Events List for the Academic Year
Event Time:
Thursday, October 14, 2021 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66879995529?pwd=dHpQb25LSGVZK3ozY243em5tenRWQT09
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
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2021-10-14T10:00:00
2021-10-14T11:00:00
CM Seminar - Andrew Potter: Simulating highly-entangled matter with quantum tensor networks
Event Information:
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. In this talk, I will review recent progress in bridging this gap by leveraging efficient quantum data compression afforded by tensor network representations, along with opportunistic midcircuit qubit reset and re-use in order to simulate large-scale models of quantum materials with relatively few qubits. I will highlight recent experimental implementations of quantum tensor network algorithms for simulating entangled ground-states and non-equilibrium dynamics of correlated spins and electrons on a trapped ion quantum processor.
Event Location:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66879995529?pwd=dHpQb25LSGVZK3ozY243em5tenRWQT09
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
Event Time:
Thursday, October 7, 2021 | 4:15 pm - 5:15 pm
Event Location:
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2021-10-07T16:15:00
2021-10-07T17:15:00
2021 Heat Dome: An extremely rare event that we will likely see again
Event Information:
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
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, October 7, 2021 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66879995529?pwd=dHpQb25LSGVZK3ozY243em5tenRWQT09
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
Add to Calendar
2021-10-07T10:00:00
2021-10-07T11:00:00
CM Seminar - From Quantum Magnets to Magnetic Thermoelectrics: Short-Range Spin Correlations and the Secrets They Keep
Event Information:
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. Here, I introduce magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) analysis as a powerful tool for the detailed elucidation of shortrange magnetic correlations by Fourier transforming the diffuse magnetic scattering into real
space, and I present the application of mPDF to two material systems for which the details of the short-range magnetic correlations are crucial for their unusual properties. The first is TmMgGaO4, an Ising triangular lattice antiferromagnet with rich low-temperature behavior, including a predicted topological Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. Our mPDF results reveal intricate spin correlations consistent with this theoretical prediction, providing strong experimental support for the proposed Kosterlitz-Thouless phase. The second material is MnTe, an antiferromagnetic semiconductor with excellent thermoelectric properties at elevated temperatures. The presence of short-range antiferromagnetic correlations above the Neel temperature contributes to the enhanced thermoelectric response. Using mPDF, we reveal the real-space nature of these magnetic correlations and gain deeper insight into the origin of the unusually large thermopower of MnTe.
Bio: Ben Frandsen is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Brigham Young University in Utah. He earned his PhD in condensed matter physics at Columbia University in New York in 2016, working with Professors Tomo Uemura and Simon Billinge on muon spin relaxation and x-ray and pair distribution function studies of strongly correlated electron systems. His graduate research took him to beautiful Vancouver many times to perform muon experiments at TRIUMF. Following his graduate work, he joined the group of Bob Birgeneau at UC Berkeley in California as a postdoctoral researcher, working primarily on experimental studies of iron-based superconductors. He joined the faculty at BYU in August 2018. His research at BYU is focused on investigating the local atomic and magnetic structure of complex materials using beams of x rays, neutrons, and muons. He was selected as a recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Award in 2020 to study local atomic and magnetic structure in energy-relevant materials.
Event Location:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66879995529?pwd=dHpQb25LSGVZK3ozY243em5tenRWQT09
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
Event Time:
Monday, October 4, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-10-04T15:00:00
2021-10-04T16:00:00
Unveiling Stellar Light from the Host Galaxies of High-Redshift Quasars
Event Information:
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. I will show how we have used the BlueTides simulation in combination with an observational quasar subtraction technique to make comprehensive predictions for photometric observations of these host galaxies with JWST. We analysed the success rates of detecting the host galaxies with various instruments, filters and exposure times, and studied which quasar and host properties are more likely to result in successful detections. This work guided our Cycle 1 JWST observations, which I will also discuss.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, September 30, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
Various events at UBC and elsewhere
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2021-09-30T16:00:00
2021-09-30T17:00:00
No Colloquium - Truth & Reconciliation Day
Event Information:
There will be no colloquium on the day of this national event to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools. See the following web-sites for information on what's happening at UBC:
https://irshdc.ubc.ca/orangeshirtday/
https://apsc.ubc.ca/orangeshirtday/
Event Location:
Various events at UBC and elsewhere
Event Time:
Monday, September 27, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-09-27T15:00:00
2021-09-27T16:00:00
Three-dimensional observations of interstellar magnetic fields
Event Information:
Magnetic fields pervade the interstellar medium and are important in the star-formation process. However, probing magnetic fields of star-forming regions is challenging. In this talk, I will discuss our research on the 3D morphology of magnetic fields in star-forming molecular clouds. We first developed a novel technique based on Faraday rotation measurements to determine the line-of-sight strength and direction of magnetic fields associated with molecular clouds. We applied our technique to four relatively nearby filamentary molecular clouds. For three of these clouds, we found that the line-of-sight magnetic field reverses across these clouds. We then incorporated these line-of-sight and Planck's plane-of-sky magnetic field observations along with models to study the 3D magnetic field morphology of the Orion A cloud. Recently, we determined the complete 3D magnetic field vectors (with signed directions), using large-scale Galactic magnetic field models and our line-of-sight maps for the Perseus and Orion A molecular clouds. At the end, I will briefly mention some of our ongoing research on the role of magnetic fields in the star-formation process.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, September 23, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-09-23T16:00:00
