Title: Ionization Sources of the Local Interstellar Clouds Abstract: The structure of the local interstellar clouds is influenced by stellar ionizing sources that shaped it dynamically and thermally over the last 5 million years. The dominant sources include two massive B-type stars, currently at distances of 124 and 151 pc in the Canis Majoris constellation,…
Title: Pion Mass Dependence in Chiral EFT and the QCD Axion Abstract: QCD and effective field theory together put low energy nuclear physics on solid theoretical footing to calculate observables with some confidence, but open questions remain. Two related questions are why QCD seems not to violate CP and how the properties of nuclear matter…
Title: Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen Abstract: The idea that it might be possible to make a perfect invisibility cloak was a frequent topic in the news and the scientific literature over the past two decades. The subject of invisibility physics, however, has a history that stretches back well…
Opto-Spintronics in Symmetry Broken Systems Zoom link: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/93377097763?pwd=RKLuIssUaLWny2I65NH95Q5trOYbCe.1
Title: Generalizing deconfined criticality to 3d N-flavor SU(2) quantum chromodynamics on the fuzzy sphere Abstract: The fuzzy sphere formalism is a recently introduced powerful lens to probe critical behavior and find clear numerical signatures of conformal symmetry. After introducing the technique, we use it to investigate a candidate for SU(2) QCD with N fermions and…
Title: Public Engagement as a Physics Practice: Identity, Community, and Building the Infrastructure for Impact Abstract: Public engagement or, as it is more commonly known, “outreach” often lives at the periphery of physics departments, something some do in their “free” time. Yet many physicists and students facilitate informal programs. But what do we know about how these…
Title: Neutron Star Mergers as a Laboratory for Neutrino Physics: Neutrino Oscillations, Neutrino-matter Interactions, and Neutrino Advection Abstract: The 2017 detection of the in-spiral and merger of two neutron stars was a landmark discovery in astrophysics. Through a wealth of multi-messenger data, we now know that the merger of these ultracompact stellar remnants is a…
Probing the astrophysical site of the r-process: supernova remnants and metal-poor stars
Title: Empathy in Physics Classrooms and other Academic Spaces Abstract: This talk explores the role of empathy — the ability to understand and share feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another — in physics classrooms and other academic spaces. Specifically, we ask: 1) how do faculty conceptualize empathy and its place in the classroom; 2) how…
Title: Geometrically Cohesive Granular Materials: Structure, Permeability and Porosity Abstract: Geometrically cohesive granular materials (GCGMs) are granular materials whose shape allows for particle entanglement that can result in extreme rigidity (c.f. bird nests, beaver dams and entangled clothes hangers). In this talk I’ll first review some surprising rheological features of GCGMs that arise from the…