a window to new physics beyond the standard model. The future and prospects will be discussed.

  • Sun
    17
    Mar
    2019
    7:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • March 17, 2019 on Sunday 7:30 - 9:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, Mars and Uranus, nebulae and star clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    19
    Mar
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Xiaobo Chao
    National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Three Dimensional Numerical Modeling of Temperature Distribution in a High Dam Reservoir with the Effect of Channel Curvature on Mekong River

    A three dimensional numerical model has been developed to simulate the flow circulation as well as temperature distribution in a high dam reservoir with the effect of channel curvature. In the model, the density induced buoyant force on the turbulent flow is considered. This “buoyancy-extended version of k-ε model” is used for turbulence closure, and the flow velocity and temperature distribution are simulated simultaneously. The model was first validated using a laboratory case of turbulent buoyant flow in a curved open channel. The secondary flow circulation in the curved channel was simulated and the temperature distribution in the channel was validated using experimental data. The model was then applied to simulate the flow and temperature distribution in Xiaowan Reservoir, a high dam reservoir on Mekong River, with deep water depth and curvature affect. The numerical results are generally in good agreement with field observations. The thermal stratification, temperature distribution in the reservoir and the effect of channel curvature on the temperature distribution are discussed.

  • Tue
    19
    Mar
    2019
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Ryan C. Fortenberry,
    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
    University of Mississippi

    The Alien Molecules of Space

    Molecules float around everywhere even in the “vacuum” of space. These same little tiny pieces of everything that make up our bodies, our planet, and the air we breathe are actually also floating around between planets, around stars, and even are spread in between galaxies. Some of these molecules are familiar to us like water, methanol, and carbon dioxide. However, some are strange like protonated N2, the wing-shaped C3H2, individual salt molecules, and even one with a noble gas atom in ArH+. Some even might be the building blocks of molecules which could go on to make up our muscles, cells, and DNA. These molecules both foreign and familiar are lurking in the depths of space even when we think nothing is there. This talk will describe what molecules are present in space, how they have been detected, and what that means for us here on Earth.

    Dr. Nikki Reinemann
    Department of Chemical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Molecular Motors: Driving Life at the Nanoscale

    Molecules and their actions are the basis of life. Even our seemingly large-scale movements, such as walking or breathing, are powered by tiny protein machines known as molecular motors. Motor proteins are powered by a chemical fuel called ATP, just as our cars are powered by gasoline. The fuel allows the motor to make structural changes that facilitate movement within the cell and the body. The motors can transport essential cargo in the body, power cell translocation, drive cell division, and when combined together, allow organisms to move. Defects in these proteins are the basis of many diseases. At the same time, due to their essential nature, molecular motors are also drug targets to stop cancerous cell growth. Research in the Reinemann lab focuses on understanding the behavior of motor proteins at the single molecule and cellular system level using a method called optical trapping. This talk will describe specific functions of molecular motor proteins in life and disease, their behavior on the nanoscale, and methods to study them as single molecules.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Wed
    20
    Mar
    2019
    12:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Dr. Luca Bombelli
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Our speaker, Dr. Bombelli will host a valuable workshop on SCIENTIFIC WRITING.
    Dr. Bombelli is willing to discuss the basic guidelines which are useful to write more impact full manuscripts, technical reports and dissertation. And also he will address some scientific writing tools like Latex.

     

  • Sat
    23
    Mar
    2019
    9:50 amHilbun Hall, Mississippi State University

    4th UM-MSU Joint Physics Research Symposium

    The Mississippi State PGSA is pleased to announce the 4th UM-MSU Research Symposium, to take place on March 23, 2019. This event will bring together undergraduate and graduate students from Mississippi State University (MSU) and University of Mississippi (UM) in order to promote the interaction and exchange of ideas between the participants.

    The Symposium will consist of both Oral and Poster presentations. Both presentation styles are available to all participants. This event is open to Graduate students, Undergraduate students, post-docs and other staff, as well as faculty affiliated with either UM or MSU. Topics will be based on all areas of physics which are available at either institution, including AMO, Nuclear, Theoretical/Computational, Condenses Matter, Acoustics, and more.

  • Tue
    02
    Apr
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jason Fry
    Department of Physics
    University of Virginia

    Precision Fundamental Symmetry Measurements With Cold Neutrons

    The neutron can be used as a powerful tool to study a wide range of phenomena through many disciplines of physics. In particular, cold neutrons are utilized in condensed matter, nuclear, and particle physics with deep connections to cosmology. The free neutron has a slightly larger mass than the proton leading to far reaching implications. How long a free neutron lives determines how the light elements formed in the early universe. The kinematics of neutron decay give us insight into how quarks mix in the weak interaction. Additionally, as a neutral particle, neutrons can penetrate deeply into nucleons to further our understanding of how the strong and weak interaction mix at the smallest scales. In this talk, I will discuss the neutron physics experiments carried out and planned on the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline (FNPB) at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Lab. The NPDGamma experiment, the first experiment on the FNPB, studied the most fundamental process in the Hadronic Weak Interaction (HWI) and the results set the best constraint for future investigation of the HWI. Currently we are commissioning the Nab experiment on FNPB which will make precise measurements of the electron neutrino correlation parameter "a" and the Fierz interference term "b" in unpolarized neutron beta decay. These results will lead to a new, precise, independent determination of the ratio λ = GA/GV that will sensitively test CKM unitarity.

  • Wed
    03
    Apr
    2019
    12:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Anil Panta
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Grid Computing at Belle II

    The Belle II detector at the SuperKEKB accelerator, an asymmetric e+e- collider in Tsukuba, Japan, are major upgrades of the Belle detector and KEKB accelerator. The goal for the SuperKEKB accelerator is to reach an instantaneous luminosity of 8 × 1035 cm−2 s−1 , about 40 times the world-record peak luminosity of KEKB. At its peak, the Belle II detector will see a data rate of about 1.8 GB/s. The ultimate goal of the experiment is to collect a data sample of 50/ab, which corresponds to a data size on the order of a few hundred PB. In order to cope with the ever increasing data sample, Belle II has adopted grid based computing, as opposed to centralized computing at KEK alone for Belle. I will introduce the grid structure with its functionality and the software framework for distributed computing at Belle II.

     

    Huu Do
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Fractional Quantum Hall Effect: is that Electron’s Quark?

    This talk, I present a counter-intuitive and bizarre phenomenon: fractional quantum Hall effect. This effect is resulted in the  correlation between electrons in the two dimensional (2D) system creating a new quasiparticle with its charge smaller than electron one. First, I will describe the long history of classical Hall effect - integer quantum Hall effect - fractional quantum Hall effect in the  phenomenological point of view. I will briefly show the conditions for and how they could measure quantum Hall effects that are recognized as two Nobel prizes by Klaus von Klitzing (1985), and Robert B. Laughlin, Horst L. Stommer, and Daniel C. Tsui (1998). Second, one of the most interesting idea for me is the distinguish properties of quantum 2D electron system (“featureless liquid”) from classical one (“charged electron gas”). Lastly, I will introduce about the concept of composite particles that include electrons and quantum flux particles (generated by the magnetic field in two-dimensional electron system), and the intrinsic transition between fermion-boson-fermion occured in the fractional quantum Hall effect. The contents of my presentation is summarized in the publication at the Review Modern Physics journal: “Nobel Lecture: the fractional quantum Hall effect” by Horst L. Stormer.

     

  • Tue
    09
    Apr
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Glenn M. Walker
    Department of Electrical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Microfluidics: Thinking Small to Improve Biological Research

    Microfluidics is the study of fluid behavior at micrometer length scales and the development of devices that leverage microscale fluid phenomena. A major focus of the field has been on solving problems in biology since biological cells typically range in size from 1–20 micrometers and are difficult to manipulate with traditional instruments. Researchers have been able to exploit the manipulation of fluid volumes down to the picoliter to enable biological experiments that were previously impossible. This talk will cover some of the microscale phenomena that become dominant at micrometer lengths and also show examples of enabling biological experiments. Research from our lab on high throughput screening and cancer cell hypoxia will also be presented.

  • Wed
    10
    Apr
    2019
    12:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Dr. Likun Zhang
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Low-gravity Fluid Dynamics and NASA Mission, and a NASA Fellowship Opportunity for Graduate Students

    Opportunities to work in Dr. Zhang's group on research relevant to NASA will be discussed.

     

  • Sun
    14
    Apr
    2019
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • April 14, 2019 on Sunday 8 - 10 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, nebulae and star clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    16
    Apr
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Saeed Kamali
    Department of Physics and Astronoimy
    University of Mississippi

    New Physics in Inclusive B → Xc τ ντ Decays in Light of R(D*) Measurements

     

    Kevin Lin
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Development of Vibrational Metrics for Internal Damage Scenarios of a Scaled Transnuclear-32 Dry Storage Cask for Spent Nuclear Fuel

    The assessment of the internal structural integrity of dry storage casks for used high burnup nuclear fuel assemblies is of critical importance before transporting these to permanent repositories. The large size and structural complexity of the Transnuclear-32 (TN-32) cask as well as the inability to access its interior make this a challenging task. To address these difficulties, we use an active acoustics approach to develop metrics that are sensitive to the internal configuration of these casks. A 6:1 scaled model of the TN-32 cask was constructed in order to study internal configuration of the fuel assemblies including various damage scenarios. The vibration modes were verified in Finite Element simulations. Each mock-up fuel assembly consists of bundled steel rods, and their structural failure is mimicked by steel shot of equal weight. This talk will report the amplitude- and phase-based active acoustics metrics we developed to characterize different levels of internal damage. Our studies indicate that vibrometric signatures of various internal conditions can be measured using sources and sensors mounted on the exterior shell. Our current methodology is sensitive enough to detect structural failures at the single fuel assembly level.

     

    Robert Lirette
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Droplet Extraction and Manipulation at a Fluid Interface Using Fraxicon Modified Ultrasound

    Ultrasound focused at a fluid-fluid boundary creates an acoustic radiation pressure on the boundary that is dependent on the incident energy density and the relative density and sound speed of each fluid. For different fluid combinations this radiation pressure can either be positive or negative. For this study ultrasound propagating from water to carbon tetrachloride was used to create a negative radiation pressure at the interface. This fluid combination is impedance matched eliminating reflections and heating effects at the boundary. A fraxicon phase plate lens is a low profile analog of an axicon and generates an approximate Bessel beam in the far field. The near field exhibits a complex diffraction pattern including shadow zones capable of acoustic trapping. Starting with a planar interface, we demonstrate the extraction, capture, and manipulation of a carbon tetrachloride droplet. The negative radiation pressure draws the carbon tetrachloride surface up into the water, eventually breaking a droplet free. The trapped droplet is then transported through the water by moving the transducer.

  • Wed
    17
    Apr
    2019
    12:00 pmLewis Hall 104

    Dr. Kevin Beach
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    GitHub Workshop - Managing Shared Physics Projects with Git

    Originally developed by Linus Torvalds to organize the development of the Linux kernel, git has become a popular tool for version control and collaboration. Unlike comparable tools (e.g., subversion), it doesn't rely on a central repository or require that participants lock files during editing. Instead, the files are distributed, with each editor working from her own copy of the repository and having
    responsibility for merging changes when conflicts arise.

    Even for a single author working alone (no collaboration), git can help by tracking file changes and keeping files up-to-date across multiple computers. This is useful if you want to roll back to earlier versions of a project. And it's very convenient if you split your time between work and home computers.

    Git is quite efficient. Changes are stored as diffs (differences between adjacent versions of each file). And it is very flexible. The system is file-type agnostic, and is just as good at tracking a dissertation document as it is tracking source code. In this talk/workshop, I will show how to set up a repository and to carry out basic git operations from the command line. I will give examples of an integrated workflow
    (consistent with best practices for data provenance) that keeps source files, data, batch scripts, and manuscripts in one place.

     

  • Wed
    24
    Apr
    2019
    4:15 pmLewis Hall 109

    You are invited to attend Robert Lirette's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 4:15 PM on Wednesday, April 24 in 109 Lewis Hall.
    The dissertation title is: "Acoustic Radiation Force on a Fluid to Fluid Boundary by Phase Plate Focused Ultrasound".

  • Thu
    25
    Apr
    2019
    10:00 amLewis Hall 204

    You are invited to attend Shrobana Ghosh's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 10:00 AM on Thursday, April 25 in 204 Lewis Hall.
    The dissertation title is: "Gravitational Radiation from Superradiant Instabilities of Rotating Black Holes."

  • Thu
    25
    Apr
    2019
    2:30 pmLewis Hall 228

    You are invited to attend Sampath Bandara's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 2:30 PM on Thursday, April 25 in 228 Lewis Hall.
    The dissertation title is: “Investigation Of Narrow Bipolar Events In Mississippi Thunderstorms."

  • Tue
    30
    Apr
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Roger Waxler
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Infrasound Generation and Propagation in the Earth's Atmosphere

    The term infrasound is applied to low frequency sound in the atmosphere, generally below the limit of human hearing. The frequencies of interest in our research range from 10 Hz down to as low as 0.001 Hz, corresponding to periods of 0.1 to 1000 seconds. Such signals tend to be geophysical in nature, propagating globally and generated by large, violent events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and large detonations. Their propagation depends critically on large scale temperature and wind velocity gradients. These produce a variety of acoustic ducts in the atmosphere. These are asymmetric with respect to azimuth and interact with each other. They are also spatially and temporally varying, with small scale fluctuations on top of diurnal and seasonal cycles. An overview of sources, generation and propagation of infrasound in the atmosphere will be presented.

  • Fri
    10
    May
    2019
    3:00 pmLewis Hall 109

    The 2019 induction ceremony for the National Physics Honors Society, ΣΠΣ will take place on May 10 at 3:00 PM in room 109 in Lewis Hall.

  • Sat
    11
    May
    2019
    11:30 amLewis Hall, Room 104

    You are invited to a buffet luncheon Honoring our 2019 Physics Graduates. It will take place in room 104 Lewis Hall from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

  • Sun
    12
    May
    2019
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • May 12, 2019 on Sunday 8 - 9:30 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, nebulae and star clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    09
    Jun
    2019
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • June 9, 2019 on Sunday 8:30 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, and Jupiter just before closing though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    07
    Jul
    2019
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • July 7, 2019 on Sunday 8:30 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Jupiter, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    11
    Aug
    2019
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • August 11, 2019 on Sunday 8 - 9:30 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, nebulae and star clusters though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    11
    Aug
    2019
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • August 11, 2019 on Sunday 8:00 - 9:30 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Jupiter, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    03
    Sep
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Bhubanjyoti Bhattacharya
    Department of Natural Sciences
    Lawrence Technological University

    CP Violation in the Precision Era

    Anomalies in recent data present strong hints of physics beyond the Standard Model. Several new physics models, among them vector bosons and leptoquarks, have proven to be viable candidates in light of the data. Intensity frontier experiments will soon test many of these models through precision measurements of low-energy observables. In this talk I will present a subset of recent measurements that come with a hint of new physics. I will present proposals for testing and distinguishing between some of the popular new physics models, by using CP violating observables.

  • Sun
    08
    Sep
    2019
    7:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • September 8, 2019 on Sunday 7:30 - 9:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Jupiter, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    17
    Sep
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Department Students
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Reports on Summer Research

     

  • Tue
    17
    Sep
    2019
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Jake Bennett,
    Department of Physics and Astronomy,
    University of Mississippi

    Searching for New Particles with the Belle II Detector

     

    At its heart, experimental physics is concerned with explaining the world around us through the careful acquisition and study of information. My particular field, experimental elementary particle physics, is focused on understanding the universe at its most basic level by studying the fundamental building blocks of matter. These subatomic particles interact with each other in complex and sometimes very strange ways that make a qualitative description of them rather challenging. Scientific collaborations made up of physicists and engineers from all over the world are dedicated to building massive detectors with which to study subatomic particles and their interactions. One of the most anticipated of these projects is the Belle II experiment, which started taking data last year at the KEK national accelerator facility in Tsukuba, Japan. Belle II is designed to record massive amounts of data to allow physicists to study highly suppressed reactions that may give clues to new particles and interactions beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. I will introduce some of the basic concepts of particle physics, including how we gather information, and discuss a few of its more exotic aspects.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    24
    Sep
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Carl Jensen
    Transducer Technology Group
    Bose Corporation

    Sound Reproduction and Loudspeaker Structural Modes

    Many familiar sources of sound involve vibrating structures like a piano sound board, an acoustic guitar's body, drums, and all kinds of vibrating machinery. Similarly, almost all technologies for mechanically producing sound also work by exciting some kind of vibrating structure as well, but, in sound reproduction, the goal is to recreate the original recording as accurately as possible. So the fact that all vibrating structures exhibit modal behavior can be good or bad: the diversity and excitation of modes in musical instruments lends them their unique sonic qualities and richness, but these same characteristics are very much unwanted in a loudspeaker meant for accurate reproduction. In this presentation, I'll discuss some of the principles of sound reproduction and perception as well as laying out how we can use computer simulations to untangle the complex acoustic behavior of these modes to understand their behavior and make better sounding loudspeakers.

  • Tue
    01
    Oct
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Michel Villanueva
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Searches of New Physics with the Belle II Experiment

    Despite the large success shown by the Standard Model of Elementary Particles describing subatomic processes, there are still many open questions in nature that cannot be explained by the Standard Model. Solving the issues faced by the Standard Model requires the introduction of new particles or interactions, which, if they exist, can be observed as deviations from the predictions of suppressed or forbidden processes. The Belle II experiment will play a critical role in searches for new physics at the "intensity frontier". First collisions took place in 2018 at the new SuperKEKB accelerator, which is expected to operate for the next decade, collecting 50 times more data than the previous generation of experiments of this kind. In this talk, the data production and physics programs of the Belle II experiment are presented, in which the High Energy Physics group of the University of Mississippi contributes to key roles. Of particular interest in my research are decays of the tau lepton, which provide a clean environment to the study of QCD related processes.