2021-09-23T17:00:00
Classical Mechanics versus Thermodynamics
Event Information:
It came as a shock when I first realized that some of the most famous equations in thermodynamics are just the same as the most famous equations in classical mechanics - with only the names of the variables changed. It turns out that this follows from a deep and not yet thoroughly studied analogy between the two subjects, which I will explain.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, September 23, 2021 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
Zoom link in description
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2021-09-23T10:00:00
2021-09-23T11:00:00
Internally engineered Majorana modes in twisted bilayer graphene
Event Information:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66879995529?pwd=dHpQb25LSGVZK3ozY243em5tenRWQT09
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
Abstract: Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) realizes an exquisitely tunable, strongly interacting system featuring superconductivity and various correlated insulating states. In this talk I will introduce gate-defined wires in TBG as an enticing platform for Majorana-based fault-tolerant qubits. Our proposal notably relies on “internally” generated superconductivity in TBG – as opposed to “external” superconducting proximity effects commonly employed in Majorana devices – and may operate even at zero magnetic field. I will also describe how electrical measurements of gate-defined wires can reveal the nature of correlated insulators and shed light on the Cooper-pairing mechanism in TBG.
Bio: Jason Alicea received his PhD from UC Santa Barbara in 2007 and then held a postdoc fellowship at Caltech. In 2010 he joined the faculty at UC Irvine before returning to Caltech as a professor in 2012. His research explores novel phases of matter in various physical settings, often motivated by fault-tolerant quantum computing applications.
Event Location:
Zoom link in description
Event Time:
Monday, September 20, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-09-20T15:00:00
2021-09-20T16:00:00
Observational Planet Formation
Event Information:
Planets form in gaseous protoplanetary disks surrounding newborn stars. As such, the most direct way to learn how they form from observations, is to observe them forming in disks. In the past, this was difficult due to a lack of observational capabilities, and planet formation was a subject of theoretical research. Now, thanks to a fleet of new instruments with unprecedented resolving power that have come online in the past decade, we have started to unveil features in resolved images of protoplanetary disks, such as gaps and spiral arms, that are likely associated with embedded (unseen) planets. By comparing observations with theoretical models of planet-disk interactions, the properties of still forming planets may be constrained. Such planets help us test planet formation models. This has opened a new field: observational planet formation. I will introduce the current status of this field, and highlight some of the latest developments.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, September 16, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
Hennings 201 (or via zoom)
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2021-09-16T16:00:00
2021-09-16T17:00:00
Overview of Physics & Astronomy Research Groups at UBC
Event Information:
Research group presentations:
Colin Gay - High-Energy Experiment
Stefan Reinsberg - Medical Physics
Jeremy Heyl - Astronomy and Astrophysics
Mark van Raamsdonk - High-Energy Theory and Gravity
Valery Milner - Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
Steve Plotkin - Biophysics
Fei Zhou - Condensed Matter Theory
Ziliang Ye - Condensed Matter Experiment
Presentation slides
Download the full slide deck
Event Location:
Hennings 201 (or via zoom)
Event Time:
Thursday, September 16, 2021 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Location:
Zoom link in description
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2021-09-16T10:00:00
2021-09-16T11:00:00
CM Seminar: Controlling Emergent Behavior in Quantum Matter from a Theory Perspective
Event Information:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66879995529?pwd=dHpQb25LSGVZK3ozY243em5tenRWQT09
Meeting ID: 668 7999 5529
Passcode: 113399
My group’s research focuses on how quantum matter behaves, particularly away from equilibrium, and how we can harness emergent effects in these systems. In this context, I will focus on our newly introduced approaches to describe excited-states in quantum matter, including electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions beyond leading order, and predicting emergent states introduced by external drives. Next, I will discuss a class of exotic collective excitations which are unique to time-reversal symmetry breaking (TRSB) superconductors and propose a number of means by which these excitations can be experimentally detected, introducing a notion of “collective mode spectroscopy” of TRSB superconductors1. Building on this, I will present avenues in using electromagnetic cavities and resonators to probe and control quantum matter discussing methods to treat electrons, photons and phonons on the same quantized footing, accessing new observables in strong light-matter coupling 2,3. Understanding the role of such strong light-matter interactions in the regime of strongly-correlated electronic systems is of paramount importance to fields of study across condensed matter physics, quantum optics, and quantum chemistry 4-6. Our theoretical and computational framework7-9 opens new routes by which the important problem of strongly-correlated quantum dynamics may be studied in these fields. Finally, I will give an outlook on driving correlated quantum systems far out-of-equilibrium to control the coupled electronic and lattice degrees-of-freedom and connect these recent predictions with ultrafast THz experiments underway.
