Astrophysics
25 October 2016
Physics Colloquia Series Presents: Dr Cait McPhee, University of Edinburgh, entitled 'Proteins as switchable Janus ellipsoids'
Janus particles are micro- or nano-scale particles whose surfaces have two or more distinct physical properties. Such asymmetry results in interesting self-assembly properties, but homogeneous Janus particles can be difficult to synthesize. The protein BslA (Bacterial Surface Layer A) is a small (~4 nm) protein produced by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis that has a hydrophilic ‘body’ to which is appended a surface-exposed hydrophobic ‘cap’.
25 October 2016
Physics Colloquia Series Presents: Professor Séamus Davis, Cornell University, entitled 'Visualizing Quantum Matter'
Everything around us, everything each of us has ever experienced, and virtually everything underpinning our technological society and economy is governed by quantum mechanics. Yet this most fundamental physical theory of nature often feels as if it is a set of somewhat eerie and counterintuitive ideas of no direct relevance to our lives. Why is this?
25 October 2016
Physics Colloquia Series Presents: LIGO Special by Professor Gabriela Gonzalez entitled 'Searching for - and finding! Gravitational Waves'
On September 14 2015, the two LIGO gravitational wave detectors in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana registered a nearly simultaneous signal with time-frequency properties consistent with gravitational-wave emission by the merger of two massive compact objects. Further analysis of the signals by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration revealed that the gravitational waves detected by LIGO came from the merger of a binary black hole system. This observation, followed by another one in December 2015, marked the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy.
22 September 2016
Colloquia Series Hilary Term 2017
The following lectures will be given at 3.30pm on Fridays in the Martin Wood Lecture Theatre, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road (unless otherwise stated). Tea will be served in the Physics Common Room at 4.30 pm.
The aim of the colloquia series is to share with members of the department the latest information on physics research and developments. Undergraduates, graduates, postdocs, faculty members and support staff are all encouraged to attend these lectures.
FineTuning Workshop - Dark Matter (s)
4th Workshop on the Physics of Fine Tuning
dark Matter(s)
September 8th 2016 2pm - 6pm
Denys Wilkinson Building
Leanne O'Donnell
01865 613 973
Leanne.Odonnell@physics.ox.ac.uk
Halley Lecture
This year's Halley Lecture will be delivered by Professor Scott Tremaine FRS, Richard Black Professor, School of Natural Sciences, IAS, Princeton University, on Wednesday 8th June 2016 @ 5pm in the Martin Wood Lecture Theatre.
Leanne O'Donnell 01865 613 973
Leanne.odonnell@physics.ox.ac.uk
Colloquia Series Trinity Term 2016: Lobanov- Rostovsky Lecture - Professor Raymond Pierrehumbert - “The origins and evolution of exoplanet astmospheres and oceans”
Atmospheres are dynamic entities, formed from the volatile substances that accrete when a planet is formed and later in its history, cooked out in the hot-high pressure interior of the planet, and exchanging with the interior through crustal processes (for planets which have a solid surface) or mixing into the deep interior (for fluid planets). Loss of atmosphere to space is also a major mechanism whereby the chemical composition of entire planets evolve.
Niámh Coll - Niamh.Coll@physics.ox.ac.uk
Colloquia Series Trinity Term 2016: Professor Bruce Remington - “Frontier Science on the National Ignition Facility (NIF)”
The combination of high energy density (HED) facilities around the world spanning microjoules to megajoules, with time scales ranging from femtoseconds to microseconds, enables new regimes of plasma science to be experimentally probed. The ability to shock and ramp compress samples at Mbar pressures and simultaneously probe them allows dense, strongly coupled, Fermi degenerate plasmas relevant to planetary interiors, as well as solid-state lattice dynamics and plastic flows, to be studied.
Niámh Coll - Niamh.Coll@physics.ox.ac.uk
The Physics of Fine Tuning - 3rd Workshop - Stars, Galaxies and the Multiverse
The 3rd Workshop in the Physics of Fine Tuning - Stars, Galaxies, and the Multiverse will be held in Trinity College on Thursday 12th May 2016 from 14:00 - 16:00.
Speakers:
John Peacock (Edinburgh)
Observer Selection and Fine-Tuning Puzzles in Cosmology
Joe Silk (Oxford, IAP; John Hopkins)
The Limits of Cosmology
Adrianne Slyz (Oxford)
How do Galaxies know when, where and how quickly to form stars?
Leanne O'Donnell
01865 613 973
Leanne.odonnell@physics.ox.ac.uk
The 12th Hintze Lecture
The 12th Hintze Lecture will be delivered by Professor Robert Kennicutt, Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge.
Title: Unveiling the Birth of Stars and Galaxies
Leanne O'Donnell
01865 613 973
Leanne.odonnell@physics.ox.ac.uk
