Events at Physics |
Events During the Week of November 8th through November 14th, 2020
Monday, November 9th, 2020
- No events scheduled
Tuesday, November 10th, 2020
- PGSC Seminar
- Time: 2:30 pm
- Place:
- Speaker: Jimena Gonzalez, Physics PhD Graduate Student
- Abstract: Cosmography with Double Source Plane Lensing
One of the most popular theories that explain the accelerated expansion of the universe proposes the existence of a rare kind of energy that we call Dark Energy. This energy acts like an "anti-gravity" and it makes about 70% of the universe total energy. However, there is still a lot that we don't know about it and by understanding its nature we could learn more about the evolution of the universe. The purpose of my research is to study dark energy by analyzing systems of Double Source Plane Lensing (DSPL). These are very rare systems composed by a heavy foreground galaxy and two galaxies located behind, whose light gets deflected by the presence of the foreground galaxy and this can be perceived as pieces of double rings on the sky. In this talk, I will explain why this novel approach is promising as a complementary method to more traditional methods, what we are doing to find DSPL systems in real data, and the future steps of the statistical analysis. - Host: Rob Morgan, graduate student
- Council Meeting
- Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: Virtual
- Speaker: Sridhara Dasu, UW-Madison
- Host: Sridhara Dasu, Department Chair
Wednesday, November 11th, 2020
- Wisconsin Quantum Institute
- Chicago Quantum Summit
- Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
- Place:
- Speaker: Various, see website and agenda
- Abstract: We are pleased to invite you to this year’s Chicago Quantum Summit, a virtual event that will be held November 11 – 13, 2020. The Summit will capitalize on the current momentum of quantum efforts across the Chicago Quantum Exchange and the US. The three-day program of half-day sessions will include industry and government presentations on the future of quantum information science and technology, discussions with leaders from the recently announced national quantum research centers funded by DOE and NSF, and dialogue to grow the quantum economic ecosystem.
Due to the virtual format, we anticipate that this Summit will convene a broad audience of more than 1,000 participants, including professional and student representatives from quantum programs across the country spanning universities, national labs, companies, and government agencies. We look forward to your participation in the 2020 Chicago Quantum Summit.
Visit for more info. - Host: CQE
- Department Meeting
- Department Meeting - CANCELLED
- Time: 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
- Place: CANCELLED for 11/11/2020
- Speaker: Sridhara Dasu, Department Chair, UW-Madison
- CANCELLED
- Host: Sridhara Dasu, Department Chair
Thursday, November 12th, 2020
- Wisconsin Quantum Institute
- Chicago Quantum Summit
- Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
- Place:
- Speaker: Various, see website and agenda
- Abstract: We are pleased to invite you to this year’s Chicago Quantum Summit, a virtual event that will be held November 11 – 13, 2020. The Summit will capitalize on the current momentum of quantum efforts across the Chicago Quantum Exchange and the US. The three-day program of half-day sessions will include industry and government presentations on the future of quantum information science and technology, discussions with leaders from the recently announced national quantum research centers funded by DOE and NSF, and dialogue to grow the quantum economic ecosystem.
Due to the virtual format, we anticipate that this Summit will convene a broad audience of more than 1,000 participants, including professional and student representatives from quantum programs across the country spanning universities, national labs, companies, and government agencies. We look forward to your participation in the 2020 Chicago Quantum Summit.
See for full info. - Cosmology Journal Club
- Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Abstract: Cosmology Journal Club is back! We will be having virtual meetings this semester.
Each week, we start with a couple scheduled 15 minute talks about one's research, or an arXiv paper. The last 30 minutes will typically be open to the group for anyone to discuss an arXiv paper.
All are welcome and all fields of cosmology are appropriate.
