January 19
Kathryn Levin
University of Chicago, James Franck Institute
High Tc Superconductivity: Into the Second Decade
This talk will start with an overview of where we are
in the field of high Tc superconductivity, today: what have we accomplished
and what are the major unsolved questions. Our improved understanding of
high Tc materials has led us to re-examine the most successful theory in
condensed matter physics: BCS theory, which works magnificently for conventional
superconductors and is clearly failing for high Tc systems (and probably
others as well). In the talk, I discuss how to adapt BCS theory for a wide
class of superconductors and what are the new thermodynamical signatures
of the non-BCS family. The field of high Tc superconductivity is at a very
exciting stage of development. Moreover, there are implications here which
will
enhance our general understanding of Bose-condensed systems.
Host: Batra
January 26
Research Opportunities in Condensed Matter Physics for
Graduate Students
Charles Rhodes - X-ray Lasers and Structure of Biological
Molecules
Siva Sivananthan - The Microphysics Lab
Mark Adams - Experimental High Energy Physics at UIC
Host: Marko
(note that there is a LAS faculty meeting this afternoon)
February 2
Francis Halzen, University of Wisconsin
The AMANDA South Pole Neutrino Telescope: First Light
We will discuss the performance of natural Antarctic
ice between 1 and 2 kilometer depths as a particle detector. We will present
a preliminary analysis of the first year of data from a neutrino telescope
which uses large volumes of ultra-transparent South Pole ice as a low-noise
particle detector sensing the Cherenkov light from neutrino-induced muons
and electrons. This instrument is monitoring the sky for neutrinos from
supernovae and gamma ray bursts. We are already performing a first search
for neutrino emission from the most energetic cosmic processes involving
pulsars, black holes, active galactic nuclei and the like. The detector
also has unique capabilities in searching for neutrino mass and dark matter.
We will argue however that a high energy neutrino telescope should ultimately
have an effective volume of order 1 kilometer cube and will present AMANDA's
ongoing and future expansion.
Host: Varelas
February 9
Zheng-Tian Lu
Argonne Natiional Laboratory
Atom Trap Trace Analysis
A new method of ultra-sensitive isotope trace analysis
has recently been developed. This method, named Atom Trap Trace Analysis
(ATTA), is based on the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms.
It has been used to count individual 85Kr and 81Kr
atoms present in a natural krypton gas sample with isotopic abundance in
the range of 10-11 and 10-13, respectively.
ATTA can be applied to many isotope tracers for a wide range of applications
in environmental sciences, technology of nuclear waste management, etc.,
as well as fundamental physics. In this talk, I will explain the
motivation, mechanism, and future prospect of ATTA.
Host: Marko
February 16
Arnold Bodmer
University of Illinois at Chicago
Hypernuclei: Strangeness in Nuclei
Hypernuclei are nuclei with one or more strange hyperons,
in particular lambda hyperons. The study of hypernuclei has been an active
branch of nuclear physics giving this a new dimension. I will give an introduction
to the properties of hypernuclei and to that of the related strong interactions.
I will present some of our recent calculations of the single-particle energies
of lambda hypernuclei. These are the first microscopic calculations for
this data and I will discuss some of our new results. I hope by this discussion
also to give something of the flavor of current approaches to many-body
calculations of nuclei.
Host: Varelas
February 23
NO COLLOQUIUM - FACULTY MEETING
March 1
Tom Economou
University of Chicago, Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics
The Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer on Mars Pathfinder
mission and some unexpected results of Martian rock composition
Abstract: Mars Pathfinder landed successfully on Mars
on 4th of July 1997 at Ares Vallis landing side and for three months
was sending back, among other things, fantastic multicolor stereo
panoramas and daily Mars weather forecasts that captivated the attention
of the general public worldwide. The litlle Sojourner rover was roaming
around the martian surface and enabling the APXS to analyze multiple
soil and rock samples. The activities on Mars during that period
will be described in details from a perspective of an insider. The
surprising results of the chemical composition of martian rocks obtained
by the APXS and their implications will be discussed.
Host: Varelas
March 8
Paul Granis, SUNY-Stony Brook
The Mysterious Standard Model of Elementary Particles
The Standard Model of particle physics successfully explains
and predicts many observed phenomena. But we believe it is
fundamentally flawed, and will be replaced by a more complete theory.
I review in this talk how we got the SM, how and why we expect it to change,
and the crucial experiments of the near term future.
Host: Varelas
March 15
NO COLLOQUIUM - SPRING BREAK
March 22
NO COLLOQUIUM - APS MARCH MEETING
March 29
Eric Siggia
Rockefeller University, Center for Studies in Physics
and Biology
Local Gauge Theory and the Yeast Genome
'Gene Chips' or DNA microarrays make it possible to measure
simultaneously the change in expression for all 6000 genes in yeast and
provide the data from which to construct models of their regulation.
