Events at Physics |
Events During the Week of March 17th through March 24th, 2013
Monday, March 18th, 2013
- Cosmology Journal Club
- An Informal discussion about a broad variety of arXiv papers related to Cosmology
- Time: 12:30 pm
- Place: 5242 Chamberlin Hall
- Abstract: Please visit the following link for more details:
http://cmb.physics.wisc.edu/journal/index.html
Please feel free to bring your lunch!
If you have questions or comments about this journal club, would like to propose a topic or volunteer to introduce a paper, please email Le Zhang (lzhang263@wisc.edu) - Host: Peter Timbie
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
- Chaos & Complex Systems Seminar
- The textual structure of REM dreaming
- Time: 12:05 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin (refreshments will be served)
- Speaker: Art Schmaltz, Prairie State College
- Abstract: The human brain during REM dreaming is a singular neurological event that may well be the most complex event known to science. As a biologically evolved system, dreaming long predates the evolution of human language.<br>
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In this presentation, I will parse out one of the ten lines of evidence that argues that human language evolved "down" from the complexity of dreaming, and not "up" from a simpler biological system. - Host: Sprott
- WIPAC Seminar
- Ultra-high energy neutrino events at the IceCube and the Glashow resonance
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin
- Speaker: Atri Bhattacharya, Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, India
- Abstract: The Glashow resonance is a peak of enhanced cross-section for an electron-anti-neutrino of 6.3 PeV energy interacting with an electron and producing a resonant W boson, which further decays into electrons and hadrons producing cascades in a large volume (Km^3) neutrino detector such as the IceCube. We will explore the significance of this narrow bin of energy, generally with respect to ultra-high energy events in the IceCube, and particularly, in view of the two recently observed neutrino events at the PeV energies; we will show that the observation of (or lack of) events at 6.3 PeV energies in the future will allow us to understand several facets of the Ultra-high energy neutrino flux coming, possibly, from extra-galactic sources.
- Host: Halzen
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
- No events scheduled
Thursday, March 21st, 2013
- NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forum
- Title to be announced
- Time: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Thad Walker, U. Wisconsin-Madison
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
- Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
- Solution-generating techniques in supergravity and their applications to AdS/CFT
- Time: 2:15 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Jerome Gaillard, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Abstract: We present different ways of generating new supergravity solutions starting from known ones. It is useful in the context of gauge/gravity duality where it provides us with new duals of field theories with interesting features. In addition, because the new backgrounds are derived by transforming some known solutions, one can study how this process translates at the level of field theory and see if it sheds some light on how apparently different field theories can in fact be related.
- Physics Department Colloquium
- Core-Collapse Supernova Explosions: The Theoretical Challenge
- Time: 3:30 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 4:30 pm)
- Speaker: Adam Burrows, Princeton University
- Abstract: Core-collapse supernovae have challenged theorists and computational science for half a century. Such explosions are the source of many of the heavy elements in the Universe and the birthplace of neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes. However, determining the mechanism of explosion remains the key goal of theory. Recently, using sophisticated numerical tools and platforms, theorists have been able to conduct multi-dimensional simulations with some physical fidelity that have provided insight into the phenonoma that attend stellar death and explosion. The core of the emerging theoretical synthesis is the centrality of hydrodynamic instability and asphericity. In this talk, I review the state of the field and the contending explosion models. In the process, I will highlight the computational astrophysics that has been applied to date, and that may be necessary in the future to credibly unravel this mystery.
- Host: Halzen
Saturday, March 23rd, 2013
- No events scheduled
Sunday, March 24th, 2013
- Distinguished Lecture Series
- Cosmology on a Moving Mesh
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 1310 Sterling Hall
- Speaker: Lars Hernquist, Harvard University
- Abstract:
Understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies in a cosmological context using numerical simulations remains an elusive goal. In this talk, I describe a new approach to modeling the hydrodynamics of galaxy formation in which the equations of motion are solved on a moving mesh. The use of a moving mesh makes the scheme fully Lagrangian, unlike popular particle-based codes which are quasi-Lagrangian in nature, and mitigates against advection errors when a spatially fixed grid is used. I present results from an initial study comparing results for a moving mesh with those obtained using a smoothed particle hydrodynamics solver. This preliminary work suggests that the new approach offers promise for resolving the long-standing problems which have plagued this field for nearly two decades.
- Host: Prof Elena D'Onghia