Condensed Matter seminar: "Exploring the Landscape of Complex Quantum States: From New Phases of Matter to Robust Schemes for Quantum Computation"
Ksheerasagar "Sagar" Vijay, Harvard University
We present recent advances in our understanding of (i) exotic quantum phases of matter in three dimensions, and (ii) robust mechanisms for storing and processing quantum information, that have been enabled by new…
Condensed Matter seminar: "Tensor Gauge Theories of Fractons"
Michael Pretko, University of Colorado
A fracton is an unusual new type of emergent quasiparticle, first proposed in the context of quantum spin liquids, which does not have the ability to move by itself. Rather, fractons can only move by forming certain…
Astronomy seminar: "Distances for Cosmology"
Rachael Beaton, Princeton/Carnegie
Distances are the fundamental datum by which we translate observational quantities into astrophysical ones and distances remain difficult to measure. I will describe techniques that use old stellar populations in…
High Energy Theory seminar: "Shift Symmetries in (A)dS"
Kurt Hinterbichler, Case Western Reserve University
I will discuss the generalizations of shift symmetries, galileon symmetries, and extended galileon symmetries to (A)dS space and to higher spin. Unlike flat space, these symmetries are present only for particles…
Condensed Matter seminar: "The Berry curvature dipole of metals and the crossover from composite fermions to exciton superfluid”
Inti Sodemann-Villadiego, Max Planck Institute, Dresden
The first part of this talk will summarise our progress in non-linear transport of metals. I will describe a non-linear Hall effect that is allowed by time reversal symmetry and is controlled by the "Berry curvature…
Department Colloquium: "Self-driven phase transitions in living matter"
Joshua Shaevitz, Lewis-Sigler Institute, Princeton University
The soil dwelling bacterium Myxococcus xanthus is an amazing organism that uses collective motility to hunt in giant packs when near prey and to form beautiful and protective macroscopic structures comprising…
Condensed Matter seminar: "Dirty Quantum Magnets"
Itamar Kimchi, University of Colorado
Studying quantum entanglement over the past 1--2 decades has allowed us to make remarkable theoretical progress in understanding correlated many-body quantum systems. However electrons in real materials experience…
Condensed Matter Seminar: "Revisiting and Repurposing the Double Helix"
Taekjip Ha, Johns Hopkins University
DNA is an iconic molecule that forms a double helical structure, providing the basis for genetic inheritance, and its physical properties have been studied for decades. In this talk, I will present evidence that…