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Events at Physics

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Events During the Week of May 1st through May 8th, 2022

Monday, May 2nd, 2022

Academic Calendar
Final exam block
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 2-7, 2022
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Thesis Defense
The Influence of Cosmic Ray Transport on the Stability of Interstellar Gas
Time: 9:30 am
Place: B343 Sterling
Speaker: Evan Heintz, Physics PhD Graduate Student
Host: Ellen Zweibel
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GREAT IDEAS coffee hour (led by GMaWiP)
GREAT IDEAS coffee hour (GMaWiP)
Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Place: 5310 CH (coffee and snacks provided)
Speaker: N/A - discussion session
Abstract: Article to be discussed: How a culture of white privilege discourages Black students from becoming physicists, By Jeffrey Mervis (https://www.science.org/content/article/how-culture-of-white-privilege-discourages-black-students-from-becoming-physicists)

Following the colloquium presenting the results of the climate survey, we want to use this article to discuss potential barriers for Black students wishing to enter their PhD program and how to mitigate and dismantle these systemic barriers. We will discuss what has been done, what is being done, and what can be done to make physics welcoming to all students entering their PhD program. The goal of this discussion is to identify potential avenues of support that can be established for students who identify as racial and ethnic minorities in physics.
Host: Jessie Thwaites and Justin Marquez
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Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Academic Calendar
Final exam block
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 2-7, 2022
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NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forum
CANCELLED --- The Experiment for Cryogenic Large-Aperture Intensity Mapping (EXCLAIM)
Time: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall and Zoom
Speaker: Eric Switzer, NASA/Goddard
Abstract: Unfortunately, this event is CANCELLED because Dr. Switzer is ill.
Host: Peter Timbie
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Council Meeting
Physics Council Meeting
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Place: 2314 Chamberlin
Speaker: Eriksson, UW-Madison, Department of Physics
Host: Eriksson
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Wednesday, May 4th, 2022

Academic Calendar
Final exam block
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 2-7, 2022
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Physics ∩ ML Seminar
Renormalization Group Flow as Optimal Transport
Time: 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
Place: Online Seminar: Please sign up for our mailing list at www.physicsmeetsml.org for zoom link. We will also livestream the talk in Chamberlin 5280.
Speaker: Semon Rezchikov, Harvard University
Abstract: In this talk, I will describe how the renormalization group (RG), a fundamental aspect of statistical in quantum field theory, can be cast as a variational problem using ideas from optimal transport. I will review the renormalization group as well as optimal transport for non-specialists. The latter subject is naturally connected to methods in machine learning. This variational formulation of RG, beyond having theoretical interest, can be used to design neural networks which compute the renormalization group flow of conventional field theories. The renormalization group has been fundamental in the design of the numerical algorithms for finding ground states and computing physical quantities of 1+1 dimensional field theories which have been successful thus far. I will discuss the prospects for using this formulation of RG to merge modern techniques from machine learning with ideas involving renormalization, in order to tackle fundamental problems in the study in field theories of dimension greater than 1+1.
Host: Gary Shiu
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Department Meeting
Time: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Place: B343 Sterling
Speaker: Mark Eriksson, UW-Madison, Department of Physics
Host: Mark Eriksson
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Thursday, May 5th, 2022

Academic Calendar
Final exam block
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 2-7, 2022
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Astronomy Colloquium
Revealing Obscured Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies in the Early Universe
Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Place: 4421 Sterling Hall
Speaker: Dr. Sinclaire Manning, Univ. Massachusetts - Amherst
Abstract: Since the late 1990s, infrared (IR) and submillimeter (submm) extragalactic surveys have revealed a significant population of extreme star-forming galaxies (forming upwards of 1000 solar masses per year) shining intensely as dust-reprocessed ultraviolet and optical light from newly formed stars emits in this regime. These early works drastically altered our understanding of the prevalence of dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) beyond our local Universe and guided a new era of astronomical discovery. In this talk, I will provide a brief history of far-IR/submm observations of DSFGs before discussing the advancements made at even longer (millimeter) wavelengths, in particular with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). I will then introduce the Mapping Obscuration to Reionization with ALMA (MORA) survey, which aims to efficiently detect redshift > 3 DSFGs at 2 millimeters and my work to characterize a sub-sample of the DSFG population, called OIR-dark, which have eluded detection until the last few years due to a combination of their extreme dust obscuration and lower star-formation rates. Finally, I will look ahead to future surveys with ALMA, LMT, and JWST as we work to take census and determine the physical properties of the earliest known dust-obscured galaxies residing in the first billion years of the Universe.
Host: Ellen Zweibel
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Friday, May 6th, 2022