  • Sun
    06
    Oct
    2019
    7:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • October 6, 2019 on Sunday 7:00 - 8:30 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Jupiter, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    08
    Oct
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Tomas Galvez
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Quantum Cosmology and Sound Waves in the Early Universe

    In this talk, we will review some of the conundrums of standard big bang cosmology and a few proposals designed to circumvent them. To do so, we study the quantum origin of perturbations in a perfect (or imperfect) fluid and show some useful techniques to calculate their corresponding two-point correlators. Our objective is to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the existing methods to evaluate primordial power spectra of scalar and tensor fluctuations, and therefore provide solid observational constraints. Our approach is to rewrite all the relevant equations of motion in terms of slowly varying quantities, which is important to consider the contribution from high-frequency modes to the spectrum without affecting computational performance. We do not require additional approximations to reproduce all the features in the power spectrum for each specific early universe model.

  • Tue
    15
    Oct
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Department Students
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Reports on Summer Research

     

  • Tue
    15
    Oct
    2019
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. James Cizdziel
    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
    University of Mississippi

    Microplastic Pollution: What’s the BIG deal?

    Plastics are everywhere! We are living in an age of plastics, much like the Bronze and Iron Ages. Whereas plastics are cheap and useful, they are also carelessly discarded and mismanaged. Unfortunately, this has resulted in widespread plastic pollution, including the infamous ocean garbage patches. Worse, plastics degrade by UV-radiation, microorganisms, and mechanical action (e.g. waves), yielding smaller and smaller particles called micro- and nano-plastics. These small plastic particles accumulate in the food chain and have even been detected in rain! They also accumulate contaminants, including toxic heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, and pathogens. I will introduce microplastics as an emerging global pollutant, discuss its sources and impacts, and highlight potential solutions and things we all can do to reduce plastic waste.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    22
    Oct
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    David Craig
    Department of Chemistry and Physics
    West Texas A&M University

    From Astronomy to Acoustics and Back Again Through Undergraduate Research

    After earning my PhD in physical acoustics at Ole Miss and a number of years at institutions almost exclusively devoted to teaching, I returned to active research by joining a team of astrophysicists working on projects that emphasize undergraduate research in observational cosmology. I will discuss the ways undergraduates have been involved in cutting-edge research via this team approach and overview the science behind the projects.

    Our emphasis has been on HI (21 cm) radio surveys of nearby galaxies. These include the completed ALFALFA blind survey of the nearby universe, and the current targeted Arecibo Pisces-Perseus Supercluster Survey (APPSS) which attempts to detect dark matter-driven infall of galaxies onto a nearby supercluster filament. I will include a discussion of the observing strategies and the planned use of the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation to separate the effects of cosmic expansion and local peculiar velocities using Bayesian statistical methods.

  • Tue
    29
    Oct
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Department Students
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Reports on Summer Research

     

  • Fri
    01
    Nov
    2019
    7:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights, food and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday (Nov. 1) in Lewis Hall.

    The program will include a stage show at 8 p.m. Hands-on activities for the public through the evening include freezing objects in liquid nitrogen (at minus 320 degrees), generating sound waves with Bunsen burners and tubes, and levitating magnets with superconductors. Other fun presentations include optical illusions with mirrors, a Van de Graaff generator (a literally “hair-raising” electrical device), a bed of nails and other contraptions.

    Physics department personnel also will prepare ice cream with liquid nitrogen and award prizes for the most original, scariest and cutest costumes to kids aged 12 and under.

  • Sun
    03
    Nov
    2019
    5:15 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • November 3, 2019 on Sunday 5:15 - 7:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    05
    Nov
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Logan S. Marcus
    Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense
    ANSER, Inc.

    Careers in Science Outside of Academia

    There is generational change in the way that scientists must approach their careers after graduating. According to Science Magazine, “…for U.S. science and engineering Ph.D.s, private sector employment (42%) is now nearly on par with educational institutions (43%).” Graduating students must be prepared to enter a job market that includes opportunities beyond traditional academic careers. In this presentation, I will discuss some of the many options for careers in science that are outside of the traditional academic path. I will explore example careers, offer advice to students on how to prepare themselves for those careers, and discuss skills that the University can emphasize to equip graduates before they leave Ole Miss.

  • Mon
    11
    Nov
    2019
    9:00 amKennon Observatory
    Mercury passes in front of the Sun on Nov. 11. The event takes a few hours in the morning. Mercury appears as a small dot ‘inside’ the disk of the Sun, visible through telescopes only. Such transit happens once in decade, on the average; next one is Nov. 13, 2032.
    We are offering a view with our telescopes in Kennon Observatory. The event is from 9:00 - 12:00 PM. In case the sky is cloudy, no observations can be made and the event will have to be canceled.
    Admission is free, families and children are welcome.
  • Tue
    12
    Nov
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Annemarie Exarhos
    Department of Physics
    Lafayette College

    A Path Toward Spin-Based Quantum Technologies — Creating, Controlling, and Characterizing Quantum Emission

    Optically-active point defects in wide-bandgap semiconductors are the basis for rapidly expanding quantum technologies in nanoscale sensing and quantum information processing. Most research has focused on three-dimensional host materials such as diamond and silicon carbide, where quantum mechanical spin states can be optically addressed. In recent years, the two-dimensional van der Waals material hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a robust host for bright, stable, room-temperature quantum emitters (QEs). However, many questions persist regarding the chemical and electronic structure of the defects responsible for emission as well as the potential role of spin-related effects. Significantly complicating the identification of these QEs is the heterogeneity of optical and magnetic characteristics observed.

    I will discuss work regarding our studies of the optical and magnetic properties of QEs in hBN films, characterized via confocal fluorescence microscopy. In particular, I will report on our recent observations of magnetic-field dependent emission in some QEs that, if able to be well-isolated and controlled, could enable the realization of spin-based quantum technologies using low-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures.

  • Tue
    19
    Nov
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Dr. Stuart Loch
    College of Sciences and Mathematics
    Auburn University

    Spectroscopy of Laboratory and Astrophysical Plasmas: Applications for Fusion Plasmas, Merging Neutron Stars, and Planetary Nebulae

    Plasmas are hot, ionized gases and are often called the fourth state of matter. Plasmas make up most of the observable Universe and laboratory plasmas have a wide range of research applications. Diagnosing the properties of plasmas presents a particular challenge, due to their temperatures and in the case of astrophysical plasmas, the large distances to the objects. Plasma spectroscopy represents a non-invasive method of diagnosing important plasma properties such as temperatures, densities, and elemental compositions. An overview is given of three research projects, involving the use of quantum mechanics calculations for diagnosis of laboratory plasmas. The projects involve measuring wall erosion rates from fusion plasma experiments, investigating the spectral emission from elements made in neutron star mergers, and the confirmation of a new atomic process found in planetary nebulae.

  • Tue
    19
    Nov
    2019
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Susan Balenger
    Department of Biology,
    University of Mississippi

    The Silence of the Crickets: Rapid, Repeated Loss of Sexual Signals in Hawaii

    Charles Darwin was convinced that biological evolution only occurred over long geologic timespans. More recently, though, researchers have been watching and documenting evolutionary changes happening over human timescales. Dr. Susan Balenger studies one particularly dramatic example of rapid evolution amongst wild populations of field crickets on the islands of Hawaii: following the introduction of a parasitic fly, local male crickets lost their ability to chirp. Unfortunately for these males, chirping is how they attract mates. And all of this happened in less than 5 years - the blink of an eye in evolutionary terms. Dr. Balenger will discuss how and why interactions between these species could produce silent crickets, the ways that cricket mating behaviors have subsequently changed, and what it is like to watch evolution in action.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    03
    Dec
    2019
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jake Bennett, Roger Waxler, and Gavin Davies
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Departmental Research

    There will be a brief report on some of the fields of research by our department. It will consist of the following:
    Jake Bennet: Belle II
    Roger Waxler: Infrasound
    Gavin Davies: NOνa/Dune

  • Sun
    08
    Dec
    2019
    5:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • December 8, 2019 on Sunday 5:00 - 7:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Sun
    05
    Jan
    2020
    5:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • January 5, 2020 on Sunday 5:30 - 7:30 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    21
    Jan
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    James Bonifacio
    Department of Physics
    Case Western Reserve University

    Giving the Graviton a Mass

    In general relativity, the gravitational force is mediated by a massless spin-2 particle…the graviton. In fact, the structure of general relativity and its interactions with other particles are largely fixed by this requirement. However, there are still many open questions about the behavior of gravity, both at short and long distances, which motivates the exploration of theories that deform general relativity. One such question is whether the graviton in our universe can have a small but nonzero mass. In this talk I will review some of the challenges and successes in constructing theories of massive gravitons and discuss some recent experimental and theoretical results that constrain such theories.

  • Tue
    28
    Jan
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Shanti Bhushan
    Mechanical Engineering
    Mississippi State University

    Computational Fluid Dynamics: Turbulence Modeling and Applications

    Turbulence/transition modeling is a primary source of uncertainty in computational fluid dynamics, and this problem remains unsolved despite over one hundred years of scientific research. The talk will focus on an overview of author's ongoing research in transition/turbulence modeling and applications. The key modeling topics that will be discussed are: identification of transition onset marker for bypass transition; modeling subgrid scale energy transfer using algebraic models; and potential of machine learning for turbulence modeling. The key application topic will focus on role of turbulence on: growth of vortical structures for ship flows; heat transfer; structural deformation for shock boundary layer interaction; growth of rotor wake; and propagation of acoustic waves. Some open question in transition/turbulence will also be emphasized.

  • Thu
    30
    Jan
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Dustin Madison
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    West Virginia University

    Advancing the Capabilities of Nanohertz Gravitational Wave Astronomy

    After fifteen years of ongoing effort to precisely monitor the most stable millisecond pulsars known, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) is poised, within the next five years, to detect gravitational waves (GWs) in an entirely unexplored range of frequencies. The initial detection will be just the beginning of a sustained campaign to characterize the nanohertz GW sky. I will discuss important fundamental features of the astrophysics underpinning and motivating NANOGrav's efforts and certain unavoidable shortcomings of pulsar timing array investigations. I have a plan to ameliorate these shortcomings by synthesizing pulsar timing data and precise astrometric surveys from instruments such as the Gaia space telescope, a program that could powerfully augment both the imminent and long-term scientific returns of nanohertz GW astronomy. Finally, I will discuss a new and interesting way that astrometric measurements could enable the detection of GW memory, a theoretically important signal sought after by GW astronomers across the frequency spectrum.

  • Sun
    02
    Feb
    2020
    6:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • February 2, 2020 on Sunday 6:00 - 8:00 PM

    We plan to observe Venus, the Moon, double stars, and other interesting objects though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    04
    Feb
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Gregory Vieira
    Department of Physics
    Rhodes College

    Patterned Nanoscale Magnetic Traps and Applications for Single- and Few-Molecule Experiments

    Directed and controllable manipulation of fluid-borne entities is important for a wide range of applications such as cellular diagnostics and nano-scale assembly. We present a multiplexed mechanism for manipulating microscopic magnetic particles in fluid on arrays of patterned magnetic disks or wires. This mechanism allows for probing and manipulation of micro- and nano-scale objects and biological entities in near-native environments, offers the flexibility to apply forces to large numbers of objects simultaneously, and is remotely tunable by application of weak magnetic fields. We illustrate several applications of this technique in the regime of single or few molecules: toward single biomolecule detection, single cell nanoinjections, and remote control of microtubules gliding on kinesin assays.

  • Thu
    06
    Feb
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Yuan Li
    Department of Astronomy
    University of California — Berkeley

    Supermassive Black Hole Feedback in the Centers of Massive Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters

    The centers of massive galaxies and galaxy clusters contain hot plasma that loses its energy rapidly through radiation of X-ray photons. The energy loss is thought to be compensated for by the energy input from the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the centers of these systems, via a process often termed as "AGN feedback". In this talk, I will review the state of the field, and discuss what we have learned from numerical simulations in the past few years, including how AGN jets deposit their energy to the surrounding medium, and how they affect cooling and star formation. I will also talk about my recent analysis of optical and ALMA observations of multiphase filaments in cluster centers, which not only improves our understanding of AGN feedback, but also puts unprecedented constraints on microscopic transport processes in the weakly-collisional, magnetized intracluster plasma.

  • Tue
    11
    Feb
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Philip Cowperthwaite
    Carnegie Observatory
    Carnegie Institution for Science

    Electromagnetic Follow-Up of Gravitational Wave Events in the Next Decade

    The Advanced LIGO and Virgo (ALV) gravitational wave interferometers began their third observing run (O3) in April of 2019. Since then they have so far reported the detection of over 30 gravitational wave candidates. While the majority of detected events are likely to be the merger of two stellar mass black holes, several events have a better than 50% chance of containing at least one neutron star making them enticing targets for electromagnetic follow-up. In this talk, I will review the state of follow-up efforts and discuss the observational campaigns for two of these events: S190425z and S190814bv. To date, no credible electromagnetic counterparts have been identified for any of these events. Nevertheless, studying these follow-up efforts can provide valuable insight into the difficulties of obtaining joint detections of gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals. I will discuss how we can tackle these challenges with the next-generation of observational facilities set to come online in the 2020s.

  • Thu
    13
    Feb
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Daniel D'Orazio
    Institute for Theory and Computation
    Harvard University

    Multi-Messenger and Multi-Band Interrogation of Compact-Object Binaries

    Binary systems consisting of two compact objects span at least ten orders of magnitude in mass, from the neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes paired via binary stellar evolution or dynamical encounters, to the supermassive black holes that meet at the centers of galactic nuclei. Accordingly, these systems arise from an enormously diverse range of astrophysical environments. What they share is their potential role in generating luminous, high-energy electromagnetic radiation and their ability to generate detectable gravitational radiation upon merger. I will discuss work aimed at electromagnetically identifying a yet undetected population of sub-parsec separation supermassive black hole binaries, which are targets of ongoing monitoring by the pulsar timing arrays as well as the future LISA gravitational-wave observatory. I will also discuss work that leverages detection of gravitational waves in multiple frequency bands to elucidate the astrophysical origin of the LIGO gravitational-wave events. In the coming years, present and upcoming time domain surveys (e.g., the Vera C. Rubin Observatory) and gravitational-wave observatories (e.g., LISA, LIGO and its evolutions) will drive forward investigations of compact-object binaries across the mass scale, and drastically expand our knowledge of compact-object binary populations and the environments that shape them.

  • Tue
    18
    Feb
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Hsin-Yu Chen
    Black Hole Initiative
    Harvard University

    Gravitational-wave Observations from Quarks to the Universe

    Advanced LIGO-Virgo have detected tens of stellar mass compact binary mergers, including binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and potentially neutron star-black hole mergers. These binary-merger detections carried plenty of information about the binaries and the Universe. In this talk I will focus on a few topics we learned from the gravitational-wave detections: the electromagnetic counterparts of binary mergers, the neutron star equation-of-state, and the expansion rate of the Universe. I will first summarize current status of the field and the future projections. I will then discuss future plans to expand and improve the study.

  • Tue
    18
    Feb
    2020
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Peter Zee
    Department of Biology,
    University of Mississippi

    Evolution in Real Time

    Evolutionary change in populations requires time. For organisms to change, the forces of evolution must occur over generations and generations. While there has been recent attention to how evolution can occur very rapidly, it is still difficult for biologists to observe these changes as they occur. The speaker will discuss how we can use microbial species in the laboratory to study evolutionary processes in real time, measuring changes over years, weeks, and even days. Find out how biologists are exploring the forces of evolution with this powerful experimental evolution approach with classic examples and contemporary research.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    25
    Feb
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Zheguang Zou
    National Center for Physical Acoustics and Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Three-Dimensional Seismic Oceanography in the Gulf of Mexico

    Seismic oceanography is a new interdisciplinary science that uses legacy marine seismic data from the oil industry to image the ocean water column like eddies or oceanic internal waves. The imaging is achieved by acoustic signals emitted by air guns, reflected from the ocean, and collected by a hydrophone array towed by a ship. For a ship traveling in the ocean, the temperature-salinity structure of the water column can be imaged from the collected signals with a resolution much higher than traditional oceanography measurements.
    Previous seismic oceanography studies are largely based on two-dimensional seismic images. However, the ocean by nature requires three-dimensional (3D) imaging with high resolution. This talk will report our recent results on the imaging of the temporal and spatial variation of water column fluctuations in the Gulf of Mexico enabled by 3D seismic oceanography.

  • Sun
    01
    Mar
    2020
    6:15 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • March 1, 2020 on Sunday 6:15 - 8:00 PM

    We plan to observe Venus, the Moon, double stars, and other interesting objects though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    03
    Mar
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jake Bennett
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    High Energy Physics at Ole Miss

    The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Ole Miss contributes to major theoretical and experimental efforts in high energy particle physics, including several international experiments. This colloquium will include an introduction to the field and a review of some of the HEP research ongoing at Ole Miss.

  • Tue
    10
    Mar
    2020
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 109

    Alejandro Cárdenas-Avendaño
    Department of Physics
    University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign

    Experimental Gravity with Electromagnetic and Gravitational Waves

    Observations of black holes through the electromagnetic and gravitational spectrum have been used to understand their nature and the fundamental properties of the material in their vicinity. Our ability to learn about the underlying physics depends heavily on our understanding of the gravity theory that describes the geometry around these compact objects, and for the electromagnetic observations, also on the complex astrophysics that produces the observed radiation. In this talk, I will comment on our current ability to constrain and detect deviations from general relativity using (i) the electromagnetic radiation emitted by an accretion disk around a black hole, and (ii) the gravitational waves produced when comparable-mass black holes collide, and when a small compact object falls into a supermassive one in an extreme mass-ratio inspiral. I will also discuss the implications of assuming that General Relativity is correct a priori on the estimation of parameters of the astrophysical model when the data is not described by the Einstein’s theory, which can lead to a fundamental systematic bias.

  • Sun
    29
    Mar
    2020
    7:30 pmKennon Observatory

    Sorry at least this Open house is canceled due to health considerations.

     

  • Tue
    31
    Mar
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting See Below.

