Colloquium

Host: Mukremin Kilic

Title: "Towards Habitable Worlds: Detailed Characterization of the Nearest Planetary Systems"

Abstract: Over the past thirty years, astronomers have made extraordinary progress in detecting planets around other stars. We now know that stars commonly host planets with a wider range of physical properties and system architectures than exist in our own solar system, and that planets likely outnumber stars in our galactic neighborhood. Now, planet detection and characterization technologies have advanced to the point that it should be possible to search for signs of life in the atmospheres of Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars within a few decades. These observations will give us our first glimpse at how common — or rare — life is in the universe. However, before we can carry out these observations and understand the implications for the abundance of life outside the Solar system, we must first find the nearest habitable planets to observe, learn their detailed properties, and refine our understanding of habitability. In this talk, I will describe my group’s work to fill in these knowledge gaps by developing new tools and methods to detect and characterize exoplanets. First, I will show how cutting-edge machine learning methods could help reveal the closest potentially habitable planets to Earth — ideal for biosignature searches in the 2040s. Next, I will show how we can learn about extrasolar geochemistry by studying planetary accretion onto white dwarf stars — allowing us to see whether geological processes important for habitability on Earth take place in other systems. And finally, I will describe our work to understand what happens to planets when stars run out of nuclear fuel and find out whether life can continue in a system after the host star’s death.

Host: Doerte Blume

Title: "Quantum simulation with ultracold atoms and ions"

Abstract: Quantum simulation is one of the pillars of Quantum Revolution 2.0. In analog quantum simulation, one uses a relatively simple and controllable quantum system to simulate a morecomplicated one, hence gaining valuable insights into the latter which are otherwise difficult toobtain. In recent years, AMO (atomic, molecular and optical) systems, which are amenable for exquisite control, have emerged as an powerful platform for quantum simulation. In this talk, I will use two examples to convince you that this is indeed the case. These examples illustrate the collaborations between my theory group and two of my Rice experimental groups. The first one explores some novel properties of one dimensional Fermi gas which has been a long-time interest in quantum many-body physics; the second one concerns simulating excitontransfer models which are relevant in many chemical or bio-physical materials.

Hosts: Doerte Blume and Grant Biedermann

Title: "Precollege Quantum Information Science and Technology Education in the International Year of Quantum"

Abstract: There is an international imperative for quantum information science and technology (QIST) workforce development in response to rapidly expanding technological advancements. Precollege QIST educational outreach is one way to promote interest and excitement among high school students as they develop career aspirations and decide upon their academic pathways to post-secondary study and the workforce. This talk will focus upon a university-based outreach for high school students and teachers in the Long Island/New York City region. This National Science Foundation-funded project, Quantum Education for Students and Teachers, has provided professional learning for 68 teachers and summer camp and one-day immersive activities for 410 high school students since its inception in 2022. The program was designed and implemented by a quantum theorist, a quantum experimentalist, and a physics education researcher. The vertically structured conceptual design educates students and teachers in classical physics, quantum physics, and quantum computing principles and skills. Assessment data indicated knowledge growth in all three domains, as well as attitudinal gains in QIST pedagogical self-efficacy in teachers and QIST career aspiration development in students. Ongoing efforts to facilitate grassroots efforts in precollege QIST informal and formal education during the 2025 International Year of Quantum will also be discussed.

Host: Mike Santos

Title: "Atoms, molecules, and electromagnetic fields"

Abstract: The interaction of electromagnetic fields with atoms and molecules is of fundamental importance in physics, chemistry, and biology. The tremendous progress within the field of atomic, molecular, and optical physics over the past decades, e.g., hinges critically on the slowing and trapping of atoms and molecules by electromagnetic fields. This talk will highlight a few examples where electromagnetic fields are being utilized to trap atoms, to probe atoms with atomic resolution, or to prepare molecular wave packets that subsequently undergo intricate ro-vibrational dynamics.

Host: Doerte Blume

Title: "Exploring Synthetic Quantum Matter with Superconducting Circuits"

Abstract: One of the central challenges in modern physics is to understand how quantum entanglement shapes the behavior of many interacting particles, especially in systems that are open to their surroundings or driven far from equilibrium. We approach this challenge using quantum simulators built from superconducting circuits. By arranging superconducting qubits and resonators into carefully designed arrays, these circuits act as synthetic materials where we can explore new phases of quantum matter. In this talk, I will describe our recent experiments to both control and probe collective quantum behavior in such systems. I will first show how engineered interactions with the environment can be harnessed to autonomously create and stabilize entangled states. I will then introduce new methods we developed to probe these synthetic materials, including in-situ measurements of quantum transport and tunneling spectroscopy. Together, these results open new possibilities for creating, manipulating, and observing complex quantum phases and dynamics in the laboratory.