Academic Calendar
Last class day
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.*
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Academic Calendar
Final exam block
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 2-7, 2022
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Plasma Physics (Physics/ECE/NE 922) Seminar
Hot Atmospheres of Cool Stars: From Physical Conditions to Physical Processes
Time: 12:05 pm
Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Dr. Nancy S. Brickhouse, 2022 Distinguished Alumni Awardee, Senior Science Advisor Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University & Smithsonian
Abstract: Observations of cool star atmospheres show a broad range of physical conditions, with some stars having peak electron temperatures around a few MK like the Sun, while others show peaks above 20 MK. The X-ray luminosities of some quiescent coronae are as much as five orders of magnitude larger than the Sun’s. For the past three decades we have used ultraviolet and X-ray spectrometers to determine the physical conditions ---electron temperature, electron density, elemental abundances --- for a relatively small sample of cool stars (mostly the brightest). The youngest stars show a hot accretion shock in addition to an active corona, although the resolving powers of instruments to date are not sufficient to cleanly separate the two components. We are proposing Arcus, a NASA medium-scale explorer mission (MIDEX), to study structure and evolution in the Universe. Arcus will host a grating spectrometer of sufficient spectral resolution to go beyond the measurement of physical conditions to the exploration of the physical processes that produce the high energy emission.
Host: Prof. John Sarff
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Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
String Solutions Without Supersymmetry
Time: 1:00 pm
Place: Chamberlin 5280
Speaker: Savdeep Sethi, University of Chicago
Abstract: The first part of the talk will briefly overview some no-go results on the string landscape. The second part of the talk will describe a way to potentially evade those no-go results by building non-classical string solutions. Specifically, I will outline a strategy to construct non-supersymmetric string solutions. I will also describe an explicit AdS solution where various swampland conjectures can be examined.
Host: George Wojcik
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Thesis Defense
Metasurfaces for Mid-Infrared Applications
Time: 3:00 pm
Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Gregory Holdman, Physics PhD Graduate Student
Abstract: Metasurfaces are thin, periodically patterned subwavelength strcuture that exhibit optical properties not present in their constituent materials. The modes and spectral features can be used for applications often considered impossible with conventional optics such as perfect reflectivity, strong mode confinement, and other goals. In this talk, I will present work on two types of metasurfaces operating in the mid-infared. The first project studies the thermal stability of a "laser sail", a metasurface designed to be both highly reflective and have low absorption. This sail could one day be used as a spacecraft. With a GW-scale laser, the radiation pressure could accelerate the surface to a signicant fraction of the speed of light. The second project studies the possibility of integrating graphene into a metasurface exhibiting extremely narrow spectral features in order to modulate the frequency of the mode in situ. Such a device would find applications in free-space optical communication and trace gas sensing.
Host: Victor Brar
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Physics Department Colloquium
The topology of tuning a non-Hermitian instrument: knots, braids, and exceptional points
Time: 3:30 pm
Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Jack Harris, Yale
Abstract: It may seem unlikely that rich mathematical structures still remain to be uncovered in small arrays of classical, linear oscillators. However, oscillators that combine non-reciprocal elements with loss (or gain) have provided a number of surprises in recent years. My talk will describe how these systems are naturally connected to braid groups, knot theory, and other topological structures. I will give a pedagogical introduction to this topic (with lots of pictures!) and will present measurements of these phenomena in a cavity optomechanical system.
Host: Shimon Kolkowitz
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Saturday, May 7th, 2022

Academic Calendar
Study day
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.*
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Academic Calendar
Final exam block
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 2-7, 2022
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Sunday, May 8th, 2022

Academic Calendar
Final exams
Abstract: *Note: actual end time may vary.* May 8–13, 2022 URL:
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