Events

CHIME will use Intensity Mapping of the 21cm line of neutral hydrogen to map
large-scale structure between redshifts of 0.8 and 2.5. By measuring Baryon
Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) we will place constraints on the dark energy 
equation of state as it begins to dominate the expansion of the Universe,
particularly at redshifts poorly probed by current BAO surveys.

Restricting the volume of a material, through application of pressure, changes the dominance of interactions within the material, and exposes unnatural states of matter not found in our predominantly adiabatic universe.  One of the most exotic phenomena in condensed matter is the phase transitions purely driven by quantum effects. While quantum fluctuations in electronic states are always relevant, it is also possible to observe quantum effects in lattice of very light elements. At ambient conditions, the lightest metal of the periodic system is lithium.

The hierarchical formation of galaxies like the Milky Way (MW) is a central prediction of the Lambda-Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model. They are predicted and observed to host vast halos of stars accreted from disrupted dwarf galaxies, as well as rich dwarf satellite populations — both of which tantalizingly encode details of their formation histories. This regime has long been problematic for galaxy formation models, due to the required resolution, and observational progress has been largely constrained to the Local Group, due to the intrinsic faintness and large scales of both features.

The value of the cosmic expansion rate (the Hubble constant) inferred from observations of supernovae disagree with those inferred from measurements of the cosmic microwave background.  Easy explanations for this discrepancy have been elusive, but the past few years attention has turned to the possibility that a modification to early-Universe physics may be required.  I will discuss a solution to this "Hubble tension" that involves the introduction of a new component of matter, “early dark energy,” as well as other related ideas.

Abstract: The addition of non-unitary ingredients to many-body quantum dynamics has led to a series of exciting developments in recent years, including new out-of-equilibrium entanglement phases and phase transitions enabled by quantum measurements.

Cross-correlations between imaging and redshift surve

Let's discuss the background to the 2 parts of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics.

James Charbonneau - CLIMATE SCIENCE

This will be a short description of how Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann were jointly awarded half of the 2021 prize "for the physical modelling of Earth's climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming".

Philip Stamp - SPIN GLASSES & COMPLEXITY

Abstract: Quantum computation tantalizing promises efficient solutions to a broad range of classically-hard materials and chemistry simulation problems of interest to both basic science and practical applications. However, nascent quantum processors are severely limited in both memory and accuracy, and remain a long way from surpassing state-of-the-art classical computational methods.

The deadly heat dome that settled over the Pacific Northwest at the end of June 2021 was a 1 in 1000 year event. But climate scientists say it was 150 times more likely to happen because of human-caused climate change. I'll take you through the series of unique conditions that came together for the unprecedented event to occur -- and why we need to prepare now for the next one. 

Please note the later starting time: 4.15pm

Short-range magnetic correlations have been increasingly recognized in recent years for their importance in contexts as widely varied as geometrically frustrated magnetism and functional magnetocaloric materials. Neutron scattering provides experimental access to these short-range correlations through magnetic diffuse scattering, but characterizing magnetic short-range order with quantitative accuracy has remained a difficult task.

Studying the host galaxies of high-redshift quasars provides vital insights into the early growth of supermassive black holes and the black hole—galaxy connection. The launch of JWST will start a new era in this field, providing the opportunity to observe the stellar components of these host galaxies for the first time. Here I will present an analysis of the hosts of z=7 quasars in the BlueTides cosmological hydrodynamical simulation.