Events at Physics |
Events on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Effect of order parameter fluctuations on the spectral density in d-wave superconductors
- Time: 10:00 am
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin
- Speaker: Maxim Khodas, Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Abstract: My talk contains two related parts. In the first part I will discuss the spectral density in 2D d-wave superconductors in the regime of strong quantum fluctuations. I will start with the motivation based on Angular Resolved Photo-Emission Experiments. The theoretical model is then presented to capture the effects of phase fluctuations without specifying the (unknown) paring mechanism. I discuss the solution of the model and give results for the spectral function. In the second part I will discuss the Fermi Surface Reconstruction and underlying mechanism related to the anti-ferromagnetic fluctuations. I will show how the pockets obtained on the mean field level are modified by the fluctuations of the staggered magnetization. Finally, I would conclude with a short summary.
- Host: Maxim Vavilov
- Chaos & Complex Systems Seminar
- Who Wants to Know? - The Nature of our Subjective "I"
- Time: 12:05 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Deric Bownds, UW-Madison, Dept. of Zoology
- Abstract: Most cognitive neuroscientists are practicing Cartesian dualists in their daily lives, even while knowing that there is no distinction between our minds and bodies. They accept compelling modern experiments (as well as ancient religious insights) demonstrating that the 'self' or 'I' is a fiction, albeit a useful one we could not live without. It is a ancient fiction that co-evolved with a supportive neuroendocrine emotional repertoire to eventually generate social brains capable of scientific and artistic culture. The purpose of this talk is to outline a few central observations on the nature of this phenomenal self, how it is constructed with respect to the physical world and the social world of other humans.
- Astronomy Colloquium
- WISELI Talk - Sponsored by WOWSAP
- Molecular Gas in High-Redshift Galaxies
- Time: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 3425 Sterling Hall
- Speaker: Meg Urry, YALE
- Abstract: Fully understanding the evolutionary state of a galaxy requires that we characterize its gas reservoir, of which the molecular component represents the mass directly available for star formation. I will discuss observations of molecular gas in two populations of star-forming galaxies at high redshift-- Lyman break galaxies and submillimeter galaxies-- and what we can conclude from them. Looking ahead to the future, I will outline what we can expect to learn from observations with two new instruments: the "Zpectrometer" (an ultrawide-bandwidth 26-40 GHz spectrometer for the 100m Green Bank Telescope) and ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter Array).
- Host: Astro Dept