| Thursday, March 6, 2025 |
| Shake, rattle, and roll: waves, tides, and turbulence in stellar and planetary system | |
| Janosz Dewberry, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics | |
| Event Type: Astro Seminar | |
| Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM | |
| Location: 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar | |
| Abstract: Today, modern telescopes, planetary science missions, and gravitational wave experiments are collecting a large volume of precise data. Insights from these data are in turn accelerating advances toward accurate and efficient fluid dynamical models of stellar and planetary systems. For example, seismic waves in Saturn’s rings are changing our understanding of giant planets. Tides raised in Jupiter and Saturn similarly tell us about these planets’ structure and dynamics. Outside of our solar system, the interactions of exoplanets and stars both with each other and with their environments leave imprints in astronomical survey data. In this talk, I will describe research focused on developing improved, multidimensional models of planets, stars, and their environments that rise to the challenge and opportunity presented by modern astronomical observations. | |
| Testing Gravity at Ever Shorter Scale: A Trip into Exotic Experimental Physics | |
| Giorgio Gratta, Stanford University | |
| Event Type: Physics Dept Colloquium | |
| Time: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM | |
| Location: 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar | |
| Abstract: Since the times of Henry Cavendish and John Mitchell, the strength of gravity has been measured by comparing it to the reaction of a calibrated mechanical spring. While in the last 60 years planetary measurements (with natural and artificial bodies) have provided remarkable accuracy at large distance, measurements in the lab have continued to rely various incarnations of the good old mechanical springs, in many cases resulting in superb experiments and results. In this talk, I will explore a number of drastically different techniques recently developed specifically to tackle the short distance regime, where many theories suggest something exotic may be happening. This will be a trip into AMO and high resolution nuclear spectroscopy. While science results are gradually appearing, I hope to convince the audience that, as is often the case with new techniques, a new and exciting array of questions and applications are also emerging! | |