    Yun Jing
    Graduate Program in Acoustics
    Pennsylvania State University

    Numerical Modeling of Medical Ultrasound

    In the last two decades, we have witnessed enormous development in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for treating a broad spectrum of diseases and medical conditions. As a non-invasive surgical modality that can reach deep tissue, HIFU has the potential to revolutionize therapy. To truly understand, design and improve HIFU-based technologies and eventually adopt them clinically, it is vital to have a versatile and fast, yet accurate ultrasound numerical model. Although there are many ultrasound numerical models available, none can currently achieve both efficient and sufficiently accurate simulations for acoustic wave propagation in large-scale, heterogeneous biological media. Existing numerical models face two enduring dilemmas: they are either very efficient but not accurate due to invalid approximations, or they are very accurate but computationally time-consuming and therefore impractical in many cases. In this talk, I will discuss our effort throughout the past 10 years in developing new numerical models for HIFU, that aims to establish a balance between accuracy and computational efficiency, therefore filling the gap between these two critical requirements. I will focus on both the theoretical development and the practical applications of the numerical algorithm. I will also introduce our ongoing NIH-funded project that aims to develop an open-source toolbox for modeling medical ultrasound.

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950?pwd=bERlVm96OXJOalNSdE5FenhGZEh1Zz09

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    07
    Apr
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting See Below.

    Chen Shen
    Electrical and Computer Engineering
    Duke University;

    Architected Materials: Next Generation Functional Acoustic Materials

    The recent development of functional materials has reshaped almost every aspect of our lives. In modern society, we are able to synthesize structures with properties beyond their constituent materials — referred to as architected materials. My research focuses on the study of architected materials, including their design, fabrication, and application in acoustics. In this talk, I will sample some of my contributions to this field. For instance, (1) I will show how reconfigurable architected materials lead to multifunctional acoustic devices. (2) I will demonstrate the design of highly efficient architected materials for acoustic wave control. (3) I will discuss the potential of architected materials through marriage with advanced manufacturing. At the end of the talk, I will showcase some of my ongoing work on architected materials for medical and ultrasound applications.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950?pwd=bERlVm96OXJOalNSdE5FenhGZEh1Zz09

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Wed
    08
    Apr
    2020
    2:45 pmGoogle Hangout Meet link: meet.google.com/dag-jukf-rkc

    You are invited to attend Kevin Yi-Wei Lin's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 2:45 PM on Wednesday, April 8 via Google Hangout Meet link: meet.google.com/dag-jukf-rkc.
    The dissertation title is: “Nondestructive Evaluation of Solid Cargo inside Cylindrical Containers by Using Linear and Nonlinear Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy."

  • Thu
    09
    Apr
    2020
    2:00 pmZoom Meeting: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/534519272

    You are invited to attend Saeed Kamali's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 2:00 PM on Thursday, April 9 via Zoom Meeting: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/534519272.
    The dissertation title is: “Non-Standard Interactions and b-Hadron Decays."

  • Mon
    13
    Apr
    2020
    3:00 pmZoom Meeting: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/666943216

    You are invited to attend Ashoka Karunarathne's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 3:00 PM on Monday, April 13 via Zoom Meeting: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/666943216 .
    The dissertation title is: “Study of Poroelasticity in Porous Ceramics and Elasticity of Thermoelectric SnSe."

  • Tue
    14
    Apr
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting See Below.

    Philip L. Marston
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Washington State University

    Decades of Acoustical, Optical, & Fluid Wave Physics with Students & Associates

    Following introductory comments concerning a Washington State College Physics MS degree recipient from 1928, selected research from four recent decades will be summarized. Some examples to be considered include the close relationship between optical and acoustical scattering research and the value of understanding short and long wavelength scattering processes. Novel forms of rainbow and glory scattering were discovered. In some cases waves can be simultaneously used to probe and control the shape and position of drops and bubbles and to stabilize liquid columns; investigations outside the laboratory included reduced-gravity aircraft and the Space Shuttle. Related developments concern radiation torque, vortex beams, and tractor beams. In other developments, lessons from short-wavelength scattering experiments were applied to acoustical situations having reduced symmetry, facilitating improved interpretation of acoustical images and signatures of objects in water. Participation of students and program alumni in acoustical field experiments for the remediation of unexploded ordnance (UXO) will be noted.

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950?pwd=bERlVm96OXJOalNSdE5FenhGZEh1Zz09

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

    This is a Pre-recorded Video

  • Tue
    21
    Apr
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting See Below.

    Maarten Buijsman
    School of Ocean Science and Engineering
    University of Southern Mississippi

    Giant Underwater Waves Mixing the Ocean's Waters

    The ocean’s interior is filled with giant waves that can only exist because the ocean is vertically stratified in temperature and salinity. Some of these waves are more than 300 feet tall and 100 miles long. Like waves at the ocean surface, internal waves are restored by gravity. These internal gravity waves are generated by wind, tides, and the slow ocean circulation. As internal waves propagate through the ocean, they interact with topography, the ocean circulation, and other internal waves, facilitating an energy cascade to smaller scales, and eventually turbulence. Like breaking waves on the beach, the turbulence of breaking internal waves mixes the water below the ocean’s surface. This is relevant for the dispersion of sediments and nutrients, the general ocean circulation, and ultimately the earth’s climate.

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    28
    Apr
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting See Below.

    Seth Pree
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of California — Los Angeles

    Acoustic Plasma Trapping and Plasma Thermoacoustics

    An oven's worth of microwaves can be used to both make a few thousand Kelvin plasma and cause that plasma to generate sound. Such a system can be used as a tweeter, but the luminous plasma subjected to its own sound field raises more interesting opportunities in both nonlinear acoustics and thermoacoustics. For example, how can the sound field established by modulating the microwave power lighting up a ping-pong ball sized bulb containing 30 mg of sulfur trap the resulting 3000+ K plasma in the center of a spherical cavity? Continuous wave (CW) microwaves may also be used to generate sound via the Sondhauss effect in a Helmholtz resonator. I will end by presenting an unconventional, 3D thermoacoustic gain mechanism based on the variation in the plasma’s conductivity due to the sound’s adiabatic compression. If realized, 3D plasma thermoacoustics may help addressing questions about Cepheid variable stars.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

     

  • Tue
    23
    Jun
    2020
    1:00 pmZoom Meeting: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91595060611

    You are invited to attend Khagendra Adhikari's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, June 23 via Zoom Meeting: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91595060611 .
    The dissertation title is: “Numerical Studies of a Quantum Spin Chain with Three-Body Interactions.”

  • Tue
    25
    Aug
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Stewart Prager
    Program of Science & Global Security
    Princeton University

    The Increasing Peril from Nuclear Arms: And How Physicists Can Help Reduce the Threat

    With geopolitical and technological changes mostly driven by the nuclear weapons states, we are slipping towards a new arms race and deterioration of the multi-decade arms control regime. This talk will describe the current situation, feasible steps to reduce the nuclear threat, and a new project sponsored by the American Physical Society to engage physical scientists in advocacy for nuclear threat reduction.

    A short meeting will be held immediately after the colloquium for those interested in learning about, or joining, the APS Coalition.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    01
    Sep
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Nobuchika Okada
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Alabama

    Solving Big Mysteries in Particle Physics with a New Force

    For the last decades, the Standard Model of particle physics has been the best theory for describing elementary particle phenomena observed in nature. However, there still are big mysteries that the Standard Model fails to explain: (1) Why are neutrino masses so tiny? (2) What is the nature of the dark matter in our universe? (3) What drives the Cosmological Inflation before Big Bang? (4) Where does ordinary matter come from, and what happened to antimatter? (5) Why is the CP-violation so small in the strong interaction? In this colloquium, I will first review the Standard Model, its success and fails, and then discuss our recent proposal of a simple extension of the Standard Model with a new force that offers a solution to the above 5 mysteries.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    08
    Sep
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Guancong Ma
    Department of Physics
    Hong Kong Baptist University

    Geometric Phases in Acoustics

    Geometric phase is a universal concept associated with the adiabatic evolution of states. It manifests in a wide diversity of physical systems, ranging from solid-state electronics to classical mechanics. Its profound implication makes it the cornerstone of numerous cutting-edge research, in particular, topological phases. The universality of the geometric phase means that it can be investigated using acoustic wave systems. The advancement of phononic crystals and the advent of acoustic metamaterials, in particular, laid the foundation for such endeavors. In this talk, I will discuss some of our recent attempts to study geometric phases and related phenomena in acoustic systems. Topics include: geometric phase mediated transport of sound vortex in a spiral waveguide, the realization of quantized Zak phase in a one-dimensional phononic crystal, topological acoustic pumping, and hybrid winding around an exceptional point.

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    15
    Sep
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Charles F. Caskey
    Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences
    Vanderbilt University Medical Center

    Transcranial MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation

    Ultrasound has the ability to focus energy to a small point beyond the skull and is being widely explored by researchers as a tool for non-invasive neuromodulation. When combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), focused ultrasound (FUS) can be precisely guided while the effects of FUS can be visualized at the network level using fMRI. In this talk, I will discuss our ongoing work in developing systems to apply image-guided FUS neuromodulation in the MRI environment while imaging functional activity. Specifically, I will cover the development of optical tracking as a method to guide FUS neuromodulation, the creation of transducer arrays for steerable FUS neuromodulation, and the development of MR acoustic radiation
    force imaging methods to visualize the acoustic focus. We have used these methods to modulate the somatosensory network in non-human primates, demonstrating that MRI-guided FUS is capable of exciting precise targets in somatosensory areas 3a/3b, causing downstream activations in off-target brain regions within the circuit which we can simultaneously detect with fMRI. Our observations are consistent with others' work in the field of FUS neuromodulation; however, questions remain about mechanisms underlying FUS neuromodulation and potential confounds. The talk will conclude by reporting on recent work at the cellular level where we are measuring calcium signaling in mouse brain slices with optical markers during FUS neuromodulation

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    15
    Sep
    2020
    6:00 pmZoom Meeting.

    Dr. Carolyn Freiwald and Dr. Lexi O'Donnell
    Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
    University of Mississippi

    Archaeological Science: Our Teeth Tell (Migration) Tales.

    Archaeologists reconstruct the past in multiple ways, using novel scientific techniques, historic records, oral traditions, and artifacts. Drs. O’Donnell and Freiwald talk about their research on ancient migration in northern New Mexico and today’s Mexico City 800 years ago using the biological and chemical differences in human teeth. Who were migrants in Tlalnepantla, Mexico? What happened to the Gallina people in northern New Mexico when their homes were abandoned? Dental morphology and isotopic analysis are key forensic techniques that answer questions posed by historical records and oral traditions.

     

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    15
    Sep
    2020
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Carolyn Freiwald, Associate Professor, and Dr. Lexi O'Donnell, Visiting Assistant Professor, from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Mississippi

    Archaeological science: Our teeth tell (migration) tales

    Archaeologists reconstruct the past in multiple ways, using novel scientific techniques, historic records, oral traditions, and artifacts. Drs. O'Donnell and Freiwald talk about their research on ancient migration in northern New Mexico and today's Mexico City 800 years ago using the biological and chemical differences in human teeth. Who were migrants in Tlalnepantla, Mexico? What happened to the Gallina people in northern New Mexico when their homes were abandoned? Dental morphology and isotopic analysis are key forensic techniques that answer questions posed by historical records and oral traditions.

    September 15, 2020, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Tue
    22
    Sep
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Kimberly Boddy
    Department of Physics
    University of Texas at Austin

    Searching for Dark Matter Interactions in Cosmology

    There is overwhelming evidence for the existence of dark matter. It plays a crucial role in the formation of structure in the Universe, yet little is known about its properties beyond gravitational effects. In this talk, I will discuss the current and future prospects of understanding the fundamental nature of dark matter using observations in cosmology and astrophysics. These observations offer glimpses into different cosmic eras that may shed light on the mystery of dark matter.

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    29
    Sep
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Nathan E. Murray
    National Center for Physical Acoustics
    University of Mississippi

    Two Examples of Turbulence Interactions

    A brief introduction to turbulence, it’s characteristics and mechanisms, is presented. A conceptual model for turbulence is discussed. This is followed by two specific examples. First, the action of turbulence on the dispersion of solid particulate in a high-shear scenario in a gas-solid flow is explored. Second, the characteristics of turbulence in a transient, shock-driven acceleration are explored. In both examples, the “fingerprints” of turbulence are highlighted as they appear in statistical analyses of the data.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    06
    Oct
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Benjamin "B.B." Pilgrim
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    The Chain Action and a Variational Principle for Two Dimensional Causal Sets

    I will present the chain action for causal sets and evaluate its accuracy for causal sets embeddable in two dimensional manifolds. I will also propose a discrete variational principle, and the results of manifold-like causal sets will be compared to Kleitman-Rothschild causal sets.

     

    Anil Panta
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Developing Tools for Analysis on the Open Science Grid

    The Belle II dataset searcher is a tool to get the location of files that are stored on the open science grid for analysis use. I will report on my efforts to expand the usefulness of this tool by implementing a NoSQL database, called Elasticsearch, rather than the usual SQL database. With this change, it will be possible to make full text searches on dataset metadata, enabling a more efficient way for analysts to find the samples of interest.

     

    Mukunda Acharya
    Stewart Acoustical Consultants
    Raleigh, North Carolina

    From a MS Degree to Industry Career in Acoustics

    The talk will be an overview of how I develop my career from a master degree in physics focusing on physical acoustics to my current job as an acoustical consultant in industry. Most of the talk would be focused on giving you a general idea of my career as an acoustical consultant. Acoustical consultants use a combination of scientific theory, analytical modeling tools, experimental data, experience, and judgment to analyze problems and provide advices for clients on acoustics related problems. Answers to some of the common problems can be immediate, but many problems require analysis, measurements, or both. I am going to share my experience about the knowledge and skills that are vital to becoming a professional acoustical consultant. I believe the talk will be helpful to graduate students who are planning to pursue their research in physical acoustics and continue in the future as a professional.

     

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    13
    Oct
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Louis E. Strigari
    Department of Physics and Astronomy;
    Texas A&M University

    Terrestrial and Astrophysical Applications of Coherent Neutrino Scattering

    Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) is a long-standing theoretical prediction of the Standard Model (SM), and the COHERENT experiment has recently achieved the first detection of it. CEνNS provides an important probe of physics beyond the SM. In addition, it can open up a new window into neutrino astrophysics, through studies of low energy neutrinos from the Sun, atmosphere, and supernovae. CEνNS is also vital for understanding and interpreting future particle dark matter searches. In this talk, I will discuss the prospects for learning about the nature of neutrinos and astrophysical sources from CEνNS detection, highlighting how astrophysical and terrestrial-based detections play important and complementary roles.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    20
    Oct
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Feng Guo
    Intelligent Systems Engineering
    Indiana University — Bloomington

    Development of Acoustofluidics for Cancer Research

    The acoustofluidics technology harnesses sound waves and microfluidics for the manipulation of cells and liquids. This technique has many unique advantages. Firstly, this technique handles cells and/or liquids using gentle mechanical vibrations. These vibrations create a pressure gradient in the medium to move suspended micro-objects yielding a contamination-free, contactless, and label-free manipulation. Secondly, acoustofluidics has minimal impact on cell integrity and function. Thirdly, this technology can operate in a single, inexpensive micro-device without complicated setups, which offer additional advantages in ease of use, versatility, and portability. Here, we report a series of acoustofluidic devices and systems for the manipulation of cells and liquids in the microfluidic environment to address the problems in the field of cancer biology and translational cancer medicine.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    20
    Oct
    2020
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Jennifer Meyer
    Department of Physics and Astronomy,
    University of Mississippi

    The Phosphine Discovery, in Context of Venus's More Temperate Past

    At this month's Science Cafe, we'll talk about the recent discovery of the chemical phosphine in an upper layer of Venus's atmosphere and why this is more exciting than it sounds! On Earth, phosphine is only created by biological and human-driven processes. Is the detection of phosphine in Venus's atmosphere a sure sign of life living in the clouds? We'll start with the history of Venus and its runaway greenhouse effect. Today, Venus seems very inhospitable to life, with surface temperatures above 800°F and sulfuric acid clouds. But it wasn't always like that, which is why we are even discussing the possibility of life on Venus.

    October 20, 2020, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

     

    There will also be a live stream from our own Kennon Observatory showing us craters on the Moon, if the weather cooperates.

  • Tue
    27
    Oct
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    David G. Grier
    Department of Physics and the Center for Soft Matter Research
    New York University

    Holography and the Pandemic: Using Holographic Video Microscopy to Detect Viruses and Antibodies

    The hologram of a microscopic object encodes information about that object's size, shape, composition and three-dimensional position. Often, that information is retrieved by computing a three-dimensional reconstruction of the complex medium and then analyzing the result. The three-dimensional reconstruction, however, contains no more information than the original two-dimensional hologram (and usually less). In special cases, the recorded hologram instead can be fit, pixel-by-pixel, to the exact Lorenz-Mie theory of light scattering. For a micrometer-scale colloidal sphere, this analysis yields the position to within a few nanometers over a range extending to hundreds of micrometers. More importantly, it yields the sphere's diameter to within a couple of nanometers. This is fine enough to monitor molecules and viruses binding to the surfaces of functionalized beads simply by watching the beads grow larger in real time. The same analysis yields the bead's refractive index with part-per-thousand resolution, which elegantly solves the barcoding problem for multiplexed binding assays. This talk will explain how to use holographic microscopy for precision particle characterization. It then will showcase a few practical and scientific applications that illustrate the power of the technique before diving into the emergency application for COVID-19

     

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Fri
    30
    Oct
    2020
    6:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, October 30th.

    While we cannot invite everyone into the Department of Physics and Astronomy, we will still be bringing you the Spooky Physics Night! Amazing, hilarious, and spooktacular demonstrations will be broadcast right into your home! Tune in for a family friendly show to learn about energy, electricity, magnetism, sound and waves, the physics of ultra-cold temperatures and more. But beware! Expect a hair-raising experience -- literally: we'll shoot enough electricity through our victims... I mean volunteers... to make their hair stand up -- and other ‘nefarious’ experiments involving a bed of nails, lasers, superconductors and electromagnets. All harmless activities, of course!

