Fall 2011 Colloquia
(Archive)
Our department colloquium is a forum for invited scientists to present modern research in a fashion accessible to those with a background in physics, but who are not experts in the field. Talks are aimed at the graduate level.
If you have questions about colloquium, please contact Dr. Anton Malko.
| Date/Host | Speaker/Institution | Title/Abstract |
| Oct. 19 Host: |
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Oct. 26 |
Alexei Sokolov of the Texas A&M University. | Prof. Sokolov comes as a physics colloquia guest speaker and will talk about his research in the field of ultrafast laser spectroscopy. Basic physics of interactions between matter and short light pulses will be described. Such interactions generally result in coherence effects where all molecules of a sample “dance” in unison. Applications include remote-sensing applications and sub-diffraction-limited imaging of remote objects. |
| Nov. 2 Host: |
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| Nov. 9 Host: |
Prof. Fredrick Olness, Southern Methodist University | Higgs on the Horizon??? A collection of interesting puzzles for the LHC Now that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is running at full intensity, the search for the Higgs boson has shifted into high gear. What is the Higgs, why is it interesting, and what are the implications if it is not found??? We will consider these questions, and look at implications for the LHC "benchmark" processes such as W and Z boson production which are a crucial stepping stone to the Higgs discovery. We review the recent data as well as theoretical advances which are enable an enhanced analysis of the LHC data. See Comet Calendar entry for details. |
Nov. 16 |
UT Dallas graduate students | The Physics Department is pleased to present a two-hour mini-symposium giving an overview of the Applied Physics research being done in the department in the area of remote sensing and autonomous aerial robotic vehicles. See Comet Calendar entry for more. |
Nov. 23 |
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| Nov. 30 Host: |
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| Dec. 2 2.00 - 3.30 pm, SLC 2.303 |
Dr. Michael Denton |
The Earth's Outer Radiation Belt: Acceleration and loss processes for relativistic electrons. The existence of highly energetic electrons and ions orbiting the Earth has been known since the early space age. These particles form the radiation belts and although our knowledge of the region has improved during more than fifty years of investigation, there are still fundamental questions to answer. The processes which contribute to electron acceleration and loss are generally assumed to involve wave-particle interactions, transport, and/or collisions with the upper atmosphere. However, current theory has not proved able to explain how the electron flux in the outer radiation belt may change by up to five orders of magnitude within around 24 hours. The upcoming NASA Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission, scheduled for a 2012 launch, aims to answer many of the outstanding questions. This talk will focus on a brief history of radiation belt research, current understanding, and an overview of recent research results. See Comet calendar entry. |
| Dec. 7 4-5 pm/SLC 2.303 Host: |
Prof. Wei-Cheng Lee, Physics Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Non-Fermi liquid behavior due to Orbital Fluctuations in Iron Pnictide Superconductors The discovery of new classes of high-temperature superconductors, iron pnictides in 2008,
launched an international wave of research in the past few years. Whether or not
these materials are strongly correlated is one of the central issues under hot debate. In this talk, I will present a theoretical study pointing out that a non-Fermi liquid behavior could be present in various iron-based superconductors, and I will discuss
several new experiments supporting this proposal. |
| Dec. 14 Host: |
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| Dec. 21 Host: |
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| Dec. 28 Host: |
Archived Colloquia:
- Updated: July 18, 2012