Experimental Particle Physics Seminar: Defying 4D Gravity: Novel searches for signatures of string theory via scalar cascades, noncommutative black holes, non-minimal dark sectors, and deep learning

Elena Villhauer (University of Edinburgh)

The existence of extra dimensions could lower the fundamental Planck scale to the low TeV scale and very excitingly allow string theory to be probed at the LHC. This talk introduces novel searches for signatures of…

Condensed Matter Seminar: Self-Organization of Wave-Matter Composite Systems

David Grier (New York University)

Optical tweezers and acoustic traps use forces exerted by waves to confine small objects in three dimensions and to transport them along pre-programmed trajectories. This is not the end of the story…

High Energy Theory Seminar: Normalization of Instantons in Minimal String Theory

Chitraang Murdia (University of Pennsylvania)

We match instanton contributions between minimal string theory and its dual matrix integral. The main technical insight is to use string field theory to analyze and cure the divergences in the cylinder diagram in…

Condensed Matter Seminar: Granular and Active: Findings and behavior in many fire-ant systems

Alberto Fernandez-Nieves (U Barcelona)

Experiments with fire-ant columns reveal similarities and differences with granular columns. For granular columns, we will show that narrowing the column diameter can result in novel behavior…

High Energy Theory Seminar: Emergent N=4 supersymmetry from N=1

Monica Kang (University of Pennsylvania)

I will construct 4d N=1,2 SCFTs with identical central charges a=c (without a large N limit) via the diagonal gauging of collections of non-Lagrangian Argyres–Douglas and conformal matter theories. Utilizing a…

Colloquium: Nonlinear topological photonics

Bo Zhen (University of Pennsylvania)

Topological photonics is a rapidly developing field, often drawing inspirations from the recent successes in electronic systems. Yet there are a few major differences between photons and electrons, leading to…

High Energy Theory Seminar: Double Scaled SYK and de Sitter Holography

Herman L. Verlinde (Princeton University)

In this talk I will describe a new and precise holographic dictionary between the SYK model in the double scaling limit and 2D de Sitter gravity.

What’s inside a black hole? Probing the interior of black holes with gravitational waves

Ramy Brustein (Ben Gurion U. of Negev)

I will present general arguments, based on fundamental physics principles, as to why we should expect a significant, horizon scale, departure from semiclassical gravity inside astrophysical black holes. Then, I will…

Astrophysics Seminar: Interstellar Interlopers and Dark Comets

Darryl Seligman (Cornell University)

In recent years, two entirely new classes of planetesimals have been discovered in the solar system: interstellar interlopers and dark comets.  These still-enigmatic objects are challenging our …

Condensed Matter Seminar: Magnetic Chirality

Sang-Wook Cheong (Rutgers University)