    October 30, 2020, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
    Via Zoom

     

  • Tue
    03
    Nov
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Darin Van Pelt
    School of Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Rocket Physics and Experience with SpaceX

    A discussion of my nearly 20yrs in the aerospace industry is presented. Those included nearly a decade at SpaceX and time as co-founder of ABL Space Systems, a launch vehicle company currently developing a vehicle capable of 1000kg to orbit. One interesting experience is leading the propulsion team in creating the Falcon 9 booster you see launching and routinely landing while delivering payloads to orbit and starlink satellites for the future of the internet. Efficiently and accurately landing a 150ft tall pencil is a special challenge and some of the physics involved will be discussed.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    10
    Nov
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Joshua B. Bostwick
    Department of Mechanical Engineering
    Clemson University

    Elastocapillary Dynamics in Soft Gels

    Soft gels are utilized in emerging applications, e.g. bioprinting, and are distinguished in that the forces of capillarity (surface tension) and elasticity are comparable in magnitude leading to elastocapillary phenomena including the observation of new analogous hydrodynamic instabilities in soft materials. This talk will provide a survey of our recent work in this area including gel drop oscillations in ultrasonic levitation, soft fracture, splash suppression, and droplet durotaxis. In each example, we highlight the multiphysics through the elastocapillary number and viscoelastic relaxation time scale. Of particular note is that our results can be used as novel diagnostic techniques to measure the surface tension and fracture energy of soft gels.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    17
    Nov
    2020
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Anuradha Gupta (Host)
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    A Lecture Exploring Supermassive Black Holes

    In this colloquium, we will watch a lecture exploring supermassive black holes, for which Andrea Ghez shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. The link to Andrea Ghez's talk can be found here.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/213798950

    Meeting ID: 213 798 950

  • Tue
    17
    Nov
    2020
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Joshua Sharp
    School of Pharmacy
    University of Mississippi

    COVID-19 and Heparan Sulfate: The Carbohydrate Handle that SARS-CoV-2 Uses to Grab Your Cells

    COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has killed over 200,000 Americans in 2020 and changed the way we live our lives. An incredible effort from the scientific community has allowed us to learn a lot about the virus in a very short time. While there are many questions remaining about the disease, we have enough evidence to start answering some important questions. Where do COVID-19 infections usually start in the body? How does SARS-CoV-2 find and enter the target cells? Here, we’ll discuss what we know (and think we know) about how COVID-19 infections get established. We’ll also discuss the discovery and initial development of intranasal heparin, a well-known anti-coagulant injectable that is now in early clinical trials as an intranasal drug to prevent COVID-19. We’ll discuss how heparin works to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection of cells, why it should be safe to administer intranasally, and why it might NOT be useful as a treatment of advanced COVID-19.

    November 17, 2020, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Mon
    23
    Nov
    2020
    10:00 amZoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/91632488405

    You are invited to attend Vahid Naderyan's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 10:00 AM on Monday, November 23 via Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/91632488405 .
    The dissertation title is: “Thermoviscous Acoustic Effects in MEMS.”

  • Mon
    14
    Dec
    2020
    Thu
    17
    Dec
    2020
    8:00 amOnline via Zoom

    The Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology (SSoCIA 2020)

    This conference was originally schedule for this past Spring (See SSoCIA2020) but has now been rescheduled as a virtual conference, which will run from Mon 12/14 to Thu 12/17 from 8 am until noon or so, CST.

    Neil Manson, Professor of Philosophy here at UM, is the main organizer of this year's conference.

    Program Draft 5.0

    SSoCIA 2020: To the Internet and Beyond!

     

    Note: all times listed are EST (London minus 5 hours)

     

    MONDAY 12/14

    • 9:00-9:20 Welcome (please be sure to attend)

     

    • SETI and METI I
      • 9:20-9:40 Julia DeMarines          The Morality of Interstellar Messaging
      • 9:40-10:00 Carlos Santana            We come in peace(?): On the ethics of interstellar diplomacy
    • 10:00-10:20 Chelsea Haramia         Seeking Shared Values while searching for ETI Imaginary

     

    • Planetary Protection I
      • 10:35-10:55 William Kramer          Environmental Assessment and Outer Space Actions
    • 10:55-11:15 Alan Johnson              Half-Earth, the 1/8 Principle, & Ethics of Collective Restraint
    • 11:15-11:35 Nick Nielsen               Conservation Ethics for Spacefaring Civilization
    • 11:35-11:55 Robert Lodder             Predicting the Effects of the Outer Space Treaty on Lunar Mining

     

    • 12:10-1:10 Poster Session           
      • Klara Capova, et. Al
      • Ryan Fortenberry
      • Erik Hom and Alex Penn
      • Caleb Hylkema

    TUESDAY 12/15

    • SETI and METI II
      • 9:00-9:20 William Alba              From Monologue to Dialogue
      • 9:20-9:40 Douglas Estes             The Assertive/Interrogative Divide in METI
      • 9:40-10:00 John Traphagan          SETI, Cultural Evolution, and the Star Trek
    • Astrobiology and Education
      • 10:15-10:35 David DeGraff            Using Aliens to Teach Evolution
      • 10:35-10:55 Erik Persson                Lessons learned from Socratic Dialogue in astrobiology education
    • 10:55-11:15 Astrid Modera             A relational definition of life for Astrobiology
    • Planetary Protection II
      • 11:30-11:50 Linda Billings             Planetary protection: an idea whose time is gone?
    • 11:50-12:10 Douglas Capper          Protecting Our Moon with Multipurpose Nature Reserves
    • 12:10-12:30 Pauli Laine                  Human Mars exploration vs planetary protection
    • 12:30-12:50 Doan vu Doc               The precautionary Principle and Space Exploration

    WEDNESDAY 12/16

    • Offworld Settlements
      • 9:00-9:20 Abhik Gupta               Life in space colonies: can ecocentrism help?
    • 9:20-9:40 Joseph Gottlieb           Psychological Impediments to Collective Space Colonization
    • 9:40-10:00 Sherri Wells-Jensen    Why Humans with Disabilities Will Colonize Space
    • 10:00-10:20 James Schwartz          Against Human Enhancement as a Default for Space Societies
    • Biology I
      • 10:35-10:55 Lucas Mix                   Can Astrobiology Transcend Biology?
      • 10:55-11:15 Andrew Kennedy        The Coincidence Number of a Universe & Implications for Life
    • 11:15-11:35 Tomislav Janovic        Directionality, Contingency, and Extraterrestrial Life
    • 11:45-1:20 Public showing of He Painted The Future
      a film about legendary space artist Chesley Bonestell

    THURSDAY 12/17

    • Space Art
      • 9:00-9:10 Kelly Smith                 Why a session on art?
      • 9:10-9:30 Sabina Heinz               Art meets science
      • 9:30-9:50 Daniella DePaulis       ‘COGITO in Space’
    • Biology II
      • 10:05-10:25 Nathalie Gontier         Mode & tempo of evolution of life on earth and possibly elsewhere
    • 10:25-10:45 Carlos Mariscal           Universality in/of Evolution
    • 10:45-11:05 John Malloy                Beyond Metabolism and Genetics
    • Moral and Social Theory
      • 11:20-11:40 Ted Peters                   An Astroethics of Responsibility and Care
      • 11:40-12:00 Jason Howard             Finitude as the Lingua Cosmica of the Universe
    • 12:00-12:20 Flora Dutra                 Agriculture, permaculture and terraforming
    • Miscellaneous
      • 12:35-12:55 Robert Kennedy          Projected Interstellar Mission Capacity
      • 12:55-1:15 Brig Klyce                  Some Things are Simply Given

  • Tue
    19
    Jan
    2021
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Wayne Gray
    Department of Biology
    University of Mississippi

    Understanding Vaccines: Preventing Diseases from Smallpox to COVID-19

    These days everyone is talking about vaccines and hoping for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines are a miracle of modern medicine. At this month’s science café, we’ll address several questions concerning vaccines: How do they work to prevent disease? How safe are vaccines and why do some people have concerns about vaccines? What is herd immunity? What are the various types of vaccines? We’ll review the history of vaccines and discuss several of the more than 20 vaccines that are now routinely given to children and adults. Finally, we’ll examine the current COVID-19 vaccines and consider their effectiveness and safety. Issues regarding COVID-19 vaccine distribution will be discussed.

    January 19, 2021, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Tue
    26
    Jan
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Karl Warburton
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Iowa State University

    Machine Learning in Long-Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

    Neutrinos, the most abundant massive particle in the Universe have profoundly influenced its evolution, but are still the least understood fermion in the Standard Model (SM). The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to T. Kajita and A. McDonald following numerous experimental observations of neutrino oscillations, the process by which neutrinos created in one flavor state are observed interacting as different flavor states after traveling a given distance. This colloquium will cover two experiments focused on furthering our understanding of this phenomenon. NOνA is the current flagship long-baseline neutrino experiment in the USA and consists of two functionally identical, finely granulated detectors that are separated by 809 km. The NOνA three flavor neutrino oscillation results presented in June 2020 will be discussed with particular focus given to the impact that machine learning algorithms had increasing the sensitivity of the analysis. These algorithms use topological features for the reconstruction of neutrino interaction flavor and particle identification. The colloquium will conclude with an exploration of how machine learning tools will inform the physics reach of DUNE, a planned long-baseline neutrino experiment, which will begin data-taking in the mid-2020s.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    02
    Feb
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Deep Medhi
    Department of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering
    University of Missouri — Kansas City

    Interdisciplinary Science: Connecting Physics, Computer Science and Statistics with Computer Networking

    The image of a black hole from April 2019 was widely seen by millions of people all over the world. To make this happen, it transcended traditional boundaries of a scientific discipline. In this talk, I will discuss examples such as black hole imaging and Large Hadron Collider for high energy physics, and connect them with computer science and statistics, and how computer networking plays a role.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    09
    Feb
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Katelin Schutz
    Department of Physics
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Making Dark Matter out of Light

    Dark matter could be a “thermal-ish” relic of freeze-in, where the dark matter is produced by extremely feeble interactions with Standard Model particles dominantly at low temperatures. In this talk, I will discuss how sub-MeV dark matter can be made through freeze-in, accounting for a dominant channel where the dark matter gets produced by the decay of plasmons (photons that have an in-medium mass in the primordial plasma of our Universe). I will also explain how the resulting non-thermal dark matter velocity distribution can impact cosmological observables.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    16
    Feb
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Mike Wallbank
    Physics Department
    University of Cincinnati
    Searching for Sterile Neutrinos using Antineutrino Oscillations with the NOνA Experiment

    The NOνA experiment consists of two functionally identical liquid scintillator detectors to study neutrino oscillations over an 810 km baseline using Fermilab's NuMI neutrino beam. In additional to world- leading studies of oscillations between the three known neutrino flavors, NOνA is searching for evidence of oscillations involving an additional, sterile, neutrino. Despite observations of neutrino oscillations from the majority of experiments being consistent with a 3-neutrino mixing framework, results from LSND and MiniBooNE are incompatible with this model but could be explained by incorporating a sterile neutrino state. These intriguing results are not conclusive and are in tension with findings from other short-baseline and long-baseline experiments.
    I will describe the NOνA experiment and show the latest oscillation results, including a novel sterile search using antineutrinos, and discuss the allowed limits on the mixing angles governing the oscillations. I will also talk about future improvements to the oscillation analyses, in particular highlighting an ongoing test beam program designed to improve our understanding of the detectors and allow more precise analyses through a reduction of the uncertainties.

    Join Zoom Meeting
    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    16
    Feb
    2021
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Nicholas Timme
    Department of Psychology,
    Indiana University – Purdue University

    Examining Compulsive Drinking in a Rodent Model of Alcohol Use Disorder

    Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a devastating disease that negatively affects millions of Americans and costs billions of dollars a year. A key feature of AUD is compulsive drinking, wherein a person continues to consume alcohol despite negative consequences. In this month’s Science Café, we will discuss general theories of AUD and my research on compulsive drinking in a rodent model of AUD. In addition, I’ll talk about my somewhat unusual career path from physics to neuroscience.

     

    February 16, 2021, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Tue
    23
    Feb
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Carl Herickhoff
    Biomedical Engineering
    University of Memphis

    New Directions in Ultrasound Imaging Technology

    Ultrasound has become an established clinical imaging tool in recent decades due to its speed, safety, affordability, and portability, yet biomedical ultrasound technology continues to rapidly advance in new and exciting ways. This talk will give an introduction to ultrasound imaging systems and devices, while also highlighting some current fundamental and applied ultrasound research efforts: intravascular elasticity imaging, dual-frequency superharmonic contrast imaging, large-scale body scanner arrays, low-cost freehand 3D imaging, and integration with augmented-reality displays for live ultrasound image guidance.

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    02
    Mar
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Umberto Tamponi
    Particle Physics Group
    INFN — Torino and the University of Mississippi

    Bottomonium at the Super-B factories: QCD and new physics

    In the last 15 years, several experiments contributed to an explosion of new results on heavy QCD bound states. Today, we potentially stand at the beginning of a new wave of discoveries, with the Belle II experiment starting its data taking, BESIII moving forward into its program and the LHC experiments moving into their next phase. These new experiments, collecting much larger statistics, will not only allow to constrain the low energy QCD models, but also to study rare decays sensitive to new physics scenarios.

    In this seminar, I will first outline the basic ideas and the status of the bottomonium physics, and then describe more in detail the potential of the measurement that will be performed at the Belle II experiment, ranging from the spectroscopy of the tetraquark-like states to the study of New-physics signatures in rare and forbidden decays.

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    16
    Mar
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Eugenio Bianchi
    Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos
    Pennsylvania State University

    Quantum Aspects of Black Hole Physics

    I will discuss recent developments in black hole physics that are at the frontier of gravity, quantum field theory and quantum information. In particular I will discuss how thermal properties of black holes arise from energy eigenstates of the gravitational field in a manner similar to what happens in other isolated many-body quantum systems. I will also highlight how the observation of the statistical distribution of the spin of primordial black holes can provide the first observational test of black hole entropy.

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    16
    Mar
    2021
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Gavin Davies
    Department of Physics and Astronomy,
    University of Mississippi

    Science Quiz Bowl

    We will be holding our first ever Science Quiz Bowl hosted by resident quiz-master Dr. Gavin Davies, Assistant Professor in Physics and Astronomy. Our attendees will have the chance to partake in the live quiz bowl as a player or as a spectator! This event will use the Zoom link as below.

     

    March 16, 2021, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Tue
    23
    Mar
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Wanwei Wu
    Neutrino Division
    Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

    Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers for Neutrino Physics

    As the most abundant massive particles in our universe, neutrinos are elusive and provide a promising window to probe the fundamental physics. They are everywhere but almost never interact with matter. Questions about the nature of neutrinos and whether they are the reason that universe is made of matter rather than antimatter are still unanswered. One promising detector technology that can be used to study neutrinos in detail is the liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), which has been adopted by many accelerator-based neutrino experiments including the Fermilab Short-Baseline Neutrino program and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. LArTPCs promise to have millimeter-scale spatial resolution and excellent calorimetric capabilities in the detection of particles traversing the liquid argon and the measurement of their properties. In this talk, the landscape of LArTPCs for neutrino physics will be discussed, along with the prospects and status of the LArTPC neutrino experiments at Fermilab.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Thu
    25
    Mar
    2021
    5:30 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Staci Bilbo
    Department of Psychology & Neuroscience,
    Duke University

    The Mind-Body Connection and the Secret Life of your Immune System

    Activation of the immune system via illness, poor nutrition, or a stressful environment in youth can alter early brain development and impact adult mood, physical health, and ability to think and can influence health outcomes like obesity and drug use. Understanding how the immune system interacts with the body and brain to produce these results guides our ability to lessen their harm. Social factors like poverty, pollution, and addiction contribute to activation of the immune system. Thus, it is also important to work with communities to dampen the devastating influence of these social factors on the growing brain. Dr. Bilbo will talk about research in an animal model examining the impact of combined environmental stressors during pregnancy on offspring mental health outcomes, and how these impacts may be mitigated by targeting the immune system.

     

    March 25, 2021, 5:30 - 6:30 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Tue
    30
    Mar
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Lan Quynh Nguyen
    Department of Physics
    University of Notre Dame

    Self Interacting Dark Matter and the Small-Scale Structure Problem

    The core-cusp problem remains as a challenging discrepancy between observations and simulations in the standard CDM model for the formation of galaxies. The problem is that CDM simulations predict a steep power-law mass density profile at the center of galactic dark matter halos. However, observations of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group reveal a density profile consistent with a nearly flat distribution of dark matter near the center. A number of solutions to this dilemma have been proposed. Here, we summarize investigations into the possibility that the dark matter particles themselves self-interact and scatter. Such self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) particles can smooth out the dark-matter profile in high-density regions. We also review the theoretical proposal that self-interacting dark matter may arise as an additional Higgs scalar in the 3-3-1 extension of the standard model. We present new simulations of galaxy formation and evolution for this formulation of self-interacting dark matter. Current constraints on this self-interacting dark matter are then summarized.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    06
    Apr
    2021
    4:00 pmCanceled.

    Rachel Rosen
    Department of Physics
    Columbia University

    Gravity Meets Particle Physics

    Many of the most pressing open questions in fundamental physics today require a better understanding of the interplay between gravity and particle physics. In this talk, I will review what we learn by treating gravity as a theory of particle physics: what new theories emerge, what constraints they must obey, and what we might learn about gravitational phenomena such as black holes.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    13
    Apr
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Christopher Berry
    Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics
    Northwestern University

    The Secret Lives of Black Holes

    Gravitational-wave astronomy provides a unique insight into the lives of black holes. Since the beginning of the advanced-detector era in September 2015, we have observed gravitational waves from over 40 binary black hole systems. From the measured gravitational-wave signal we can infer the properties of their source systems, and uncover new insights into their formation. There are currently many mysteries around how massive stars evolve and binaries form in order to create the population of binary black holes. I will explain how we can use the growing catalogue of gravitational-wave observations to unravel these mysteries and review our discoveries to date.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    20
    Apr
    2021
    4:00 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Paul Elmore
    Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
    Johns Hopkins University

    The Johns Hopkins University — Applied Physics Laboratory and the KTY Group & The Physics Career from the Mid-Career Perspective

    This talk, intended for both undergraduate and graduate students, is dual purpose. The first part is a short recruitment talk on Johns Hopkins University — Applied Physics Laboratory and the Acoustics and Electromagnetics Group. The laboratory and group employ physics graduates at the Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. levels. The second part of this talk is centered on general advice for a career in physics. I will use my personal career path as an illustration of what, in my opinion (which is admittedly biased), are the biggest advantages of being a physicist vs an engineer or specialized physical scientist. These advantages are

    A. Being a “generalist” in the physical sciences, which can provide flexibility in job opportunities and specialization choices in your early career

    B. Formal training and general capability to solve hard analytic problems

    There are trade-offs, of course (e.g., lack of specialization for jobs that require it, lack of training in engineering approaches, etc.), but the advantages can outweigh the trade-offs. In addition, this talk will provide some discussion for the following topics and time for Q&A:

    • Whether or not to get your Ph.D. or perhaps enter the workforce at the Bachelor's or Master's degree level.
    • The importance of publications and in structuring your publication for readability and information flow in order to enhance potential citation count.
    • The importance of public speaking and going to conferences.
    • A few bits of career “self-care” advice.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Thu
    22
    Apr
    2021
    2:30 pmZoom Meeting. See Below.