Bio: Alex Ruichao Ma received his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 2014, where he studied many-body physics using ultracold atoms in optical lattices. From 2015 to 2019, he worked on superconducting qubits for quantum simulation as a Kadanoff-Rice Postdoctoral Fellow at the James Franck Institute, University of Chicago. In 2019, Alex joined Purdue University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. His experimental group focuses on quantum many-body physics and quantum information science using superconducting circuits. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award in 2022.

Host: Nikki Nielsen

Title: "The Long, Winding Road to Developing Europa-Relevant Optical Constants"

Abstract: The long, winding road to developing Europa-relevant optical constants began shortly after graduating from OU (Boomer Sooner!) and starting my doctoral studies of Europa’s surface water ice crystallinity (the fraction of crystalline vs. amorphous phase water ice). Water ice crystallinity can help to inform which processes may be occurring at the surface and sub-surface – which is particularly exciting for an object in our Solar System thought to be potentially habitable for life. After exploring the crystallinity and overall composition of Europa’s surface in graduate school, my career trajectory took me not toward a postdoc or faculty position as is often expected, but rather to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, where I began looking into optical constants – wavelength-dependent real and imaginary indices of refraction which describe how light interacts with a given material. This talk explores the path that led to my current research in Europa-relevant optical constants, and probes a potential alternative for students interested in exploring careers that are neither in industry nor academia.

Host: Kuver Sinha

Title: "Seeking Hidden Dynamics Across Frontiers"

Abstract: New physics beyond the standard model is highly anticipated, especially by dark matter and the recently discovered Higgs boson considerations. With the successful exploration and new knowledge from various particle physics experiments, weakly-coupled new physics through various portals bear great potential for discovery but also pose significant challenges. In this colloquium, I present a general consideration of possible complex dark sector structure, which couples to the SM through feebly coupled messenger fields. These messenger field considerations define new goals for particle physics and motivate new ideas in searching for them from large-scale experiments to small-scale experiments. The searches for hidden sector dynamics grow rapidly and spread across different frontiers of particle physics. I will present several exciting new ideas and discuss the future perspectives in this active research area of dark sector messenger hunting.

Host: Bruno Uchoa

Title: "A Brief History of Quantum Magnetism"

Abstract: I will describe major developments in the field of quantum magnetism, from Bethe’s wavefunction for the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic chain, the Haldane gap, valence bond solids and symmetry protected topological phases, and (hopefully) Kitaev spin liquids. This field has been one of the most consequential within condensed matter physics over the past 40 years.

No colloquium this week!

Host: Venky Venkatesan

Title: "Extreme Manipulation of Light with Metamaterials and Metasurfaces"

Abstract: "Optical metamaterials and metasurfaces are dielectric or metal (plasmonic) nanostructures and surfaces patterned on a deep subwavelength scale to allow unprecedented tailoring of the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic radiation.  Their ability to achieve versatile control of light with an ultra-compact, “flat” form factor is enabling a new generation of photonic elements beyond conventional refractive or diffractive approaches, with rapidly emerging applications in areas as diverse as imaging, navigation, sensing, and quantum computing.  In this talk I will describe past and ongoing research of our group on the design, nanofabrication, and characterization of a diverse array of meta-devices tailored for operation in spatial, spectral, and temporal domains, including at fast (femtosecond) timescales, short (UV) or long (mid-IR) wavelengths, or under highly resonant conditions.  Metasurface applications under active development exploration include integrated plasmonic molecular spectroscopy  and trapped ion quantum computing.  On a more fundamental level, I’ll discuss some of the counterintuitive physics enabled or revealed through our exploration of metal-dielectric composite metamaterials, such as negative refraction, negative radiation pressure, or reverse photon drag - where the transfer of photon momentum to the free electrons of a metal is experienced as a pull."

Bio: Henri Lezec is a NIST Fellow and Project Leader at the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. He received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has held research positions at NEC Fundamental Research Laboratories (Tsukuba, Japan), FEI Corporation (Hillsboro, OR), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, Strasbourg, France), and the California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, CA). Henri's research at PML focuses on nanoplasmonics, nanophotonics, metamaterials, and nanofabrication with focused ion beams. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and a co-recipient of the 2012 Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics.

