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P&A Colloquium

Colloquium: DUNE: The Hot Program in the Cold Detector

Neutrinos have come a long way in the human endeavor from their days as a ``desperate remedy.''  Their study now forms the cornerstone of the high energy physics program in the United States.  The U.S. will play host to an international project called DUNE which will explore many of the most important open questions in neutrino physics.  We discovered neutrino mass by doing long-distance quantum phase interferometry with large detectors that were both sensitive scientific instruments and exquisitely beautiful devices.  DUNE will employ an enormous liquid argon time-projection chamber to make the most thorough measurements of neutrino oscillation phenomena ever undertaken.  The large far detector will enable the exploration of a plethora of physical phenomena including nucleon decay and dark matter.  After briefly discussing the history of neutrinos, I will describe the measurements we will make with DUNE and some physics opportunities we will have along the way.

Date:
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Location:
CP 155
Event Series:

Colloquium: The Materiality of Vacuum

The old idea of a luminiferous ether got a bad reputation, but in modern physics we've discovered that it is very fruitful to regard empty space, or vacuum, as a material. Vacuum can be polarized, or act as a catalyst, for example, and it is a superconductor. Conversely, materials can be viewed "from the inside" as the vacua of alternative worlds, which often have exotic, mind-expanding properties. These ideas suggest new possibilities for cosmology, and bring to life a profound question: What is a Universe? 
 
Refreshments will be served in Chemistry-Physics Building Room 179 at 3:15 PM
Date:
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Location:
CP155
Event Series: