Events

To stem the rise of global temperatures we must reduce CO2 emissions. Recently, a Canadian clean energy company, Carbon Engineering Ltd. has developed an industrially-scalable “Direct Air Capture” technology to address this global problem. This technology removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere and can permanently store it underground. In addition, it can be used to reduce emissions by producing ultra-low carbon synthetic fuels, which can power existing cars, trucks and airplanes without any modifications.

Abstract:

The decades following the initial discovery of the integer and fractional quantum Hall effects (IQHE/FQHE) in two-dimensional electrons in a strong perpendicular magnetic field led to a detailed understanding of the rich phase diagram and exotic phenomena characterizing various phases. These include charge fractionalization, Abelian and non-Abelian quantum states, topological spin excitations, charge-density-wave phases, to name a few. This body of work paved the way for the new field of topological materials in the 21st century.

The Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) provides a promising avenue to explore the properties of gas associated with halos and large-scale structures. However, due to contamination by the primary CMB, as well as foregrounds, projection effects, halo identification, and the beam size of current CMB surveys, it is not a trivial task to extract the signal precisely and accurately.

In electrostatics any excess charge on a conductor goes to the surface.  This is due, of course, to the mutual repulsion of like charges.  But it depends critically on the precise form of Coulomb's law and on the dimensionality of the conductor.  I will discuss some intriguing examples, including the vexed case of a conducting needle.