Host: Kuver Sinha

Title: "Neutrino Facilities as New-Physics Machines"

Abstract: Ever since the discovery of neutrino masses from the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations, the race to understand neutrino properties has evolved dramatically. Within the context of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, neutrinos are massless -- the observation of oscillations requires physics beyond the SM (BSM). In this talk, I will highlight the many ways in which present-day (and near-future) neutrino experiments are searching for BSM physics. This includes a suite of experiments -- SBN -- currently collecting data at Fermilab, and the planned long-baseline neutrino experiment DUNE, sending neutrinos from Fermilab to South Dakota. With preparation, a number of discoveries -- from explanations of neutrino masses to disconnected models regarding dark matter -- could await!

Host: Joe Tischler

Title: "Bioelectronics – Technology Interfaces with Biology"

Abstract: Advanced electronic/optoelectronic technologies designed to allow stable, intimate integration with living organisms will accelerate progress in biomedical research; they will also serve as the foundations for new approaches in monitoring and treating diseases.  Specifically, capabilities for injecting miniaturized, biocompatible electronic systems and other components into soft tissues or for softly laminating them onto the surfaces of vital organs will open up unique and important opportunities in tracking and manipulating biological activity.  This presentation describes the core concepts in electrical engineering, materials science and system design that underpin these types of technologies, including bioresorbable, or ‘transient’, devices engineered to disappear into the body on timescales matched to natural processes.  The content also includes examples of successful translation of these technologies out of an academic setting and into medical deployments with regulatory approval at a global scale – including resource constrained locations in lower and middle income countries. Examples range from skin-like devices for health monitoring to bioelectronic ‘medicines’ for neuroregeneration and temporary cardiac pacing.

Host: Mukremin Kulic

Title: "Probes of Dark Matter from the Galactic Center to the Earth’s Core"

Abstract: The Galactic Center gamma-ray excess revealed by Fermi-LAT and characterized by Daylan et al. (2016) remains one of the most enigmatic anomalies in astrophysics. This diffuse, spherically symmetric emission peaking at 1–3 GeV shows a morphology remarkably consistent with expectations for dark-matter annihilation in the inner Milky Way halo, while remaining consistent with unresolved millisecond pulsar emission. Considering dark matter capture by the Earth, Cappiello and Daylan (2025) recently suggested that the heat from the annihilation of captured dark matter would melt the Earth's solid core in a "dark inferno", thereby placing stricter limits on the dark matter scattering cross section. In this colloquium, I will discuss several links between galactic and terrestrial scales within a unified framework for dark matter searches. Then, I will present my team’s recent work on preparatory data simulation pipeline development and yield prediction for NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, whose unprecedented combination of large field of view, survey depth, and cadence will enable us to search for gravitational strong lenses as a probe of dark matter substructure across cosmic time as well as searches for infrared excess from exoplanets due to potential heating by dark matter.

Host: Chung Kao

Title: "Artificial Intelligence in Physics; Then, Now, and Tomorrow"

Abstract: Visionaries have long dreamed of a world populated with artificial beings with cognitive abilities that match or exceed our own. While those dreams have yet to be realized, there is no question that over the past twenty years significant advances in machine learning have yielded systems that exhibit capabilities which in a human would be described as intelligent, albeit of a very strange kind. Starting from a position of  enormous skepticism among particle physicists in the early 1990s to one of full embrace today, artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly changing the practice, and perhaps even the nature, of physics research more broadly. In this talk, I trace the development of machine-learning-based AI, how it has been and is being used in physics, with a focus on high-energy physics, and what the future of AI-driven physics research might look like.

Host: Mukremin Kulic

Title: "Afterlives of Planetary Systems"

Abstract: The lives of stars and their planetary systems are intertwined. Born from the same parent molecular cloud, planets are beholden to the properties of their host stars. While the star is in its stable, “main sequence,” core hydrogen-burning configuration, planets experience relatively consistent conditions. But after central hydrogen becomes depleted, hydrogen fusion moves outward and helium fusion can begin. During this post-main-sequence phase, stars expand into “red giants” that engulf their innermost planets. Exoplanets within the future engulfment radius are very common. In the Solar System, Mercury and Venus will be engulfed, and I will show what is predicted for Earth and asteroids, using current stellar evolution models and new dynamical simulations. After the red giant phase, the remnant of the host star is an Earth-sized “white dwarf.” I will show dynamical calculations of planet and asteroid orbits around white dwarfs and discuss observational properties of planetary systems during this “afterlife” phase. This includes planetary debris disks around the white dwarf, pollution of the white dwarf’s atmosphere with heavy elements, surviving exoplanets. It also includes a diaspora of comets lost when the host star loses mass or liberated by other nearby stars. These interstellar comets are a direct consequence planetary system evolution, offering opportunities to sample planetary material from other stars.