    Meghna Bhattacharya
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    First Results from the Muon g-2 Experiment at Fermilab — Muons Leading the Way

    The first results from the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab will be presented in this talk. The latest result from the Fermilab confirms the discrepancy between the theoretical prediction and the experimental measurement earlier reported by the Brookhaven experiment. The aim of the Fermilab experiment is to measure the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, aμ = (g-2)/2, to a groundbreaking precision of 140 ppb, obtaining a near four-fold increase in precision over BNL. This is an incredibly challenging experiment with a unique opportunity to provide new insight into nature. An overview of this ultra-high precision measurement will be discussed in this talk.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Thu
    22
    Apr
    2021
    4:00 pmOutside In Front of Lewis Hall

    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Research Poster Session

    Despite the pandemic, student researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy have continued to do some excellent work. In the spirit of scientific discourse, we will be holding a research poster session tomorrow, Thursday April 22 at 4 pm in front of Lewis Hall. Please join us to hear about ongoing research in the department, and maybe get some ideas for a new project!

    The web page can be found here.

     

  • Fri
    30
    Apr
    2021
    1:00 pmZoom Meeting: https://fnal.zoom.us/j/5343416792

    You are invited to attend Meghna Bhattacharya's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 1:00 PM on Friday, April 30th via Zoom Meeting: https://fnal.zoom.us/j/5343416792 .
    The dissertation title is: “Testing Fundamental Symmetries of Nature Using Muon g-2 Data.”

  • Thu
    15
    Jul
    2021
    10:00 amLewis Hall 109

    You are invited to attend Huu Do Tran's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 10:00 AM on Thursday, July 15th in Lewis Hall Room 109 or via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/99131547891?pwd=Qmc0NnozL1RiOWtVanFsaXFZN291QT09 .
    The dissertation title is: “A Valence-Bond Operator Algebra for Quantum Spin Models and Its Applications.”

  • Thu
    29
    Jul
    2021
    1:00 pmVia Zoom

    You are invited to attend BB Pilgrim's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 1:00 PM on Thursday, July 29th via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/5151994554 .
    The dissertation title is: “Dynamics for Discretized Gravity in the Causal Set Approach.”

  • Tue
    31
    Aug
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jake Bennett, etc.
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    What can you do with a Physics degree?

    Undeclared, interested in exploring other majors, or just curious about the Department of Physics and Astronomy? Want to prepare for professional school or just develop the tools and qualities employers value most? Join us to discover what a degree in Physics can do for you. You will also get the chance to observe some fun and interesting demonstrations.

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    07
    Sep
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Martin Frank
    Department of Physics
    University of South Alabama

    First Results from NOνA's Magnetic Monopole Search

    The existence of the magnetic monopole has eluded physicists for centuries. The NOνA far detector (FD), used for neutrino oscillation searches, also has the ability to identify slowly moving magnetic monopoles (v < c /100). With a surface area of 4,100 m2 and a location near the earth's surface, the 14 kt FD provides us with the unique opportunity to be sensitive to potential low-mass monopoles unable to penetrate underground experiments. We have designed a novel data-driven triggering scheme that continuously searches the FD's live data for monopole-like patterns. At the offline level, the largest challenge in reconstructing monopoles is to reduce the 148,000 Hz speed-of-light cosmic ray background. In this talk, I will present the first results of the NOνA monopole search for slow monopoles.

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Sun
    12
    Sep
    2021
    7:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • September 12, 2021 on Sunday 7:00 - 10:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Jupiter and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    14
    Sep
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Shawn Pollard
    Department of Physics and Materials Science
    University of Memphis

    Designing Chiral Magnetism Through Interface Engineering – From Skyrmions to Magnetic Memory

    Chirality is a fundamental concept in condensed matter physics. The ability to control magnetic chirality through broken symmetry at interfaces has led to the development of new devices governed by control of the local spin structure. One such structure, the skyrmion, a result of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), has been proposed as both a building block of new spintronic devices and as a tool to probe a variety of novel electrical transport phenomena. In this talk, I will describe our efforts to design chiral structures including skyrmions with tunable stability and dynamics by modifying the interface properties in both heavy metal/ferromagnet bi- and multilayers. We find that by tuning the heavy metal and ferromagnetic layer thicknesses and repetition numbers, we can control the skyrmion boundary structure, which has profound effects on its dynamics. This includes the first observation of an interlayer DMI in which a breaking of domain wall degeneracy can be used to prevent off-axial current driven skyrmion motion known as the skyrmion Hall effect. I also discuss our work developing new techniques in which to quantify magnetic phenomena in these materials.

     

     

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    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    21
    Sep
    2021
    6:00 pmVia Zoom (connection details will follow!)

    Dr. Lainy Day,
    Department of Biology,
    University of Mississippi

    The Sexiest Dancers are Made of the Right Stuff

    An amazing family of birds living in Central and South America, the manakins, are known for acrobatic courtship displays. Males of many manakin species attract females with elaborate dances. High-speed cameras have been used to identify the specific mechanism by which unique body-created sounds (sonations) are made and how hormones, bones, muscles, and brains support such intense dance routines. However, not all species’ displays appear to have as many dance steps or acrobatic elements. So, working with my team and with collaborators’ teams, I set out to record the dances of over a dozen diverse manakin species so we could then ask, what is the “right stuff” required to engineer specific types of athletic dancers. What type of brain and brawn is required for a pirouette compared to a moon-walk? And if displays are happening faster than the eye can see, how do we even know if we have missed something? We don’t. Allow me to reveal to you the hidden biomechanical diversity of manakin displays and throw in a bit of neuroendocrine physiology, muscular adaptations, and evolution that will eventually allow us to reverse engineer the ultimate dancer with the “right stuff”.

     

    September 21, 2021, 6:00 - 7:00 PM
    Via Zoom (connection details will follow!)

  • Tue
    28
    Sep
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Samrat Choudhury
    Department of Mechanical Engineering
    University of Mississippi

    Machine Learning Enabled Multi-Scale Modeling of Materials

    Traditional computational investigation of processing-chemistry-structure-property linkage in materials science involves the usage of specialized computational tools at discrete length scales ranging from electronic to atomic to mesoscale. Alternatively, over the past two decades, a multi-length scale approach combining simulation tools at different length scales has been adopted where electronic/atomic information from lower length scale is passed to higher length scale. However, such traditional computational approaches can provide only limited insights into a highly complex set of interactions spanning over multiple length and time scales each of which are linked to the property and performance of the materials, thus requiring an out-of-the box approach. In this presentation, I will focus on the application of machine learning tools to guide simulations at multiple length scales to augment the capabilities of traditional computational tools. Further, it will be shown that machine learning enabled computational approach provides a fast and efficient pathway to navigate the vast processing, microstructure and chemical search space for a targeted property, a departure from the traditional time consuming and expensive Edisonian trial-and-error approach based on synthesis-testing experimental cycles.

     

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    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    05
    Oct
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jake Bennett, Gavin Davies, Anuradha Gupta, and John Waite
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Preparing for Job Interviews (including mock interview examples)

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Sun
    10
    Oct
    2021
    7:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • October 10, 2021 on Sunday 7:00 - 9:30 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Jupiter and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    12
    Oct
    2021
    9:00 amNCPA Conference room and Via Zoom

    You are invited to attend Xudong Fan's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, October 12th in the NCPA Conference room and via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/94913131558 .
    The dissertation title is: “Acoustic Bessel and Vortex Beams: Force and Refraction.”

  • Tue
    19
    Oct
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Sudeep Adhikari
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Universality in Activated Barrier Crossing

    The thermal activation process by which a system passes from one local energy minimum to another by crossing an energy barrier is a recurring motif in physics, chemistry, and biology. For instance, biopolymer chains are typically modeled in terms of energy landscapes, with folded and unfolded configurations represented by two distinct wells separated by a barrier. The rate of transfer from the unfolded to folded state depends most importantly on the height of the barrier with respect to the temperature of the heat bath—but also in seemingly idiosyncratic ways on the details of the shape of the barrier. We consider the case of bias due to an external force, analogous to the pulling force applied in optical tweezer experiments on biopolymers. We identify the universal behavior of the barrier crossing process and demonstrate that data collapse onto a universal curve can be achieved for simulated data over a wide variety of energy landscapes having barriers of different heights and shapes.

     

    John Waite
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Flavor SU(3) in Cabibbo-favored D-meson Decays

    Model-independent description of nonleptonic decays of charmed mesons is a challenging task due to the large nonperturbative effects of strong interactions on the transition amplitudes. We discuss the equivalence of two different flavor-SU(3)-based descriptions of Cabibbo-favored non-leptonic decays of charmed mesons to two-pseudoscalars final states including the η and η′ mesons.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    26
    Oct
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Zara Bagdasarian
    Department of Physics
    University of California — Berkeley

    Reaching for the Stars with CNO Solar Neutrinos and Other Adventures of Novel Neutrino Detectors

    The latest breakthrough in neutrino physics is the first experimental evidence of the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) fusion cycle in the Sun. The discovery was possible due to the unprecedented radiopurity of the Borexino liquid-scintillator detector (Italy), employing innovative hardware and software developments. In the future, new technologies can further facilitate access to a broad physics agenda and applications in neutrino physics. Of particular interest are the cutting-edge detection techniques and novel target materials that aim to fully utilize both scintillation and Cherenkov signals from low- and high-energy neutrino interactions. The first deployment of Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPDs) and water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) in the ANNIE experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (USA) will be exciting milestones in the evolution of neutrino detection. Neutrino Experiment One (NEO) will be the first ktonne-scale detector built by the Watchman collaboration at Boulby Underground Laboratory (UK). Its goal is to demonstrate, for the first time, nuclear non-proliferation capabilities using antineutrino detection. Finally, the multi-ktonne detector, Theia, aims to detect solar neutrinos, determine neutrino mass ordering and the CP-violating phase, observe diffuse supernova neutrinos and neutrinos from a supernova burst, search for nucleon decay, and, ultimately, neutrinoless double beta decay.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    26
    Oct
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Zara Bagdasarian
    Department of Physics
    University of California — Berkeley

    Reaching for the Stars with CNO Solar Neutrinos and Other Adventures of Novel Neutrino Detectors

    The latest breakthrough in neutrino physics is the first experimental evidence of the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) fusion cycle in the Sun. The discovery was possible due to the unprecedented radiopurity of the Borexino liquid-scintillator detector (Italy), employing innovative hardware and software developments. In the future, new technologies can further facilitate access to a broad physics agenda and applications in neutrino physics. Of particular interest are the cutting-edge detection techniques and novel target materials that aim to fully utilize both scintillation and Cherenkov signals from low- and high-energy neutrino interactions. The first deployment of Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors (LAPPDs) and water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) in the ANNIE experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (USA) will be exciting milestones in the evolution of neutrino detection. Neutrino Experiment One (NEO) will be the first ktonne-scale detector built by the Watchman collaboration at Boulby Underground Laboratory (UK). Its goal is to demonstrate, for the first time, nuclear non-proliferation capabilities using antineutrino detection. Finally, the multi-ktonne detector, Theia, aims to detect solar neutrinos, determine neutrino mass ordering and the CP-violating phase, observe diffuse supernova neutrinos and neutrinos from a supernova burst, search for nucleon decay, and, ultimately, neutrinoless double beta decay.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Fri
    29
    Oct
    2021
    6:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights, food and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 29) in Lewis Hall.

    Bring your kids and friends to the Physics department at Ole Miss on Friday, October 29 from 6:00-8:30 pm to learn about energy, electricity, magnetism, sound and waves, the physics of ultracold temperatures and more. But beware! Expect a hair-raising experience -- literally: we'll shoot enough electricity through your body to make your hair stand up -- and other ‘nefarious’ experiments involving a bed of nails, lasers, superconductors and electromagnets. All harmless activities, of course! The night will also include food and fun, a Halloween costume contest for children, and liquid nitrogen ice cream for everybody, ‘freshly’ made at -320 F degrees.

    Demo shows will be held at 6:15 and 7:30 pm. Additional demonstrations will be presented by students, staff, and faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy both in and outside Lewis Hall.

    Spooky Physics Night visitors may park in the University Circle, surrounding areas alongside or behind Turner Complex and the Intensive English building (just west of Turner), in the Pavilion garage or in the Tad Smith coliseum parking lot.

     

  • Tue
    02
    Nov
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Alexandru Lupsasca
    Department of Physics
    Princeton

    The Black Hole Photon Ring

    The photon ring is a narrow ring-shaped feature, predicted by General Relativity but not yet observed, that appears on images of sources near a black hole. It is caused by extreme bending of light within a few Schwarzschild radii of the event horizon and provides a direct probe of the unstable bound photon orbits of the Kerr geometry. I will review the origin and structure of the photon ring, before discussing the prospects for its future detection. I will argue that the precise shape of the observable photon ring is remarkably insensitive to the astronomical source profile and can therefore be used as a stringent test of strong-field General Relativity. A space-based interferometry experiment targeting the photon ring of M87* could test the Kerr nature of the source to the sub-sub-percent level.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Sun
    14
    Nov
    2021
    5:30 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • November 14, 2021 on Sunday 5:30 - 7:00 PM

    We plan to observe the Moon, double stars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn though our telescopes.  All these events are weather permitting. Admission is free.
    Children are welcome!

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    16
    Nov
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Kathy Gunn
    Department of Oceanography
    Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia)

    Vertical Mixing and Heat Fluxes Conditioned by a Seismically Imaged Oceanic Front

    The southwest Atlantic gyre connects several distinct water masses, which means that this oceanic region is characterized by a complex frontal system and enhanced water mass modification. Despite its significance, the distribution and variability of vertical mixing rates have yet to be determined for this system. Specifically, potential conditioning of mixing rates by frontal structures, in this location and elsewhere, is poorly understood. Here, we analyze vertical seismic (i.e., acoustic) sections from a three-dimensional survey that straddles a major front along the northern portion of the Brazil-Falkland Confluence. Hydrographic analyses constrain the structure and properties of water masses. By spectrally analyzing seismic reflectivity, we calculate spatial and temporal distributions of the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy, ε, of diapycnal mixing rate, K, and of vertical diffusive heat flux, FH. We show that estimates of ε, K, and FH are elevated compared to regional and global mean values. Notably, cross-sectional mean estimates vary little over a 6 week period whilst smaller scale thermohaline structures appear to have a spatially localized effect upon ε, K, and FH. In contrast, a mesoscale front modifies ε and K to a depth of 1 km, across a region of O(100) km. This front clearly enhances mixing rates, both adjacent to its surface outcrop and beneath the mixed layer, whilst also locally suppressing ε and K to a depth of 1 km. As a result, estimates of FH increase by a factor of two in the vicinity of the surface outcrop of the front. Our results yield estimates of ε, K and FH that can be attributed to identifiable thermohaline structures and they show that fronts can play a significant role in water mass modification to depths of 1 km.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    16
    Nov
    2021
    6:00 pmUptown Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Michelle Hanlon,
    Center for Air and Space Law,
    University of Mississippi

    Low Earth Orbit: The Last Frontier for Pollution?

    Throughout history and prehistory humans have looked to the familiar stars and planets that populate our night sky for inspiration, guidance and solace. As our technological capabilities developed, we began to also study the night sky, developing a deeper understanding of the Universe, and our place in it. Today we have learned to take advantage of our orbit to benefit humanity with satellites that provide GPS, telecommunications and provide legions of data about our planet that, among other things, helps us understand and fight climate change. But now our orbit is getting crowded, some would even say polluted. Small satellite constellations are literally clouding the vision of our telescopes, reducing our field of view, and our ability to track near Earth objects. Michelle Hanlon will talk about what policymakers, industry and lawyers are doing to protect our orbit and our night skies.

     

    We are returning to being in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    30
    Nov
    2021
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Saptaparna Bhattacharya
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Northwestern University

    An Experimental Overview of Effective Field Theory Exploration at the LHC

    The effective field theory (EFT) approach posits that in a scenario where new particles cannot be observed directly at low energy, the source of new physics are heavy fields beyond our current reach. The Standard Model (SM) Lagrangian contains fields of dimension-4 and the EFT frame-work extends the SM Lagrangian in an expansion in inverse powers of the scale of new physics. Within this framework, the potential impact of higher dimensional operators can be explored. The most common example of an EFT appears in the Fermi theory of weak interactions where the appearance of the four Fermi vertex features an operator of dimension-6. In this talk, I will provide an overview of EFT explorations at the LHC. With the collection of more than 150 fb-1 of data at the LHC, rare processes predicted in the Standard Model have become accessible. These rare processes can be used as probes of new physics using the EFT framework. The large dataset also enables precision measurements of certain processes allowing the ability to study deviations from SM expectations and characterizing the nature of potential excesses within the EFT formalism. I will focus on the exploration of dimension-6 and dimension-8 operators at the LHC in final states arising out of the decay of multiple gauge bosons. I will provide a snapshot of LHC Run II analyses as we embark on Run III.

