Events at Physics |
Events on Friday, April 19th, 2013
- Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
- Gravity Duals of Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking
- Time: 2:15 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: William Cottrell, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Abstract: The AdS/CFT correspondance allows one to study supersymmetry breaking in field theory from the perspective of a gravitational dual. In one scenario, supersymmetry breaking is implemented on the gravity side by inserting antibranes into an otherwise supersymmetric geometry. However, it has been argued that the full backreaction of such a perturbation generates unacceptable singularities and potentially eliminates this class of models. We study these issues in the context of an A_{8} geometry, dual to the ABJM theory of M2 branes. We find that upon inserting anti M2 branes, the perturbative sugra analysis does indeed yield singularities, though we argue that these are smoothed out in the full quantum corrected geometry.
- Physics Department Colloquium
- Breaking Barriers with Maxwell's Demon
- Time: 3:30 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 4:30 pm)
- Speaker: Mark Raizen, University of Texas at Austin
- Abstract: In 1871, James Clerk Maxwell proposed a mythical creature that could regulate the motion of gas-phase particles by controlling a gate. This creature was called Maxwell's demon by Lord Kelvin, and remained a vigorous topic of debate for over 130 years. The demon seemed to violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics, though it was later shown that in principle, information entropy saves us from that catastrophe. In this talk, I will describe how we have now realized Maxwell's demon in the laboratory with a self-acting one-way wall, and how it enables the control of matter with light. In particular, I will discuss how Maxwell's demon is being used to break the barriers of Laser Cooling, Isotope Separation and Nanoscience.
- Host: Saffman