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Events During the Week of March 12th through March 19th, 2017

Monday, March 13th, 2017

Plasma Physics (Physics/ECE/NE 922) Seminar
High Energy Density Plasmas
Time: 12:00 pm - 12:55 pm
Place: 2317 Engineering Hall
Speaker: Dr. Hye-Sook Park, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA
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Cosmology Journal Club
An Informal discussion about a broad variety of arXiv papers related to Cosmology
Time: 12:15 pm - 1:15 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 Amol Upadhye (aupadhye@wisc.edu).
Host: Amol Upadhye
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Tuesday, March 14th, 2017

Chaos & Complex Systems Seminar
The complexity of the U.S. tax system and the consequences for reform
Time: 12:05 pm - 1:00 pm
Place: 4274 Chamberlin (refreshments will be served)
Speaker: John Witte, UW Lafollette Institute
Abstract: This talk will review the changing status of “tax expenditures” (loopholes) from 1975 to 2015 based on data from a new book by the author. It will be argued that after a brief respite produced by the 1986 Tax Reform Act, tax expenditures have again grown precipitously to the point that classical tax reform is very improbable. Part of the problem is that tax loophole growth and expansion are a policy mechanism for both political parties and both the legislative and executive branches of government. Thus, unlike an earlier suggestion by the author for reforming the tax code, he will propose that perhaps it is best now to simply accept tax expenditures as inevitable and try to establish guidelines for which should be supported and which cut back or eliminated.
Host: Clint Sprott
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Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
Lattice Insights for Composite BSM Models
Time: 3:30 pm
Place: 5280 Chamberlin
Speaker: Ethan Neil, University of Colorado, Boulder
Abstract: A number of interesting models of new physics, including composite Higgs and composite dark matter scenarios, imagine new strongly-coupled gauge interactions that give rise to compositeness. The phenomenology of these models is typically studied using low-energy effective theories, but calculations in the underlying strongly-coupled theory can predict low-energy constants from a handful of fundamental parameters, as well as giving new insights beyond the effective description. I will review recent efforts using lattice gauge theory to study theories beyond QCD, with an eye towards BSM physics.
Presentation: madison-0317-web.pdf
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Physics Education Innovation Seminar
Physics Education and Active Learning
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Ben Spike, UW - Madison Department of Physics
Abstract: Dr. Ben Spike has recently joined the Department of Physics through the REACH initiative as our new Coordinator of Active Learning. Ben will discuss his experience with similar course transformations in Physics at UC Berkeley and his experience in Physics Education Research there and at CU Boulder.
Host: Peter Timbie
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Wednesday, March 15th, 2017

No events scheduled

Thursday, March 16th, 2017

Astronomy Colloquium
Seven Years of Wise
Time: 3:30 pm - 5:00 am
Place: 4421 Sterling Hall, Coffee and cookies 3:30 PM Talk at 3:45 PM
Speaker: Ned Wright, UCLA
Abstract: WISE, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, surveyed the entire sky in 4 mid-infrared bands at 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 microns with vastly greater sensitivity than previous all-sky surveys at these wavelengths. WISE surveyed everything more than 1 AU from the Sun, including asteroids, comets, nearby brown dwarfs and star forming regions both in the Milky Way and in distant galaxies. The 12 and 22 micron channels were very powerful for detecting Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies, and WISE has detected some of the most luminous galaxies in the Universe. The WISE short wavelength channels are very powerful for detecting old cold brown dwarfs, and WISE has detected objects as cool as 250 K, and the 3rd and 4th closest stellar systems to the Sun. WISE was launched 14 Dec 2009 and completed 4-band full sky coverage on 17 July 2010. "Warm WISE" ran with its 3.4 & 4.6 micron bands until 1 Feb 2011. "Warm WISE" was reactivated as NEOWISE-R to search for more Near Earth Objects, and has surveyed from 13 Dec 2013 to the present, but the decay of its orbit will shortly end its useful lifetime. Future space missions like NEOCam and the Origins Space Telescope can achieve orders of magnitude improvements in sensitivity over warm telescopes like HST, Herschel and WFIRST by using cold optics and modern detectors.<br>
Host: Peter Timbie, UW Physics Department
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Friday, March 17th, 2017

Physics Department Colloquium
Theories and Signals of a "Dark" Photon
Time: 3:30 pm
Place: 2241 Chamberlin hall
Speaker: Spencer Chang, Oregon University
Abstract: Recently, a new force mediated by "Dark" photons has been the subject of intense interest in high energy physics, both theoretical and experimental, leading to a resurgence in their experimental search, with several fixed target experiments operating in the near future. On the other hand, complementary dark photon signals at colliders are model-dependent, requiring theoretical input to determine the most interesting signals. In this talk, I will describe a class of theories where the mechanism in which the dark photon mixes with the photon predicts a new particle accessible at the LHC. After describing the theory, I will discuss our analyses on simulated experimental data, which suggest substantial improvements on existing collider searches for dark photons that decay to electrons.
Host: Yang Bai
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