     

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Sun
    12
    Dec
    2021
    5:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • December 12, 2021 on Sunday 5:00 - 7:00 PM
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    Early arrivals may be able to catch Venus, which sets at 7 pm. Venus is now very large in the telescope - this is the time for it!
    Saturn and Jupiter are both great.
    We’ll look at the Pleiades after Venus goes down.
    The event is free, families are welcome. We ask visitors to have masks handy, and put them on when indoors or when many people congregate in a small area.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in about 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    25
    Jan
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Xinyue Gong
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Hall Effect for Acoustic Waves Carrying Angular Momentum

    Acoustic waves with a twisted wave front also carry angular momentum in addition to linear momentum,in analogy to optical and quantum fields. The law of refraction states that the direction of refracted light rays is normally in the plane of incidence as they propagate across a sharp interface. Nevertheless, the refraction law is not enough to describe the angular momentum carried by refracted beams. Refracted light beams carrying angular momentum have been observed to undergo a shift in the direction that is transverse to the plane of incidence, a phenomenon that was termed as optical Hall effect. Here we pursue the first experimental observation of Hall effects for acoustic waves that carry angular momentum. Our experiment exploits the more recently developed acoustic metasurface to manipulate the wave refraction. A theoretical calculation of the wave fields is also conducted to compare with the experimental measurements. The talk will present physics related to the phenomenon, our experimental setup, and preliminary results.

     

    Guoqin Liu
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Modeling and Simulations of Capillary-Gravity Wave Transmission Through a Surface Piercing Barrier

    Capillary-gravity waves are waves traveling on a fluid interface that are influenced by both the effects of surface tension and gravity. Interactions of capillary-gravity waves with boundaries in contact with a solid and air play an essential role in both fluid physics and fluid control techniques. Motion of the contact line at the three phase boundary (solid, liquid, and air) can influence the wave dynamics such as the wave frequency, damping, refraction, and transmission. Here we develop fluid dynamics modeling and numerical simulations to investigate the transmission of capillary-gravity waves through a surface piercing barrier under the effect of a pinned contact line. Our modeling is validated via a comparison with prior theory in ideal cases. We numerically reveal how the surface tension and contact lines affect the transmission in the realistic case for waves of different frequencies and barriers of different depths.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    01
    Feb
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    M. Mahbub Alam

    Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
    Effects of Viscosity on Effective Dynamic Properties

    Recent theoretical and experimental findings demonstrate that as the particle concentration in a suspension increases, the effect of viscosity of the base fluid becomes more and more significant, thereby requiring to be taken into account when calculating effective properties of a suspension. Here, we employ a core-shell, self-consistent, effective medium model to derive analytical approximations for effective bulk-modulus and effective mass density for a suspension of solid elastic spheres. We incorporate the viscosity of the suspending fluid into the model through wave conversion phenomena, primarily between compressional and shear wave modes. The analytical approximations are explicit functions of particle volume fraction, dimensionless compressional and shear wave numbers, and scattering coefficients of a single sphere. The dependence of effective properties on frequency, particle size, volume fraction, and viscosity are also investigated numerically.

     

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Sun
    06
    Feb
    2022
    6:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • February 6, 2022 on Sunday 6:00 - 7:30 PM
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    Uranus is tiny and dim in the telescope.
    We’ll look at the Pleiades and the Orion nebula.
    The event is free, families are welcome. We ask visitors to have masks handy, and put them on when indoors or when many people congregate in a small area.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in about 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    08
    Feb
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Suravinda Kospalage
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Study of the Decay B± → Ks0π±π0 at the Belle Experiment

    Belle is a particle physics experiment based at the KEK laboratory in Tsukuba Japan which ran from 1999 to 2010 and collected 1ab-1 of data. The Belle experiment is focused on studying the properties of particles called B mesons which are produced by accelerating and colliding electron and positron beams. These B mesons show the biggest differences between the properties of matter and anti-matter of any known particles. One of the main goals of the Belle experiments is to understand the differences between matter and anti-matter, specifically violations of charge-parity symmetry (CP violation) and how anti-matter vanished and we come to ive in a matter dominated universe.

    This project explores the charmless B decay B± → Ks0π±π0 with the Belle full Monti Carlo (full MC) simulation and Belle data corresponding to 571fb-1 of luminosity and measure the decay's branching fraction (BF). Charmless transitions can proceed by a b → u transition via a tree level diagram or b → s or d transition via the so-called penguin diagram. Both decay types are highly suppressed compared to the b → ctransition and we expect a small branching fraction, smaller than 10-5. The challenge in observing the B± → Ks0π±π0 decay is to suppress backgrounds from continuum events, which do not contain b quarks, and background from other B meson decays. Initial selections plus multi-variate analysis (MVA) machine learning/artificial intelligence technique called a boosted decision tree (BDT) used to reduce the backgrounds to the level to allow to clearly observe the decay and measure the BF.

    Additionally the Dalitz plot (DP) technique to study the intermediate resonance contributions in this decay using the Laura++ software to generate and fit toy Monte Carlo (toy MC), full Monte Carlo simulated data, and, based on the techniques developed on these simulations, the experimental data to study the resonance sub-structure of this decay.

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    15
    Feb
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Dipangkar Dutta
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Mississippi State University

    The Incredible Shrinking Proton and the Proton Radius Puzzle

    For nearly half a century the charge radius of the proton had been obtained from measurements of the energy levels of the hydrogen atom or by scattering electrons from hydrogen atoms. Until recently the proton charge radius obtained from these two methods, agreed with one another within experimental uncertainties. In 2010 the proton charge radius was obtained for the first time by precisely measuring the energy levels of an exotic kind of hydrogen atom called muonic hydrogen. The charge radius of the proton obtained from muonic hydrogen was found to be significantly smaller than those obtained from regular hydrogen atoms. This was called the “proton charge radius puzzle” and led to a rush of experimental as well as theoretical efforts to understand whythe size of the proton appears to be different when measured in regular hydrogen vs. muonic hydrogen. Many physicists were excited by the possibility that the “puzzle” was an indication of a possible new force that acted differently on electrons and muons.

    The Proton Charge Radius (PRad) experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) was one such major new effort which used electron scattering from a regular hydrogen atom, but with several innovations that made it the highest precision electron scattering measurement. These innovative methods have allowed us to measure the size of the proton more precisely than it has been measured before using electron scattering. I will provide a brief review of the techniques used to measure the proton's size and introduce the “ proton radius puzzle”, and the world-wide effort to resolve this puzzle. I will discuss the PRad experiment, the new results from this experiment, the current status of the “puzzle” and future prospects.

     

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    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    15
    Feb
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Maria Ann Weber
    Department of Math and Sciences,
    Delta State University

    The Secret Lives of Middle-Aged Stars

    We live with a star — the Sun! Stars have a secret life beyond what we can see with the naked eye. Some slowly fizzle out over billions of years, and some go out with a bang. Join astrophysicist Dr. Maria Weber as she discusses the lifecycle and magnetism of stars like the Sun, which are living out their middle-aged years between birth and death building intense magnetism in their deep interiors — magnetism which may impact their orbiting worlds. Find out how well we can predict the Sun’s magnetic behavior, if we should be concerned, and how our work to understand the Sun helps us better understand habitable worlds throughout the galaxy.

     

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    22
    Feb
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Katerina Chatziioannou
    Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
    California Institute of Technology

    Constraining the Neutron Star Equation of State with Gravitational Wave Signals

    Detections of neutron stars in binaries through gravitational waves offer a novel way to probe the properties of extremely dense matter. In this talk I will describe the properties of the signals we have observed, what they have already taught us, and what we expect to learn in the future. I will also discuss how information from gravitational waves can be combined and compared against other astrophysical and terrestrial probes of neutron star matter to unveil to the properties of the most dense material objects that we know of.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Fri
    11
    Mar
    2022
    7:45 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • March 11, 2022 on Friday 7:45 - 9:00 PM
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    Uranus is tiny and dim in the telescope.
    We’ll also look at the Pleiades and the Orion nebula.
    The event is free, families are welcome. We ask visitors to have masks handy, and put them on when indoors or when many people congregate in a small area.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in about 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    22
    Mar
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Stefano Tognini
    Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division
    Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    Celeritas: Bringing Exascale Computing to HEP Detector Simulation

    Within the next decade experimental High Energy Physics (HEP) will (mostly) finish building its next generation of particle detectors. This includes upgrades to the Large Hadron Collider and its main experiments, and completing the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). This new Era brings a myriad of challenges, many being on the computational front. As DOE consolidates its network of Leadership Computing Facilities (LCFs) with supercomputers capable of reaching Exaflops of processing power, it is fundamental to better integrate these LCFs with HEP computing workflows. In this talk I will provide an overview of computing in HEP and its many challenges, and present Celeritas, a novel GPU Monte Carlo particle transport code developed by researchers from ORNL, Fermilab, ANL, and BNL, that aims to close the gap between DOE's LCFs and HEP experiments.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    22
    Mar
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Dawn Wilkins
    Department of Computer & Information Science
    University of Mississippi

    Machine Learning Applications to Science: Do's and Don’ts

     

    Machine Learning is a way to add intelligence to an application without explicitly programming it with knowledge. Instead, machine learning uses examples (data) as experience and builds a model of the implicit knowledge. The advantage of this approach is the speed at which an application can be developed and deployed. Machine learning models reduce human bias in making decisions and are not limited to problems with scope manageable by humans. On the other hand, there can be issues with the application of machine learning, including obtaining enough data, implicit biases, and difficulty in the interpretability and generalizability of the models.

    We will talk about what machine learning is, how it is used, and some of the pitfalls and ethical concerns.

     

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Thu
    24
    Mar
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Steven Phelps
    Department of Integrative Biology
    University of Texas – Austin

    Care: A Natural History of Intimacy

    Close social relationships are common in the animal world, and are essential aspects of the human experience. They promote collaboration and engender conflict. When do we consider a relationship a bond? This talk draws from animal behavior, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, to explore how and why bonds form in species as diverse as prairie voles, poison frogs, and humans.

     

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    29
    Mar
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Biswaranjan Behera
    Department of Physics
    Colorado State University

    The Search for Sterile Neutrinos with the ICARUS Detector at Fermilab

    The 476-ton active mass ICARUS T-600 liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) was a pioneering development that became the template for neutrino and rare event detectors, including the massive next generation international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. It began operation in 2010 at the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratories and was transported to Fermilab in the US in 2017. To ameliorate the impact of shallow depth operation at Fermilab, the detector was enhanced with the addition of a new high granularity light detection system inside the LAr volume and an external cosmic ray tagging system. Currently in the final stages of commissioning, ICARUS is the largest LArTPC ever to operate in a neutrino beam. In this talk I will describe how ICARUS will resolve a long-standing neutrino anomaly that favors the existence of a new, non-interacting, "sterile" neutrino.

     

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    05
    Apr
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Erika Hamden
    Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory
    University of Arizona

    Building Your Own Ultraviolet Telescope

    Why do galaxies look the way they do? How do galaxies interact with their environments? How does a star form? How does the environment around a new star impact the planets that form around it? These questions can all be answered by observations in the ultraviolet, a seriously neglected wavelength range. In this talk, I will discuss several space and sub-orbital UV telescopes that I am developing to answer the questions above, including FIREBall-2 (a balloon-borne UV spectrograph), Aspera (a NASA funded extreme UV SmallSat), and Hyperion (a FUV mission in development). I will also describe the importance of technology development in enabling these missions and the science they can achieve. Finally, I will argue that the best way to answer difficult science questions is to stop waiting for someone else to build your telescope.

     

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Sun
    10
    Apr
    2022
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory

    We are offering astronomy open houses and viewings with our telescopes:

    • April 10, 2022 on Sunday 8:00 - 9:30 PM
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    We’ll look at the Beehive and the Orion nebula, and double stars.
    The event is free, families are welcome. We ask visitors to have masks handy, and put them on when indoors or when many people congregate in a small area.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in about 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    12
    Apr
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Zhenhua Tian
    Department of Aerospace Engineering
    Mississippi State University

    Leveraging Acoustics for Structural Health Monitoring and Noncontact Manipulation of Micro/Nano Objects

    Acoustic waves carry both information and energy that allow them to inspect material defects as well as create invisible robotic hands (i.e., acoustic tweezers) capable of manipulating matter. This talk will cover my previous studies on leveraging acoustics for structural health monitoring (SHM) and noncontact manipulation of micro/nanoparticles. The first part of the talk is about SHM systems based on laser ultrasonics and ultrasonic arrays for rapid inspection of defects in aerospace structures, such as delamination in composites, disbonding in honeycomb sandwich panels, and corrosion in metal plates. The second part of my talk focuses on dynamic acoustic tweezers based on 10's MHz surface acoustic waves (SAWs). These SAW-based acoustic tweezers use a programmable array of interdigital transducers (IDTs) for the translation, patterning, and concentration of micro/nano objects. Their functions will be discussed with experimental examples, including (i) constructing diverse lattice-like patterns of micro/nanoparticles, (ii) manufacturing composites with patterned carbon nanotubes, and (iii) printing anisotropic tissues with aligned cells.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Wed
    13
    Apr
    2022
    3:00 pmLewis 228 Conference room and Via Zoom

    You are invited to attend John Waite's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, April 13th in the Lewis 228 Conference room and via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/7080349707?pwd=WjB2WlZHajgzSVhXQVVHcjd0eTRyZz09 .
    The dissertation title is: “Exploring the Standard Model and Beyond using B and D meson decays.”

  • Mon
    18
    Apr
    2022
    1:00 pm109 Lewis Hall and Via Zoom

    You are invited to attend Sashwat Tanay's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 1:00 PM on Monday, April 18th in 109 Lewis Hall and Via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/93776969564.
    The dissertation title is: “Post-Newtonian Dynamics Of Eccentric, Spinning Binary Black Holes And The Associated Gravitational Waveform.”

  • Tue
    19
    Apr
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Prajwal Mohan Murthy
    Department of Physics
    University of Chicago

    Search for the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment and "what next?"

    Baryon asymmetry of the universe, i.e. the fact that much of the observed universe is made of matter as opposed to equal amounts of matter and anti-matter, demands violation of Charge-Parity (CP) symmetry. Yet, the amount of CP violation from the Standard Model of particle physics is insufficient to explain the baryon asymmetry of the universe. Observation of a non-zero permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) coupled to the spin of any sub-atomic particle, such as the neutron, is an indication of CP violation. Therefore, measuring the neutron EDM, is a key technique of getting a handle on the amount of CP violation. The neutron EDM from the standard model sources is so small that no experiment has thus far achieved the sensitivity required. Nonetheless, searches for the neutron EDM is an important method by which to test and constrain physics beyond the standard model. The neutron EDM has been measured since the 1940s and the sensitivity of the experiments has improved by over 8 orders of magnitude.

    The most recent series of efforts were conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). This was a room temperature experiment employing the Ramsey technique of separated oscillating fields. These measurements used a 21 l storage chamber, in which ultracold neutrons were stored, and surrounded by 4 layers of mu-metal. Prior to 2006, the series of measurements at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) culminated in the measurement of dn < 3 × 10-26 e.cm (90% C.L) [Phys. Rev. D 92, 092003 (2015)] over 5 years of data taking. The ILL apparatus was upgraded significantly with addition of: (i) 16 Cs-133 magnetometers to further characterize the magnetic field environment in the storage chamber, (ii) a new neutron detector system which could simultaneously count both the spin states of the neutron, and (iii) optimized coating inside the storage chamber to maximize the neutron density. The upgraded apparatus was moved to the Paul Scherrer Institute and independently achieved a measurement of dn < 1.8 × 10-26 e.cm (90% C.L) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 081803 (2020)] in just 2 years of data taking. The PSI nEDM experiment has also been a source of rich physics program beyond the measurement of the nEDM. It has investigated neutron oscillation, provided input into neutron lifetime measurements, searched for axions, and tested Lorentz Invariance.

    While the search for CPV EDM was first attempted in neutrons, searching for atomic EDM may be a more lucrative avenue, since multiple sources contribute to an atomic EDM, viz. nucleon EDM, nuclear Schiff moment, CP violating interactions between the electrons and the nuclei, and the nuclear MQM also contributes to the atomic EDM. Nuclear Schiff moment and nuclear MQM are significantly enhanced in quadrupole and octupole deformed nuclei. We will also discuss viable candidate isotopes which have maximally enhanced sensitivity to EDMs.

     

    Join Zoom Meeting

    https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/91928227187

    Meeting ID: 919 282 27187

  • Tue
    19
    Apr
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Jason Hoeksema
    Department of Biology
    University of Mississippi

    Science and Conservation for Birds and Humans on Working Lands in the Mississippi Delta

    The Mississippi Delta was historically a vast wetland, covered with flooded woodlands, swamps, and oxbow lakes. These wetland habitats provided essential ecosystem services, including flood control and wildlife habitat. Today, most of these wetlands have been drained or diverted for agriculture, which supplies food and represents a key economic base in our region. Is there a way we can conserve and restore the ecosystem services of wetlands, while maintaining sustainable agricultural production? Delta Wind Birds (DWB) is a conservation non-profit based in Oxford, working to conserve existing wetlands and especially to create temporary wetlands on private lands in the Delta, including crop farms. Scientists from the University of Mississippi, the USDA-ARS, and Mississippi State University are partnering with DWB to study how these temporary wetlands may benefit migratory water birds, conserve soil, reduce downstream nutrient pollution, and improve crop yields .

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Wed
    20
    Apr
    2022
    11:00 amVia Zoom

    You are invited to attend Sudeep Adhikari's Ph.D. dissertation defense at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, April 20th Via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/97399247886.
    The dissertation title is: “Biopolymer Unfolding as a Process of Biased Activated Barrier Crossing.”

  • Thu
    21
    Apr
    2022
    2:00 pmRoom 228 Lewis Hall and Via Zoom

    You are invited to attend Paul Gebeline's Honors College thesis defense at 2:00 PM on Thursday, April 21st in 228 Lewis Hall and Via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/96395825170.
    The thesis title is: “Lifetime measurement of the Ξc+ using Belle II Monte Carlo.”

  • Thu
    21
    Apr
    2022
    4:00 pmOutside In Front of Lewis Hall

    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Research Poster Session

    Despite the pandemic, student researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy have continued to do some excellent work. In the spirit of scientific discourse, we will be holding a research poster session tomorrow, Thursday April 21 at 4 pm in front of Lewis Hall. Please join us to hear about ongoing research in the department, and maybe get some ideas for a new project!

    The web page can be found here.

     

  • Mon
    25
    Apr
    2022
    4:00 pmRoom 027 Honors College and Via Zoom

    You are invited to attend Wil Stacy's Honors College thesis defense at 4:00 PM on Monday, April 25th in 027 Honors College and Via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/94119188931 .
    The thesis title is: “A Performance Analysis of the Belle II Detector.”

