Events Archive

Nov
15
2013
Math Physics Seminar: Quantum scissors and single photon states
Sources of single photons (as opposed to sources which produce on average a single photon) are of great current interest for quantum information processing. Perhaps surprisingly, it is not easy to produce a single photon efficiently and in a controlled way. Following earlier progress, recent experimental activity has resulted in the production of single photons by taking advantage of strong inter-particle interactions in cold atomic gases. I will show how the systematic use of the method of steepest descents can be used to understand the dynamics of the single photon source developed here...
Nov
13
2013
Time Crystals
Nov
12
2013
The Neuromechanics of Soft-bodied Locomotion in Caterpillars and Robots
Nov
11
2013
Estimating Our Energy Predicament
Nov
11
2013
Testing Gravity via Lunar Laser Ranging
Nov
06
2013
The Symmetry of Chaos
Nov
04
2013
Quantum Simulation with Cold Atoms: Successes and Challenges
Quantum Simulation with cold atoms is a very ambitious program in AMO research that is being pursued in many laboratories worldwide. The goal is to use cold atoms in optical lattices and in different environment to simulate important yet unsolved theoretical models. In this talk, I shall review the current progress of this effort, its success, and the serious challenges it faces. I shall discuss the possible solutions and the exciting future it holds.
Oct
30
2013
Analyses of the Remora Adhesion System
Remoras (echeneid fish) reversibly attach and detach to marine hosts, almost instantaneously, to “hitchhike” and feed. The adhesion mechanisms that they use are remarkably insensitive to substrate topology and quite different from the latching and suction cup-based systems associated with other species at similar length scales.  Remora adhesion is also anisotropic; drag forces induced by the host’s swimming increase adhesive strength, while rapid detachment occurs when the remora reverses this shear load.  In this presentation, an investigation of the adhesive system’s...
Oct
29
2013
Global Phase Space Study of Coherence and Entanglement in a Double-Well Bose-Einstein Condensate
Oct
28
2013
Soft matter, food and cooking
Have you ever wondered why an egg solidifies at high temperature while most pure substances, like water, do not? Or why materials solely made of liquids can exhibit solid-like properties? Or why adding a tiny amount of certain additives to water dramatically changes the way water flows? This talk will touch on some of these aspects. It will start by discussing what soft condensed matter is and why soft materials are indeed soft. It will then briefly discuss viscous flow, to end introducing the significance of phase transformations in manipulating food. The aim of the...

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