1. Poniatowski, N. R., Curtis, J. B., Yacoby, A. & Narang, P. Spectroscopic signatures of time-reversal symmetry breaking superconductivity. arXiv [cond-mat.supr-con] (2021).
2. Schäfer, C., Flick, J., Ronca, E., Narang, P. & Rubio, A. Shining Light on the Microscopic Resonant Mechanism Responsible for Cavity-Mediated Chemical Reactivity. arXiv [quant-ph] (2021).
3. Philbin, J. P. et al. Room temperature single-photon superfluorescence from a single epitaxial cuboid nano-heterostructure. arXiv [physics.optics] (2021).
4. Juraschek, D. M., Meier, Q. N. & Narang, P. Parametric Excitation of an Optically Silent Goldstone-Like Phonon Mode. Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 124 (2020).
5. Juraschek, D. M., Narang, P. & Spaldin, N. A. Phono-magnetic analogs to opto-magnetic effects. Phys. Rev. Research 2, 043035 (2020).
6. Juraschek, D. M., Neuman, T., Flick, J. & Narang, P. Cavity control of nonlinear phononics. Phys. Rev. Research 3, L032046 (2021)
7. Rivera, N., Flick, J. & Narang, P. Variational Theory of Nonrelativistic Quantum Electrodynamics. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 193603 (2019).
8. Flick, J., Rivera, N. & Narang, P. Strong light-matter coupling in quantum chemistry and quantum photonics. Nanophotonics 7, 1479–1501 (2018).
9. Flick, J. & Narang, P. Cavity-Correlated Electron-Nuclear Dynamics from First Principles. Physical Review Letters vol. 121 (2018).
Biosktech: Prineha Narang came to Harvard University from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she worked as a Research Scholar in Condensed Matter Theory in the Department of Physics. She received an M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Prineha’s work has been recognized by many awards and special designations, including a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a Max Planck Sabbatical Award from the Max Planck Society, and the IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics in 2021, an NSF CAREER Award in 2020, being named a Moore Inventor Fellow by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for pioneering innovations in quantum science, CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and a Top Innovator by MIT Tech Review (MIT TR35).
Event Location:
Zoom link in description
Event Time:
Monday, September 13, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-09-13T15:00:00
2021-09-13T16:00:00
Mega-Constellations and Astronomers: Updates on SATCON2 and IAU Dark and Quiet Skies
Event Information:
The rapid development of low Earth orbit (LEO) is being done without due regard for the long-term preservation of LEO or humanity's connection with the cosmos. In particular, large constellations of satellites, i.e., so-called mega-constellations or satcons, have the potential to severely interfere with the use and exploration of space by numerous other actors. This includes interference with astronomy and stargazing through light and spectrum pollution. Satcon development also might have non-trivial environmental impacts on Earth's atmosphere. At the same time, space is free to be used and explored by all actors, provided that the use of space by one actor does not prevent others from also using and exploring space. Space is a regime that requires continuous cooperation.
In this vein, astronomers have intensified dialogue with satcon operators and governments in an effort to identify ways that LEO can be developed without causing significant disruptions to astronomical research, and more generally, to the preservation of dark and quiet skies. In this discussion, I highlight some of the progress that has been made in the past year through major initiatives, including the NSF sponsored SATCON1&2 recommendations and the IAU/UN Dark and Quiet Skies reports.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Tuesday, September 7, 2021 | 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Event Location:
online
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2021-09-07T11:00:00
2021-09-07T11:45:00
PHAS Imagine Day Event 2021
Event Information:
The department will be hosting an Imagine Day session for undergraduate students. PHAS academic advisors will introduce PHAS undergrad programs and share tips for planning your academic schedule and seeking job/research opportunities. PHAS alumni will share experiences from student clubs. The event will end with a live Q&A session with PHAS advisors.
Enroll now at https://canvas.ubc.ca/enroll/7RHM98. Course materials will be available online for a month, after which content will be migrated to a PHAS webpage.