  • Thu
    28
    Apr
    2022
    4:00 pmRoom 228 Lewis Hall and Via Zoom

    You are invited to attend Sakul Mahat's Honors College thesis defense at 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 28st in 228 Lewis Hall and Via Zoom: https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/98842249192.
    The thesis title is: “Monte Carlo Study of Lepton Flavor Violation in B Decays with Belle II Simulation.”

  • Wed
    15
    Jun
    2022
    2:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Vojtech Witzany
    School of Mathematics and Statistics
    University College Dublin

    Action-angle Coordinates for Black Hole Geodesics

    Action-angle (AA) coordinates are a traditional tool in celestial mechanics with roots as early as in the works of Johannes Kepler in 1609. In modern terms, AA coordinates amount to a particular spectral solution of the equations of motion of a given conservative system. As a result, they serve as an extremely convenient basis for further analytical computations. I will show how AA coordinates are constructed for black hole geodesics, and how that will be useful in various approximations to the relativistic two-body problem and binary inspirals (EOB, large mass ratio,...).

  • Thu
    18
    Aug
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Hartmut Grote
    Gravity Exploration Institute
    Cardiff University

    Quantum-Enhanced Interferometry for Dark Matter and Quantum Gravity Searches

    Laser interferometry has revolutionized astronomy by introducing a new sense in the observation of the universe. We can now hear the ripples of space-time: gravitational waves. Moving beyond this 'application' of laser interferometry, in this talk I will give an overview of how ultra-precise laser interferometers can also be used to try to shed light on other mysteries of the universe. Namely the search for dark matter and the question of whether space-time is quantized at the smallest level.

  • Tue
    30
    Aug
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Joe Rivest, Madusanka Abeykoon, Devesh Bhattarai
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Student Research Presentations

    Graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy will present brief reports on their ongoing research.

     

  • Sun
    04
    Sep
    2022
    7:45 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on Sept 4, Sunday night, 7:45 - 9:15 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    We’ll look at Saturn, which is a great view, and Jupiter as it comes up around 9 pm.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exact 4 weeks for another try.

     

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    06
    Sep
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Sina Rostami, Santosh Bhandari, Quinn Campagna
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Student Research Presentations

    Graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy will present brief reports on their ongoing research.

     

  • Tue
    13
    Sep
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Cecille Labuda
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Spatial Variation of the Ultrasonic Properties of Brain

    Brain is inhomogeneous due to its composition of different tissue types (gray and white matter), anatomical structures (e.g. thalamus and cerebellum), and cavities in the brain (ventricles). These inhomogeneities lead to spatial variations in the ultrasonic properties of the organ. However, reporting on the spatial variation of the ultrasonic properties is limited in the literature. The spatial variation of the speed of sound, frequency slope of attenuation, attenuation and backscatter in brain tissue are presented here as two-dimensional maps. Tissue specimens were 1-cm thick slices of fixed sheep brain prepared from the coronal, sagittal and transverse anatomic planes. Ultrasonic measurements were performed using broadband transducers with center frequencies of 3.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10 MHz. The spatial variation of these properties are clearly visualized and structures visible in the maps are consistent with the known morphologic features of the brain. White and gray matter appeared to be distinguishable in the images. The average values of the ultrasonic properties are consistent with published values.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 109.

     

  • Tue
    20
    Sep
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jeffrey Kleykamp and Luiz Prais
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Search for Non-Standard Interactions with Neutrino Oscillations at the NOvA Experiment

    The phenomenon of neutrino oscillations provided the first evidence for the so-called Physics Beyond the Standard Model, and opened a window for several and interesting new investigations in the field of neutrino physics. Among the possibilities, Non-standard interactions (NSI) are an extension of the neutrino matter effect leading to a rich phenomenology, and are expected to modify the propagation of neutrinos through matter. The current open questions in the neutrino oscillation model rely heavily on how neutrinos interact with matter, to an extent that NSI could induce possible effects. The NOvA Experiment presents its first preliminary search for flavor-changing NSI in neutrino oscillations in the 810 km baseline as neutrinos cross the Earth's crust between the Near and Far Detectors.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 109.

     

  • Tue
    20
    Sep
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Eden Tanner
    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
    University of Mississippi

    Hitching a Ride for Effective Drug Delivery

    Can you imagine if only 1% of your text messages got sent to the right person? This is the reality for almost all nanoparticles used for drug delivery, and especially for treating cancer. At this rate, you’d need to give someone a trillion nanoparticles to see any effect, which is not practical or healthy in a person. In our lab, we use a material called ionic liquids – essentially salts that are liquid at room temperature – as our nanoparticle GPS to make sure they get to exactly where they need to go in the body. The ionic liquids are selectively attracted to different kinds of blood components like red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This results in them hitching a ride on the blood cells, letting the cells do all the hard work! For example, by hitching a ride on red blood cells, we are able to deliver about half of the particles we inject to the brain. This could revolutionize medicine by allowing us to effectively and selectively deliver drugs to treat brain cancer, Alzheimer’s, depression, and many other diseases.

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    27
    Sep
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Sadia Khalil
    Senior Data Scientist
    Caterpiller, Inc.

    From Physicist to a Data Scientist: It's Never Too Late!

    I am a senior data scientist at Caterpillar Inc, and I like to share my story of career transformation in the industry after more than a decade of research in the LHC experiments at the CERN. I like to tell you why a data scientist career is a highly desired profession for people with a STEM background, especially in Physics. I like to give some tips on how to build a professional network and a well-composed resume, coding techniques, soft skills, and a strong knowledge of the fundamentals of statistics.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 109. —

     

  • Tue
    04
    Oct
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Michael Schatz
    School of Physics and Center for Nonlinear Science
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    Forecasting Turbulence

    Fluid turbulence is one of the greatest unsolved problems of classical physics (and the subject of a million dollar mathematical (Millenium) challenge). Centuries of research--including Leonardo da Vinci's observations of "la turbolenza" and the best efforts of numerous scientists (Heisenberg, Kelvin, Rayleigh, Sommerfeld, ...)--have failed to yield a tractable predictive theory. However, recent theoretical and computational advances have successfully linked recurring transient patterns (coherent structures) within turbulence to unstable solutions of the equations governing fluid flow (the Navier-Stokes equations). The solutions describing coherent structures provide a geometrical structure that guides the evolution of turbulence. We describe laboratory experiments where the geometry of key coherent structures is identified, thereby provided building blocks for describing the behavior of weakly turbulent flows.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104. —

     

  • Tue
    11
    Oct
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Alumni panel
    Department of Physics and Astronomy graduates

    Alumni Panel

    Graduates of the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy will discuss their career path following graduation, discuss some of the benefits that their degree brought them, and answer questions posed by students in attendance.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104. —

     

  • Tue
    18
    Oct
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Jan Strube
    Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate
    Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    Machine Learning in the Physical Sciences

    Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have become a part of everyday life, from recommendation systems to autonomous driving. In their basic form, machine learning algorithms have been used in high energy physics for well over two decades. Interpretability and uncertainty quantification are essential characteristics of scientific algorithms, unlike many use cases in the industry. The seminar will give a brief introduction to machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, review the state of the art of machine learning in physics, with a focus on high energy physics, and point out areas of opportunities for further development.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104. —

     

  • Tue
    18
    Oct
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Jan Strube,
    Institute for Fundamental Science at the University of Oregon;
    and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

    Big Science

    The field of particle physics started with the study of charged particles from cosmic radiation that originate high up in the Earth’s atmosphere and reach the surface, where they can be detected. Curiosity about these particles led to the development of instruments and facilities that allowed us to produce them in the laboratory and study them in detail. While these experiments increased our understanding of nature, of the cosmological evolution, and of the origin of matter, they kept growing, leading to today’s large international collaborations that steward investments of billions of dollars. What are the questions still left unanswered for today’s particle physicists? What kind of questions are we looking to answer with the next generation of big science, and what are the facilities proposed to study them? Can we not get the same results with smaller investments? The speaker will present arguments that big scientific collaborations benefit fundamental physics, applied research, and society and the general public.

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    25
    Oct
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Scott Hertel
    Department of Physics
    University of Massachusetts Amherst

    Recent Progress Towards the Detection of Dark Matter

    As you read this, you are immersed in a bath of particles beyond the Standard Model, so-called "dark matter" particles which make their presence felt (so far) only through gravitational effects at astrophysical scales. Discovering the properties of these particles (their mass, interactions with other particles, etc.) is one of the great challenges of 21st century physics. I will describe three complementary efforts which look for dark matter particles scattering off atoms in a laboratory setting: LZ, HeRALD, and SPICE. Each effort uses novel technologies to progress towards ever greater sensitivity to new physics and potentially unraveling this great mystery.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Fri
    28
    Oct
    2022
    6:00 pmLewis Hall

    Frights, food and fun are the order of the evening when the University of Mississippi Department of Physics and Astronomy presents "Spooky Physics Demonstrations" from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 28) in Lewis Hall.

    Bring your kids and friends to the Physics department at Ole Miss on Friday, October 28 from 6:00-8:30 pm to learn about energy, electricity, magnetism, sound and waves, the physics of ultracold temperatures and more. But beware! Expect a hair-raising experience -- literally: we'll shoot enough electricity through your body to make your hair stand up -- and other ‘nefarious’ experiments involving a bed of nails, lasers, superconductors and electromagnets. All harmless activities, of course! The night will also include food and fun, a Halloween costume contest for children, and liquid nitrogen ice cream for everybody, ‘freshly’ made at -320 F degrees.

    Demo shows will be held at 6:15 and 7:30 pm. Additional demonstrations will be presented by students, staff, and faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy both in and outside Lewis Hall.

    Spooky Physics Night visitors may park in the University Circle, surrounding areas alongside or behind Turner Complex and the Intensive English building (just west of Turner), in the Pavilion garage or in the Tad Smith coliseum parking lot.

     

  • Sun
    30
    Oct
    2022
    6:30 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on Oct 30, Sunday night, 6:30 - 8:00 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    We’ll look at Saturn and Jupiter both great in the telescope.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.
    Along with the viewing, we will also have a short talk by one of our graduate students, Sumeet Kulkarni, titled "`The Voyagers' View of the secrets of Our Solar System".

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    01
    Nov
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    John Beggs
    Department of Physics
    Indiana University Bloomington

    The Cortex and the Critical Point

    Condensed matter physics provides a framework for understanding experiments on ensembles of neurons. Within this framework, cascades of activity among cortical neurons follow the same equations that govern avalanches in granular materials, complete with power laws, an exponent relation and a universal scaling function. These "neuronal avalanches" also show that the cerebral cortex operates near a critical point where many of its information processing functions are optimized, analogous to peaks in susceptibility and correlation length seen at a continuous phase transition. I will review progress in this field over the past 20 years and point to the new frontiers it has opened in human health and computing.

    You can find Dr. Begg's new book The Cortex and the Critical Point at MIT press and on Amazon

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    08
    Nov
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Joon Sue Lee
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Tennessee Knoxville

    Superconductor-Semiconductor Hybrid Systems for Quantum Devices

    In superconductor-semiconductor hybrid systems, interfaces and junctions with minimal disorder are crucial for realizing quantum phenomena associated with induced superconductivity. Advances in developing transparent interfaces by molecular beam epitaxy and clean junctions by in-situ shadowing have resulted in enhanced features of superconducting proximity effect. These schemes of in-situ deposition and shadowing of superconductors can be applied to quantum devices based on 1D nanowires, selectively grown in-plane 1D wires, and 2D electron gases. In this talk, materials and devices prepared by in-situ deposition and shadowing will be demonstrated, and transport studies revealing hard superconducting gap, two-electron charging effect, and zero-bias conductance peaks will be discussed.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    15
    Nov
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    John Wise
    Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physics
    Georgia Institute of Technology

    The First Stars, Black Holes, and Galaxies in the Universe

    Cosmic structure forms hierarchically through smooth accretion and dark matter halo mergers. As a consequence, all galaxies are the product of the dozens of mergers over billions of years. However, one can ask, “What were the first stars and galaxies in the universe?” I will review the current state-of-the-art simulations of early galaxy formation, starting with the formation of the first stars, which are initially devoid of metals and are suggested to have a characteristic mass of tens of solar masses. I will present results from a suite of cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations that focus on the transition from the first stars to the first galaxies. Each simulation captures the radiative and chemical feedback from 10,000 first stars, leading to the formation of a 107 solar mass galaxy only 500 million years after the Big Bang, that can now be tested against the latest observations from JWST. Last I will highlight how some of the earliest massive black holes form during these early epochs that could be the seeds of supermassive black holes that exist at the centers of all massive galaxies today.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    15
    Nov
    2022
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Likun Zhang,
    Department of Physics and Astronomy,
    University of Mississippi.

    Ole Miss aboard the ISS: Manipulating Fluids in Low Gravity

    How can liquids be contained and controlled in almost-zero gravity? On the International Space Station, with no gravity to force liquids to the bottom of a container, it becomes critical to develop strategies to control and contain the liquids in microgravity environments. The efficient containment and control of liquids in low gravity is essential for NASA’s interests on technologies involving two phase fluids (liquids and vapors), including power generation, thermal management, and other aspects of advanced life support. In our lab, we focus on fundamental research on fluid dynamics in low gravity and develop strategies to control liquids using minimal support structures and acoustic waves. In this talk, those technologies will be discussed in addition to recent results from our lab experiments completed on the International Space Station.

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Sun
    27
    Nov
    2022
    5:15 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on Nov 27, Sunday night, 5:15 - 8:30 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    We’ll look at Saturn and Jupiter both great in the telescope. Mars is coming up late, best viewed at the end of the session.
    Neptune is tiny; the Seven sisters are pretty.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.
    Along with the viewing, we will also have a fun Trivia Tournament on Astronomy facts.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    29
    Nov
    2022
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Fernanda Psihas
    Neutrino Division
    Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

    Neutrino Physics with Deep Learning: Applications, Successes, and Lessons

    Neutrino experiments study the least understood of the Standard Model particles by observing their direct interactions with matter or searching for ultra-rare signals. The study of neutrinos typically requires overcoming large backgrounds, elusive signals, and small statistics. The introduction of state-of-the-art machine learning tools to solve analysis tasks has made major impacts to these challenges in neutrino experiments across the board. Machine learning algorithms have become an integral tool of neutrino physics, and their development is of great importance to the capabilities of next generation experiments. An understanding of the roadblocks, both human and computational, and the challenges that still exist in the application of these techniques is critical to their proper and beneficial utilization for physics applications. Dr. Psihas will showcase applications to detector data analysis developed in the past few years and present the current status of machine learning applications for neutrino physics in terms of the challenges and opportunities that are at the intersection between these two fields.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Thu
    26
    Jan
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Giacomo Fragione
    Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics
    Northwestern University

    Hierarchical Black Hole Mergers: A Multi-band Opportunity for Gravitational Waves

    With about a hundred binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected via gravitational wave (GW) emission, our understanding of the darkest objects in the Universe has seen unparalleled steps forward compared to previous decades. While most of the events are expected to consist of first-generation BHs formed from the collapse of massive stars, others might be of a second or higher generation, containing the remnants of previous BH mergers. A fundamental limit for hierarchical mergers comes from the recoil kick imparted to merger remnants, which could result in the ejection from the host star cluster. However, hierarchical mergers can build up massive BHs and even form intermediate-mass black holes if the host cluster is massive and dense enough, as in nuclear star clusters and the most massive globular clusters. With their distinctive signatures of higher masses and spins, hierarchical mergers offer an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the densest systems in our Universe and to shed light on the elusive population of intermediate-mass black holes. The next years may bring hundreds of detections from hierarchical mergers with multi-band events chirping from space-based to ground-based detectors, promising a spectacular range of new science from stellar evolution to cosmology.