One component of the regulatory process involves short 'key words' in the
genome and an algorithm based on statistical mechanical ideas has been
devised to isolate them. The combination of complete
genome sequences and gene chips furnishes large quantitative data sets
whose interpretation requires serious analysis and computation.
Host: Marko
April 5
Jaq Verbaarschot
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The Ubitquity of Random Matrix Theory
Since its introduction by Wigner to describe the statistical
properities
of nuclear levels, Random Matrix Theories have found
applications in all
branches of physics ranging from atomic physics to QCD
and quantum gravity.
We will review the basic ideas of Random Matrix Theory
and explain
its relation to classically chaotic motion. Its successes
will be
illustrated by experimental results for spectra of a
variety of
different physical systems. The concept of universality
will be
introduced to explain its ubiquity. Recent progress in
understanding chiral
symmetry in QCD in terms of Random Matrix Theory will
be discussed.
April 12
NO COLLOQUIUM
April 19
Ka Yee C. Lee
Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago
Collapse Mechanism in Model Lung Surfactant Systems
As the primary function of lung surfactant (LS) is to
reduce the work of breathing, LS should form a monolayer at the alveolar
air/water interface capable of lowering the surface tension to near zero
values upon expiration, and should respread readily upon inspiration. Both
these characteristic features of lung surfactant are limited by a two-
to three-dimensional instability called collapse. Using fluorescence, polarized
fluorescence, and Brewster angle microscopy for Langmuir monolayers at
the air-water interface, and atomic force microscopy for transferred samples
on solid support, we investigated the collapse mechanism of various mixed-lipid
systems, as well as model lung surfactant systems. Our findings show that
liquid-condensed or solid phase monolayers collapse via fracture followed
by loss of material, while liquid-expanded phase monolayers collapse by
solubilization into the subphase. However, monolayers that retain a continuous
liquid-expanded phase network surrounding islands of liquid-condensed or
solid phase collapse at low surface tensions via a localized, large amplitude
buckling. The buckled regions coexist with the flat monolayer, remain attached
to the interface, and reversibly reincorporate into the monolayer upon
expansion. This type of buckling transition has been observed in model
lung surfactant systems where the presence of lung surfactant proteins
SP-B and/or SP-C in simple phospholipid monolayers promote the protrusion
of folds into the subphase at high surface pressures (low surface tensions).
The morphology within the folds appear to be similar to that in the monolayer,
suggesting identical composition in both regions. The presence of the LS
proteins create a fluid protein-rich phase that separates the condensed
domains and persists to high surface pressure. This network of continuous
fluid phase seems to be prerequisite for the buckling transition to take
place. Without the LS proteins, an unsaturated lipid-rich phase is irreversibly
"squeezed-out" of the monolayer at high surface pressures. These surface-associated
reservoirs reconcile how lung surfactant can achieve both low surface tensions
upon compression and rapid respreading upon expansion, and are of immense
importance to the retention of biophysical properties of LS films at the
alveolar air-water interface.
April 26
Alan S. Edelstein
Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD 20783
Magnetic Sensors and Their Applications
The properties desired of magnetic sensors depend on the application. For some applications, sensitivity is the sole consideration, while for others, considerations of cost and power consumption dominate. A survey of a broad range of magnetic sensors, including giant magnetoresistance, spin dependent tunneling, MEMS, and 3 He magnetometer sensors, will be presented. Recent research has made considerable progress in increasing the sensitivity and decreasing the noise and cost of these new devices. If spin dependent tunneling sensors can be fabricated with half-metallic ferromagnets, like CrO2, then the magnetoresistance should be very large. Issues such as geomagnetic noise and communications also will be discussed. It is likely that geomagnetic noise can be largely removed from the data by using the fact that this noise has a great deal of spatial coherence.
May 3
NO COLLOQUIUM - FINALS WEEK
If you are driving, you can park in any of the public parking lots. Parking Lot 4 at the northwest corner of Halsted and Taylor is most convenient, although occasionally full. Speakers should ask their hosts for a parking validation sticker.
If you are arriving at O'Hare International Airport, you can travel to UIC directly by subway (CTA Blue Line). This costs $1.50, and takes you from inside the airport to the UIC-Halsted CTA Station (at Halsted and Harrison), a few blocks north of the department, in about 50 minutes. Alternatives include taxi (roughly $30 to downtown Chicago), or the Airport Express limosine, which can take you to the Quality Inn at Madison and Halsted (1/2 mile north of campus) for about $15.
If you are arriving at Midway Airport which is southwest of UIC, subway travel is possible (Orange Line to downtown, then change to the Blue Line), but it is much faster to take a taxi ($20).
Map
of UIC East Campus North of Taylor Street (shows Parking Lot 4 and UIC-Halsted
CTA Station)
Map
of UIC East Campus South of Taylor Street (shows SES Building and alternate
public parking)
MapQuestWeb
Map of UIC Area
