Events at Physics |
Events During the Week of September 27th through October 4th, 2026
Sunday, September 27th, 2026
- Graduate Program Event
- GMaWiP Welcome Brunch
- Time: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
- Place: Aubergine on Williamson St
- Abstract: Annual welcome potluck brunch! All career stages welcome: undergrads, postbaccs, grads, postdocs, faculty, staff. RSVP (and optionally sign up to bring something).
Send questions to Amii Matamoros Delgado <matamorosdel@wisc.edu> - Host: GMaWiP
Monday, September 28th, 2026
- Plasma Physics (Physics/ECE/NE 922) Seminar
- Magnetic Fusion Energy research at LLNL
- Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Ben Dudson, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Abstract: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has a leading role in the US and world Magnetic Fusion Energy (MFE) program, addressing critical issues facing the tokamak, stellarator, and magnetic mirror approaches to fusion energy production. The LLNL Fusion Energy Sciences Program leads diagnostic development and experimental research at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego, at the LTX-beta and NSTX-U facilities in Princeton NJ, and on international facilities. Our theory group works closely with experimental groups to plan and interpret experiments, with national and international collaborators to address gaps in understanding of plasma phenomena, and increasingly with private fusion companies to inform the design and operation of future fusion devices. The focus of our research is the boundary between hot plasma and material surfaces, that strongly influences both fusion performance and the survival of materials in an extreme environment. We work with mathematicians and computer scientists to develop unique fluid and kinetic plasma models that we apply to understand and predict the turbulent spreading of heat and mixing of hydrogen, helium and heavy impurity species. Active research areas with important implications for the program include turbulence self-regulation; non-Maxwellian distributions and their effect on heat transport and atomic reactions; and control of radiation condensation instabilities. A growing theme is the use of AI/ML to accelerate and automate our modeling tools, for both design optimization and real-time control e.g. An LLNL team (X.Xu, B.Zhu, M.Zhao et al) developed a surrogate model that has been deployed in a real-time control system on the KSTAR tokamak in S. Korea.
Biography:
Ben Dudson is Associate Program Leader of the Magnetic Fusion Energy (MFE) Theory and Modeling group in the LLNL Fusion Energy Sciences Program. He received an MSci in Physics from Imperial College in 2003, and DPhil in Plasma Physics from the University of Oxford and UKAEA Culham in 2008, for which he performed simulations and experiments on the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). Ben’s research interests are in the boundary region and power exhaust handling in magnetically confined fusion plasmas, a critical aspect of the design and operation of future devices. To do this he develops and applies simulation tools to study the interaction of turbulent plasmas with neutral gas, material surfaces and radiating impurity species. - Host: Vladimir Zhdankin
- Theory Seminar (High Energy/Cosmology)
- Generalized Symmetries and the Dynamics of Gauge Theories
- Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
- Place: Chamberlin 5280
- Speaker: Zipei Zhang, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Abstract: Symmetry can place exact constraints on a quantum field theory even when its low-energy dynamics are strongly coupled. In this talk, I will introduce generalized symmetries through topological defects and background gauge fields, and explain how ’t Hooft anomalies constrain possible infrared phases. I will illustrate these ideas with the one-form center symmetry of four-dimensional SU(N) Yang–Mills theory and its implications at theta = pi. I will then turn to non-invertible symmetries in two-dimensional adjoint QCD, where topological lines give an argument for deconfinement, and close with a brief look at their applications in more phenomenologically relevant gauge theories.
- Host: Elio J Koenig-Tarasevich
Tuesday, September 29th, 2026
- No events scheduled
Wednesday, September 30th, 2026
- No events scheduled
Thursday, October 1st, 2026
- R. G. Herb Condensed Matter Seminar
- Interface Engineering Across Bulk and Mesoscale Quantum Matter
- Time: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
- Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
- Speaker: Aravind Devarakonda, Columbia University
- Abstract: Engineering interactions between distinct electronic phases can present new opportunities to discover and control emergent quantum phenomena. In this seminar, I will discuss our group's efforts to realize such interactions through the design of novel interfaces in bulk and mesoscale quantum materials. I will first introduce a growing family of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) bulk van der Waals (vdW) superlattices, where layer-selective chemical substitution provides a versatile method for tailoring the electronic behavior of TMD layers within high-quality bulk heterostructures. I will focus on our recent work demonstrating how layer-selective rare-earth substitution can dramatically alter the electronic behavior of the TMD monolayers. I will then highlight our broader efforts to expand the ways in which we manipulate and assemble interfaces at the mesoscale, including techniques for reconfiguring vdW heterostructures, methods for creating lateral interfaces between crystalline metals, and potential strategies for defining interfaces in the absence of crystallographic or compositional discontinuities.
- Host: Ilya Esterlis
- Astronomy Colloquium
- Multiphase Supersonic Outflows in Active Galactic Nuclei
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place: 4421 Sterling Hall
- Speaker: Daniel Proga, University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Abstract: Large-scale mass outflows from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) naturally connect a galaxy to its central black hole and enable an AGN feedback mechanism. However, quantifying the feedback efficiency is challenging because it involves considering multidimensional fluid dynamics, radiative processes, magnetic processes, and other factors. In this talk, I will summarize the main results from our ongoing work on developing a comprehensive physical model of AGN outflows. Observations indicate that these outflows are not smooth, including the fastest ones, like the ultrafast outflows. Therefore, I will focus on discussing the physical processes that could create multiphase structures within such outflows. We will also present synthetic ultraviolet and X-ray absorption spectra, which probe different outflow phases and can be used to test our model against observations.
- Host: Sebastian Heinz
Friday, October 2nd, 2026
- RISE-AI Reasoning in Science
- Reasoning in Science Lightning Talks and Group Kickoff
- Time: 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
- Place: WARF Seminar Hub Room 7560, Morgridge Hall
- Abstract: Join us for the kickoff of the RISE-AI Focus Group on AI Reasoning for Science. The event will feature lightning talks from UW–Madison graduate students across physics, computer science, bioinformatics, and related fields, showcasing diverse applications of AI reasoning in science. Following the talks, we will hold an open discussion on the goals, directions, and future activities of the focus group.
- Host: Moritz Münchmeyer, Nate Woodward
- Physics Department Colloquium
- Cosmology with galaxy imaging surveys: Results from the Dark Energy Survey Year 6 analysis of galaxy clustering and weak lensing
- Time: 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm
- Place: Chamberlin 2241 -
- Speaker: Jessie Muir, University of Cincinnati
- Abstract: Over the six years of 2013-2019, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) imaged one eighth of the sky, measuring the properties of hundreds of millions of galaxies. In this talk I will discuss how we leverage these data to probe the geometry and growth of structure in our Universe, and through that, to test models describing the physics of dark energy, dark matter, and gravity. I will present results from the DES Year 6 cosmology analysis of galaxy clustering and weak gravitational lensing, and will highlight how, as the largest-area galaxy imaging survey of its kind, DES serves as a laboratory for preparation for analysis with next-generation cosmological experiments like the Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
- Host: Keith Bechtol