     

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Sun
    29
    Jan
    2023
    5:45 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on Jan 29, Sunday night, 5:45 – 7:30 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    Jupiter and Mars are bright; Uranus can also be seen. We can also see the Pleiades and the double star Castor, as well as the Orion Nebula.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    We’ll also have a public lecture at 6:30 pm, entitled “Why doesn’t the Moon crash into the Earth?
    (rain or shine).
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    31
    Jan
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Matthew Route
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Substellar Magnetism at Radio Wavelengths

    Lurking between low mass stars and exoplanets on the mass scale lie ultracool dwarfs, which share characteristics with both classes of objects.  Perhaps some of the most surprising discoveries among ultracool dwarfs are that they host strong, kG-strength magnetic fields and are powerful radio-emitters, despite their exoplanet-like effective temperatures and neutral atmospheres.  However, many unanswered questions remain regarding their magnetic activity, including what are the characteristics of their magnetic dynamos, what is the nature of the electrodynamic engine that triggers magnetic reconnection to accelerate radio-emitting electrons, and what is the origin of the emitting plasma.  One intriguing theory is that their radio emissions may be triggered by scaled-down star-planet magnetic interactions.  Radio observations present an unprecedented opportunity to probe brown dwarf magnetic activity, examine the characteristics and functioning of dynamos among fully-convective objects, and investigate the nature of exoplanet magnetism.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Thu
    02
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Michael Fausnaugh
    Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
    Massachusetts Institute for Technology

    Transient Science with TESS and Frontiers in Time Domain Astronomy

    Modern sky surveys are observing large swaths of the sky each night, even while pushing to faster and faster time sampling. As a result, the number of supernovae and other transient astrophysical explosions discovered per year is growing at an exponential rate. At the same time, densely sampled light curves produced by these surveys are enabling new scientific investigations. I will discuss recent results in extragalactic astronomy that my team has produced using some of these new observing facilities, particularly The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). In particular, I will present TESS light curves of 300 Type Ia supernovae and our search for companion star interactions. I will also show how time domain monitoring data of actively accreting supermassive black holes (quasars) can be used to map material within a few hundred gravitational radii of the black hole. Finally, I will discuss applications of TESS for electromagnetic follow-up of gravitational wave events from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network, and other prospects for observing exotic transient events over the next decade.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    07
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Nicholas MacDonald
    Radio Astronomy/VLBI Group
    Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy

    Blacks Holes, Relativistic Blazar Jets, and Global Very Long Baseline: Interferometry
    High Energy Astrophysics in the Roaring 20s

    Blazars are an extreme subclass of active galactic nuclei (AGN), in which an accreting supermassive black hole launches a powerful relativistic jet of magnetized plasma that is closely aligned to our line-of-sight. Blazar jets: (i) shine across the entire electromagnetic spectrum (from low-frequency radio waves to high-energy gamma-rays), (ii) exhibit dramatic flares (on time scales ranging from days to minutes), and (iii) dominate the high-energy extragalactic sky. Very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) arrays (such as phased ALMA and The Event Horizon Telescope) are capable of imaging the polarized synchrotron emission emanating from the innermost regions of relativistic blazar jets with unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity. In particular, the linearly and circularly polarized synchrotron emission from blazar jets carry imprints of both the strength and orientation of the collimating magnetic field as well as the plasma content of the jet environment. In parallel to these advances in VLBI imaging, modern computational resources now support the execution of increasingly sophisticated 3D numerical jet simulations, from shock-in-jet/turbulence models, to relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (RMHD) and particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma simulations. In this talk, I will present a new suite of relativistic jet simulations which study the synchrotron polarization produced by blobs of relativistic plasma passing through standing recollimation shocks in the jet. This is accomplished through the use of the PLUTO code in concert with polarized radiative transfer ray-tracing calculations computed using the RADMC-3D code. The physical implications of this synchrotron emission will be discussed and direct comparisons will be made to actual VLBI observations of relativistic blazar jets.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Thu
    09
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Nihan Pol
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    Vanderbilt University

    Exploring the Gravitational Wave Landscape with Pulsars

    Pulsars, which are rapidly rotating neutron stars, are a unique celestial object that can serve as both source and detector of gravitational waves (GWs). In this talk, I will give an overview of how multi-messenger observations of binary pulsar systems can shed light on the population of these systems in our Galaxy and present methods for optimizing current radio pulsar searches to find ultra-compact binary pulsars that will be visible with LISA. Finally, I will describe how millisecond-period pulsars can be used to construct a GW detector that is sensitive to nano-hertz frequency GWs and present results from the latest, most sensitive search for these GWs and the expectations for these detectors in the next few years.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    14
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Ayush Dhital, Aniket Khairnar
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Student Research Presentations

    Graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy will present brief reports on their ongoing research.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Thu
    16
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Tiffany Lewis
    Astroparticle Physics Lab
    Goddard Space Flight Center

    Building Blocks for Blazars

    This talk examines what that means from a variety of perspectives - the concept of cosmic scale, the components of the system, and the physical processes we think we observe, all to frame how I think about modeling them, and to set up how I think about future projects and their larger context. We begin by building up the concept of scale in the universe through the lens of light travel time for the purpose of defining blazar size and distance between galaxies. Then, we will explore the structure and characteristics of active galaxies before diving into the physics of blazar jets, how it is studied and some key findings about the importance of particle acceleration and the limitations of current multi-wavelength observations. We will then examine a suggested direction for the field of astrophysics and some thoughts on programmatic balance among the suite of missions NASA will solicit over the coming decades.

     

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    21
    Feb
    2023
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Jonah Jurss,
    Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
    University of Mississippi

    Artificial Photosynthesis: Recycling CO2 into Renewable Fuels

    Economic growth and an increasing global population continue to drive worldwide energy consumption to new heights. Roughly 85% of this energy is derived from burning fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gases, predominantly carbon dioxide, that contribute to climate change and other environmental concerns. In this context, artificial photosynthesis, that is, the light-driven conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into renewable fuels and commodity chemicals is an attractive strategy to address these issues. By recycling CO2 back into useful chemicals, net carbon emissions could be reduced and an underutilized resource can be tapped into. An overview of this process and the challenges that must be overcome to achieving large- scale artificial photosynthesis will be discussed.

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Thu
    23
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Akshay Khadse, Nathan Hill
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Student Research Presentations

    Graduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy will present brief reports on their ongoing research.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Sun
    26
    Feb
    2023
    6:15 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on Feb 26, Sunday night, 6:15 – 7:30 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars  may be visible. Jupiter and Mars are bright. We can also see the Pleiades and the double star Castor, as well as the Orion Nebula.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    We’ll also have an Astronomy Trivia at 6:30 pm.
    (rain or shine).
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    28
    Feb
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Woodrow Shew
    Department of Physics
    University of Arkansas

    Brain on the Edge: Phase Transitions and Criticality in Cerebral Cortex

    When many neurons interact, complex collective brain dynamics emerge. When the interactions among neurons are altered (e.g. by chemicals that affect alertness), brain dynamics can undergo a phase transition, dramatically changing from an ordered phase to a disordered phase, similar to the collective behavior of water molecules when transitioning from liquid to gas phase. In this talk, I will introduce and provide historical context for a somewhat controversial hypothesis at the interface of physics and neuroscience and share our recent experiments and data analysis that help resolve the controversy. The hypothesis is that the awake cerebral cortex operates in a critical phase near a transition boundary between ordered and disordered dynamics. Some previous experiments support this hypothesis, but others seem to contradict it. Here I will show that proper consideration of coarse-graining the observable microscopic variables (spikes of neurons), zooming out to the macroscopic level, is essential to reveal critical dynamics in awake brains. Another way to interpret this result is that brain dynamics are very high-dimensional, but critical dynamics exist in a low-dimensional subspace (if you like linear algebra, you might enjoy this interpretation). I will strive to make this talk accessible to those with no expertise in neuroscience and almost no expertise in the physics of phase transitions.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    07
    Mar
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Alexey Petrov
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of South Carolina

    Marvelous Muons: Searching for New Physics with Bound States

    Indirect searches for New Physics are the searches for quantum effects of new particles that can be discovered by observing tiny deviations between theoretical predictions and experimental observations. I will discuss how physicists have been using bound muons to probe New Physics that is not reachable by direct searches at the Large Hadron Collider.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    21
    Mar
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Zhongzhou Chen
    Department of Physics
    University of Central Florida

    Towards a Student-centered Mastery-based Online STEM Learning Environment

    In the majority of today's STEM courses, students “march forward” at a uniform pace over the semester, regardless of their current status and previous backgrounds. Instructors teach largely the same course repetitively, with few rigorous and effective tools to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction and make significant improvements. In the student-centered, mastery-based STEM online learning environment of the future, students can proceed at different pace based on their level of mastery and background, guided by frequent self-assessment and feedback. The instructor's role will be transitioned into a designer, making data driven learning design improvements to the course. My past efforts toward creating such a learning environment can be roughly divided into three stages. First, an early prototype of online mastery-based learning modules for University physics I, was created on the open-source platform of Obojobo by UCF Center for Distributed Learning. Second, students' learning strategy and learning behavior is identified from click-stream data, and visualized using learning analytics techniques such as process mining. Third, data informed improvements of instructional design were implemented as natural experiments and evaluated using analysis methods such as “differences in differences”. Finally, my latest research focuses on creating mastery-based assessments, by harnessing the power of AI to create large isomorphic assessment problem banks. This new type of exam can be administered asynchronously, allow infinite number of attempts, openly shared and collaboratively developed, and are essentially “Chegg proof”. They will serve as stable “anchor points” for mastery-based learning environments.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    21
    Mar
    2023
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Umberto Tamponi,
    Researcher at INFN — Sezione di Torino,
    Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi.

    Exotic Matters

    All the matter that surrounds us is made of simple building blocks: protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons are themselves made of even simpler constituents, quarks. But there's much more than meets the eyes. New particles with unexpected properties are being discovered constantly at collider experiments around the world. These new discoveries are called “exotic hadrons” and they are reshaping our understanding of how quarks interact with each other to create new particles. Join us for a tour among tetraquarks, pentaquarks and the most recent discoveries in this exciting field of particle physics!

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Sun
    26
    Mar
    2023
    7:30 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on March 26, Sunday night, 7:30 – 8:30 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon. The half-Moon is always great!
    We can also see the Pleiades and the double star Castor, as well as the Orion Nebula.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    We’ll also have an Astronomy Art Contest and exhibition in room 101 Lewis Hall at 6:30 pm.
    (rain or shine).
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    28
    Mar
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Umberto Tamponi
    Researcher, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN)
    Sezione di Torino Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare

    Quarkonium and the New Landscapes of QCD

    This seminar aims to show you how quarkonium is an extraordinary tool to explore the behavior of a strongly-coupled theory, in this case quantum-chromodynamics (QCD), in its transition from the perturbative to the non-perturbative regime. Quarkonium is a family of states with mass between 3 and 10 GeV/c2 usually described as bound states of a heavy quark and its antiquark. In such systems a hierarchy of energy scales naturally emerges: from the soft, non-perturbative scale that controls the spectrum to the hard scale of the annihilations. At each of these scales we are now observing unexpected phenomena, all connected to the emergence of light degrees of freedom inside the heavy meson. In this seminar I will introduce the basic features of quarkonia, review the most important recent progresses in connection with our understanding of QCD in the non-perturbative regime and finally outline the future lines of research in this field, with a focus on the experimental facilities.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    04
    Apr
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Breese Quinn
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Mississippi

    Searches for CPT and Lorentz Invariance Violation in Muons and Neutrinos

    Lorentz symmetry and CPT (Charge-Parity-Time) symmetry are absolute bedrock foundational assumptions of both relativity and quantum field theory. The invariance of these symmetries is axiomatic to our entire structure of modern physics. However, these principles may not be as sacrosanct as we tend to treat them in practice. Violations of CPT and/or Lorentz invariance could be the key to the seeming incompatibility of quantum physics and relativity, and could also be responsible for phenomena such as the muon g-2 discrepancy and neutrino oscillations. I will present the formalism for including CPT and Lorentz violating interactions in the Standard Model of particle physics, and describe searches for this physics in the muon and neutrino sectors.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    11
    Apr
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Yishu Wang
    Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Tennessee — Knoxville

    Quantum Liquids in Solids

    Quantum spin liquids have been long hypothesized to demonstrate macroscopic entanglement of emergent degrees of freedom. While verification of such quantum mechanical nature remains experimentally challenging, the research front of quantum spin liquids has been significantly transformed over the last decade, which is particularly leveraged by the modern development of neutron scattering and materials synthesis techniques. In this talk, I will give two examples of this motif. The first example studies classical spin ice Ho2Ti2O7 by our newly developed time-resolved neutron scattering technique in combination with broad-band SQUID magnetometry. The dynamical process of magnetic relaxation manifests time scales spanning over ten decades and reveals a thermal crossover between two distinct relaxation processes. The second example explores the prospect of quantum spin liquids in metallic systems. In an antiferromagnetic state formed by 5f-electrons, inelastic neutron spectrum documented non-magnon features of magnetic excitation continuum, which persists in the paramagnetic state and up to an energy scale twenty times larger than the ordering temperature. The combination of spectra obtained from three state-of-art spectrometers turns out to be essential to parse through complicated spin dynamics in the metallic environment.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    11
    Apr
    2023
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Javier González Maeso,
    Department of Physiology and Biophysics,
    Virginia Commonwealth University.

    Psychedelic Medicine: Does the Trip Matter?

    Ceremonial and medicinal use of psychedelics has been part of our cultures since ancient times. Psilocybin is the main active compound in “magic” mushrooms, mescaline is found in the peyote cactus, and LSD became a popular recreational drug in the middle part of the past century. During the past few years, we are starting to discover that psychedelics can cause lasting effects in the brain. They have very recently been shown to produce beneficial effects in people with depression, anxiety and addiction. Our neurons are very plastic: just a single dose of psilocybin can spur neurons to grow new functional contacts called dendritic branches with other neurons. This brain rewiring is most likely one of the main reasons behind the clinical effects of psychedelics – it can happen almost immediately after the psychedelic experience, and the benefits last for months. In this talk, I will present what we know about the molecular mechanisms behind psychedelic effects, and how we study whether we can take the trip out of psychedelics (do we want to?).

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    18
    Apr
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Kristin Lewis
    Project Director, Public Engagement
    American Association for the Advancement of Science

    Life Outside Academia Through Science Communication

    Graduate students learn a number of transferable skills while completing their degree, but it's not always clear how to use those skills outside of academia. Through the lens of her post-degree career path, Kristin will share tips for seeking employment outside of the traditional academic route and highlight opportunities to use scientific skills in government, policy, and communication. She will provide particular insight into two AAAS fellowship opportunities, the Science & Technology Policy Fellowship and the Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship. Kristin Lewis is a project director at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and leads the AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship, co-led the AAAS IF/THEN Ambassadors project and facilitated Communicating Science workshops. Prior to joining AAAS in 2019, Kristin supported the development of the Fourth National Climate Assessment at the U.S. Global Change Research Programand was an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at NASA. She also served as a project analyst in capital project management at Independent Project Analysis. She holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan, and can often be seen on her bike in the streets or trails around D.C.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    18
    Apr
    2023
    6:00 pmHeartbreak Coffee, 265 North Lamar Blvd, Oxford, Mississippi

    Dr. Kristin Lewis,
    Project Director,
    American Association for the Advancement of Science.

    A Scientist’s Guide to Policy in DC

    To scientists outside of Washington, D.C., federal policy-making and funding allocations can often seem mysterious. Kristin Lewis stepped into the science policy world after earning a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan. Through her work at NASA and AAAS and having helped coordinate the Fourth National Climate Assessment, she will share stories of her time in DC and talk about how science and scientists can engage within the policy world. Learn about how to communicate to policy makers, how scientists can share their expertise within the government, and get insight into federal budgets and research spending.

    We are in-person!

    To join virtually via Zoom:
 https://olemiss.zoom.us/j/ 99989536748

    See this page for details.

  • Tue
    25
    Apr
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Robyn Sanderson
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Pennsylvania,
    Center for Computational Astrophysics — Flatiron Institute

    Life Outside Academia Through Science Communication

    The results of the Gaia astrometric mission have ushered in a new era of “precision Galactic dynamics”. Using this new phase-space map of Galactic stars with unprecedented volume and accuracy, we are beginning to obtain new insights into the dark matter distribution in our Galaxy as well as its formation history. Thanks to significant advances on the computational front, meanwhile, we can now compare these insights directly with, and test our modeling strategies on, simulations of Milky-Way-mass galaxies where the influence of baryons and the cosmological context on the dark matter structure are realistically taken into account. I will demonstrate how this convergence of new data and better models improves our understanding of the Milky Way's dark matter distribution, leading to better constraints on the nature of dark matter and insights into its role in the formation of galaxies large and small.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    25
    Apr
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Robyn Sanderson
    Department of Physics and Astronomy
    University of Pennsylvania,
    Center for Computational Astrophysics — Flatiron Institute

    Dynamical Tests of Dark Matter and Galaxy Formation Theories in the Milky Way

    The results of the Gaia astrometric mission have ushered in a new era of “precision Galactic dynamics”. Using this new phase-space map of Galactic stars with unprecedented volume and accuracy, we are beginning to obtain new insights into the dark matter distribution in our Galaxy as well as its formation history. Thanks to significant advances on the computational front, meanwhile, we can now compare these insights directly with, and test our modeling strategies on, simulations of Milky-Way-mass galaxies where the influence of baryons and the cosmological context on the dark matter structure are realistically taken into account. I will demonstrate how this convergence of new data and better models improves our understanding of the Milky Way's dark matter distribution, leading to better constraints on the nature of dark matter and insights into its role in the formation of galaxies large and small.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Sun
    30
    Apr
    2023
    8:00 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on April 30, Sunday night, 8:00 – 9:00 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon and Venus. The half-Moon is always great!
    We can also see the Pleiades and the double star Castor, as well as the Orion Nebula.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    We’ll also have a Vacuum and Space: A demo show in room 101 Lewis Hall at 8:00 pm.
    (rain or shine).
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.

  • Tue
    02
    May
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Matthew Rudolph
    Department of Physics
    Syracuse University

    Flavorful Physics

    The Standard Model of particle physics features three different flavors of otherwise similar particles with very different masses. But why three? And why do they have such large differences? This is just one of many mysteries about our universe. In the absence of direct evidence for new physics, precision measurements and indirect searches are important to point the way forward. One experiment with a broad program in this direction is LHCb at the Large Hadron Collider, which studies the decays of heavy quark hadrons and many more topics. In this talk I will discuss LHCb's results and future promise in the context of the broader search for new physics.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Tue
    16
    May
    2023
    4:00 pmLewis Hall 101

    Basit Bilal Koshul
    Lahore University of Management Sciences
    Lahore, Pakistan

    Does Science Need Philosophy?

    The talk will consider this question as it has been framed by a historian of science (Gerald Holton) from the perspective of Max Weber’s sociology of culture and Charles Peirce’s philosophy of science. Weber’s description of cultural evolution suggests that the answer to the question is “No!” and Peirce’s description of “science” and “philosophy” suggests that the answer is “Yes!”. By taking Holton’s reflections on the “space” of scientific inquiry into account, we see that the Weberian and Peircean positions do not negate but rather complement each other.

    Weber notes that “Scientific progress is a fraction – indeed, the most important fraction – of that process of intellectualization to which we have been subject for thousands of years...” While they were originally an integrated whole, at the present stage of cultural evolution, science and philosophy have become two distinct and autonomous areas. Holton was a practicing physicist who became a trained historian. With this dual training, he studied the historical development of physics from Kepler to Einstein (with a special focus on the period between 1900-1930). Based on evidence gathered from these studies, Holton showed that all scientific inquiry is indeed composed of “analytic” (mathematical) and “phenomenic” (empirical) elements. But there is a third (almost always neglected) element, the “thematic” (the “philosophical” commitments of the scientist). This third element has played a central role in the emergence and evolution of modern physics.

    There will be refreshments at 3:45 pm in Lewis 104.

     

  • Sun
    28
    May
    2023
    8:30 pmKennon Observatory
    We are offering a viewing of the sky with out telescopes in Kennon Observatory on May 28, Sunday night, 8:30 – 9:30 PM.
    We’ll be looking at the Moon, Mars and Venus. The half-Moon is always great!
    Venus is very bright and the phases are obvious now.  Mars is bright in the sky but small in the telescope.
    The event is free, families are welcome.
    Viewing is not possible when the sky is cloudy - if that happens we’ll have to cancel and ask everyone to come back in exactly 4 weeks for another try.

    See this page for the full schedule.