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Colloquia Archive 2016

This event is a Colloquium.

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The KPZ storySatya MAJUMDAR

The celebrated KPZ equation (Kardar, Parisi, Zhang, 1986) is an important milestone in statistical physics, originally introduced to describe the late time dynamics in various growth models. Over the last 30 years, the KPZ story has evolved in various interesting directions, making links on the way to different areas of ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Exotic combinations of quarks - A journey of fifty yearsJonathan ROSNER

The early 1960s witnessed a wealth of elementary particles described in terms of simple combinations of a few more elementary units, dubbed quarks. The known mesons and baryons could all be described as states of quark- antiquark or three quarks. However, it was not understood why certain more elaborate combinations ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Some observations on the degrees of freedom of quantum gravityJan DE BOER

Recent work has made it clear that gravity is an example of an emergent phenomenon: there exists a large number of strongly interacting, microscopic degrees of freedom and gravity is merely an approximate long- distance description of these degrees of freedom. The situation is somewhat analogous to thermodynamics, which is ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Detecting Dark Energy with Atom InterferometryClare BURRAGE

I will discuss the possibility that the nature of the dark energy driving the observed acceleration of the Universe on giga-parsec scales may be determined first through metre scale laboratory based atom interferometry experiments. I will begin by introducing the scalar fields that could be responsible for dark energy and ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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A statistical, non-equilibrium field theory for cosmic structure formationMatthias BARTELMANN

Adopting methods familiar from non-equilibrium quantum field theory, we have developed a microscopic, non-equilibrium field theory for cosmic structure formation. The theory begins with the initial phase-space distribution of a correlated ensemble of classical particles undergoing Hamiltonian dynamics. This phase-space distribution defines a generating functional resembling the partition function familiar ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Supersymmetric Aspects of Hadron Physics and Novel QCD PhenomenaStanley BRODSKY

I will discuss a number of novel features of hadron physics predicted by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), including supersymmetric relations between mesons, baryons, and tetraquarks; unexpected heavy quark phenomena; as well as a new approach to quark confinement and the structure of hadrons.
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Singularity Theorems in Gravitation --- A Golden AnniversaryJosé SENOVILLA

I will present a critical appraisal of the singularity theorems in general relativity and other geometric theories of gravity. In particular, I will review the history, key developments, and importance of the theorems and their physical conclusions. Time permitting, new or recent advances will be discussed, including a discussion on ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Planting seeds for gravitational wave generators around active galactic nucleiDoug LIN

Advanced LIGO event GW150914 has been attributed to the coalescence of two black holes with masses more than double that of most known stellar black holes. Formation of such stellar black holes directly through supernova explosions requires massive, metal-deficient progenitors. This requirement and their nearly equal masses may not be ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Quantum instability of the Universe ground stateGiovanni RIDOLFI

The possibility that the quantum state of the present Universe is not a stable one is investigated, in the light of recent particle physics observations, in particular the discovery of the Higgs boson. The physics behind the decay mechanism of an unstable ground state is discussed in some detail. The ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Connecting large scale structures to galaxy morphologyChristophe PICHON

Galactic morphology is driven by angular momentum acquisition through anisotropic secondary infall, coming from larger scales, which are less dense, hence more steady. Cold flows provide the link and leave a clear signature in terms of spin alignment. Galaxies are first aligned and then perpendicular to their host filaments. This ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Site-Specific DNA Recombination and Fluid Vortex ReconnectionDe Witt SUMNERS

Reconnection is a fundamental event in many area of science, including interaction of fluid vortices and flux tubes in fluid mechanics and magnetohydrodynamics, and site-specific recombination in DNA. This talk will discuss the mathematical similarities between reconnection events in biology and physics, and the relationship between iterated reconnection and curve ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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Precision Studies of the HiggsGiulia ZANDERIGHI

This talk recalls the generation of mass in the Standard Model by illustrating the mechanism of electroweak symmetry via the Higgs field. It then reviews the history of the discovery of the Higgs boson in the first run of the LHC and summarises the current status of measurements of its ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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The search for new interactions at the LHC: the top-quark windowFabio MALTONI

New Physics searches at the LHC are mostly being performed with the aim of detecting new states. A complementary strategy is to look for new interactions, something that typically involves precise measurements. In this talk I argue how many of the current SM (and BSM) measurements in the top sector ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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General Relativity in the limit of very many dimensionsRoberto EMPARAN

One hundred years after Einstein formulated General Relativity, the pivotal role of its most fundamental and fascinating objects --- the black holes --- is nowadays recognized in many areas of physics, even beyond astrophysics and cosmology. Still, solving the theory that governs their dynamics remains a formidable challenge that demands innovative ideas ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB

This event is a Colloquium.

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A top (quark) storyMartin BENEKE

The top quark, discovered 20 years ago, is now copiously produced at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, which allows detailed studies and interpretations of its properties. It remains the heaviest elementary particle ever found. Its strong interaction properties are those of any other quark, but its large coupling to the ...
Higgs Centre Seminar Room, JCMB