Other Imagine Day information
UBC Imagine Day website
Event Location:
online
Event Time:
Monday, August 30, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-08-30T15:00:00
2021-08-30T16:00:00
Even more student presentations
Event Information:
Caleb Lammers: "Candidate High-Redshift Protoclusters and Gravitationally Lensed Galaxies in the Planck High-z Catalogue"
Justin Lawrence: "Dark matter search limits and sensitivities with extragalactic dark matter components"
Erik Gillis: "An RRAT Census with CHIME/PULSAR"
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, August 26, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-08-26T16:00:00
2021-08-26T17:00:00
Fun Fysics Films
Event Information:
It's the end of the summer, so let's have a completely informal meeting this week!
For the last colloquium slot before term starts, we'll have a discussion around some physics-related content from youtube and other video sources. Some of our regular attendees have shared suggestions for amusing and/or informative bits of physics video, which we'll show. If your favourite science clip isn't included, perhaps there will be time for additional examples at the end.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Monday, August 23, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-08-23T15:00:00
2021-08-23T16:00:00
More student presentations
Event Information:
Keshav Gopinath: "MUSE Spectrograph and the analysis of a candidate group with a lensed quiescent galaxy"
Timothy Yu: "The Study of Molecular Gas Content of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at z~2"
Hao Tse (Howard) Huang: "Multi-tracer investigation of molecular gas in a massive radio galaxy"
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, August 19, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-08-19T16:00:00
2021-08-19T17:00:00
Echoes Made Simple
Event Information:
Echoes are common in many areas of physics, including NMR, plasma physics, nonlinear optics, cavity quantum electrodynamics, cold atoms physics, and dynamics of proton storage rings. Recently, we theoretically found (probably) the simplest classical system featuring the echo phenomenon — a collection of randomly oriented free rotors with dispersed rotational velocities. The mechanism of this echo is based on the kick-induced filamentation of the rotational phase space, and I will present a simple toy model explaining this phenomenon at the high school level. This prediction was confirmed in a dozen laser experiments on molecules and resulted in an efficient tool for studies on collisional relaxation in dense molecular gases. The described mechanism of the rotational echo formation is rather general. It has implications in other areas of physics ranging from high harmonics generation in free-electron lasers to the spectroscopy of gravitational quantum states of ultra-cold neutrons, atoms, and anti-atoms bouncing in the Earth’s gravitational field.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, August 12, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-08-12T16:00:00
2021-08-12T17:00:00
Explaining Science Visually Using Graphics and YouTube
Event Information:
In this talk Dr Walliman shows how he uses graphics, illustration and animation to explain science on his popular YouTube channel Domain of Science. He explains his approach to science communication and his focus on context setting. For a case study he looks at the field of physics at three levels: the whole field, expanding in on quantum physics and finally looking at the fundamental particles of the standard model of particle physics.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Monday, August 9, 2021 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Event Location:
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2021-08-09T15:00:00
2021-08-09T16:00:00
Enabling Infrared Surveys of Galaxies with Innovative Imaging Spectrographs
Event Information:
Optical integral field (imaging) spectroscopic surveys of large numbers of galaxies are now becoming the norm. These surveys allow detailed studies of individual galaxies, which include their stellar/gas kinematics and stellar populations. With a sufficiently large sample, these types of observations are the best tools for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. However, similar surveys in the infrared remain challenging. There are two significant gaps that need to addressed: the rest-frame infrared has been untapped for nearby systems due to the lack of wide integral field infrared spectrographs (IFSes), and rest-frame optical observations of the distant universe have been limited to small samples from the lack of high angular resolution, highly multiplexed IFSes.
I will discuss two instruments that will directly address these gaps: one recently commissioned, the wide integral field infrared spectrograph (WIFIS), and another currently under construction, the Gemini Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph (GIRMOS). WIFIS is currently carrying out an infrared survey of nearby galaxies that studies their stellar populations (particularly their initial mass functions), star-formation, and kinematics, complementing existing optical surveys such as CALIFA and MaNGA. On the other hand, GIRMOS will be a multi-object IFS that takes advantage of the latest developments in adaptive optics and infrared spectroscopy. It will carry out large surveys of the distant universe by simultaneously observing multiple high-redshift galaxies, which will finally complement, in a similar scale, the integral field studies being done in the local universe.
Event Location:
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Event Time:
Thursday, August 5, 2021 | 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
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2021-08-05T16:00:00
2021-08-05T17:00:00
Statistics of Ambiguous Rotations
Event Information:
If an object is symmetric, then there are numerous equivalent ways to describe its orientation in space. For example, the lattice of a crystal with cubic symmetry can be mapped onto itself by 24 rotations. The statistics of the orientations of such objects, even exercises as simple as finding the average orientation, are made complicated by these symmetries.
Using examples from seismology and materials science, Richard Arnold will discuss the range of problems that arise when working with such ambiguous orientations. He will present new families of probability distributions and statistical tests associated with these objects.
Bio: https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/Richard.Arnold
Event Location:
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