Contact Ross Cawthon, cawthon@wisc, for more information. - Astronomy Colloquium
- Understanding Planetary Evolution with Eclipsing Disks & Transiting Planets
- Time: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
- Place: Zoom meeting(see Abstract ) Coffee and tea 3:30pm, Talk 3:45 PM
- Speaker: Joey Rodriguez,, Harvard CfA, Michigan State 1/2021
- Abstract:
The success of ground-based transit and RV surveys, and the Kepler/K2 and TESS missions, have shifted the exoplanet field from pure discovery to a combination of discovery, demographic analysis, and detailed characterization, especially for exoplanet atmospheres. Unfortunately, most known transiting exoplanet hosts are too faint to permit detailed characterization. We are using data from the TESS, Kepler/K2, and ground-based transit surveys to find keystone planetary systems around bright stars that can help address specific questions about planet formation and evolution. We are also studying the birthplaces of planets by searching for occultations of newly formed stars by their protoplanetary disks with our Disk Eclipse Search with KELT (DESK) survey. These systems provide insight into the conditions required for planet formation. I will describe our recent results from both projects and discuss how we will study these types of objects in future surveys such as LSST.
Zoom URL: - Host: Assistant Professor Andrew Vanderburg
- Wisconsin Quantum Institute
- Fueling Discovery
- Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
- Place: Visit to register and receive the link
- Speaker: Mark Saffman and others
- Abstract: Learn about the important, curiosity-driven research happening in UW–Madison’s College of Letters & Science (L&S), along with its life-changing impacts on our lives today and on future generations. By attending this online event — moderated by L&S dean Eric Wilcots — you’ll enrich your mind with flash talks from some of the UW’s top faculty members, who appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal earlier this year. Topics discussed at this program will include:
Storytelling that helps heal in the wake of disaster
Risk factors that may help demystify schizophrenia
A promising future in solving real-world problems with quantum computers - Host: WARF
Friday, November 13th, 2020
- Wisconsin Quantum Institute
- Chicago Quantum Summit
- Abstract: We are pleased to invite you to this year’s Chicago Quantum Summit, a virtual event that will be held November 11 – 13, 2020. The Summit will capitalize on the current momentum of quantum efforts across the Chicago Quantum Exchange and the US. The three-day program of half-day sessions will include industry and government presentations on the future of quantum information science and technology, discussions with leaders from the recently announced national quantum research centers funded by DOE and NSF, and dialogue to grow the quantum economic ecosystem.
Due to the virtual format, we anticipate that this Summit will convene a broad audience of more than 1,000 participants, including professional and student representatives from quantum programs across the country spanning universities, national labs, companies, and government agencies. We look forward to your participation in the 2020 Chicago Quantum Summit.
Formal invitations and a program agenda will be sent later in September. - Graduate Introductory Seminar (Physics 701)
- Atomic, molecular, and optical physics research overview.
- Time: 12:05 pm - 12:55 pm
- Place: BBCollaborate
- Speaker: Shimon Kolkowitz, UW Madison Department of Physics
- Host: Sridhara Dasu
- Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
- Two topics in quantum gravity
- Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
- Place: For zoom link, sign up at:
- Speaker: Oliver Janssen, ICTP, Trieste
- Abstract: I will discuss two topics in quantum gravity, both involving the gravitational path integral. In the first part I will introduce the “no-boundary wave function”, a path integral over geometries on compact four-manifolds which solves the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. I will then outline how this object can be computed, and comment on its interpretation, in the scenario of minimally coupled scalar field matter subject to a potential energy function of the slow-roll type. In the second part I will comment on a proposal which identifies bulk gravitational path integrals with ensemble averages of boundary partition functions. This talk is based on 2009.06282 and work in progress.
- Host: Lars Aalsma
- Department Coffee Hour
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place:
- Abstract: Join us weekly for an informal virtual coffee hour! Catch up with others in the department, tell us how things are going, and impress everyone with your Zoom background skills. Coffee Hour is open to any and all faculty, staff, and students in the department. Sometimes we have a topic, and we'll try to get that topic posted here in advance or sent out by email before each coffee hour.
- Host: Department