Events at Physics |
Events During the Week of October 17th through October 24th, 2010
Monday, October 18th, 2010
- High Energy Seminar
- Searching for a low mass Higgs at DZero
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin: Coffee and Cookies at 3:45 pm
- Speaker: Joe Haley, Northeastern University
- Abstract: While the Standard Model has proven itself time and time again, we
have yet to find the elusive Higgs boson that is central to
electroweak symmetry breaking and also provides a mechanism for
giving masses to fermions. The mass of the Higgs boson is not
predicted by the theory, but indirect precision measurements favor a
relatively low mass. Coincidentally, a low mass Higgs (less than
~130 GeV) will also be the most difficult for the LHC to find due to
the enormous backgrounds. With ever increasing data sets, improved
understanding of backgrounds, and advanced analysis techniques, the
Tevatron experiments provide the best opportunity to find a low mass
Higgs boson in the near future. I will describe the low mass Higgs
boson search at the D0 experiment. In addition to presenting the
most recent results, I will highlight the strategy for performing a
low mass Higgs search and the advanced tools used to improve
sensitivity.
- Host: Matthew Herndon
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
- String Theory Seminar
- Conifunneling - Stringy Tunneling in the Landscape
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin
- Speaker: David Kagan, Columbia University
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
- Department Meeting
- Time: 12:15 pm
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Scotch Tape Method: Not just for Graphene
- Time: 10:00 am
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin
- Speaker: Ken Burch, University of Toronto
- Abstract: Recently mechanical exfoliation has received a great deal attention (2010 Physics Nobel) for producing single atomic sheets of graphene. However this method is incredibly flexible and has opened a new route to producing materials on the nanoscale. Materials with Nanometer thickness are an appealing platform for devices as well as exploring the roles of dimensionality, disorder, and free carrier density in complex materials. To this end we have produced exfoliated crystals of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Bi2Se3 on a variety of substrates. I will discuss unique advantages of this technique as well as some of the challenges it posses. Interestingly we have observed subtle differences in the Raman spectra between the exfoliated and bulk crystals enabling noninvasive determination of thickness (Bi2Se3) and Doping level (Bi-2212).
- Host: Natalia Perkins
- NPAC (Nuclear/Particle/Astro/Cosmo) Forum
- Predicting Antineutrino Flux with DRAGON
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 4274 Chamberlin
- Speaker: Christopher Jones, MIT
- Abstract: Simulation of a nuclear reactor is extremely important for Double Chooz, an antineutrino experiment whose goal is to extract theta_{13}, and for noninvasive nuclear nonproliferation. An overview of Double Chooz and reactor physics will be given, along with a summary of reactor simulation efforts and code validation. The seminar will conclude with a discussion about the role of simulations in nonproliferation scenarios
- Host: Stefan Westerhoff
- Graduate Introductory Seminar
- Astrophysics I: IceCube, HAWC, Auger
- Time: 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
- Place: 2223 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Halzen, Karle, Montaruli, Ogelman, Westerhoff
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
- Phenomenology Seminar
- Theory/Phenomenology Seminar
- LHC signals of little Higgs models
- Time: 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
- Place: 5280 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Pedro Schwaller, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Host: Vernon Barger
- Physics Department Colloquium
- Morphogen gradient formation in subdiffusive media
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 3:30 pm)
- Speaker: Katja Lindenberg, UC-San Diego
- Abstract: Morphogens are signaling molecules that act directly on cells to produce specific cellular responses dependent on morphogen concentration. The morphogens are produced at a point in space at a constant rate, move around in the cell, and are also subject to degradation at a rate that may depend on location. The resulting morphogen concentration gradients determine which response is produced where in the cell or in a group of cells.
The shape of the gradient is obviously important in this process, and this shape is determined by the way the morphogens move and degrade in the cell. While different degradation processes have been considered in the literature, the motion of the morphogens is almost always assumed to be diffusive in spite of the barriers and traps presented by the crowded cellular environment. We explore the consequences of subdiffusive motion, that is, morphogen motion that is impeded by the obstacles in the environment. We conclude that morphogen concentration profiles are very sensitive not only to the details of the degradation process but also to the morphogen motion. - Host: Coppersmith