Colloquium - 2016/2017

Colloquium, année 2016 - 2017

Tous les jeudis à 13h30 en salle Conf. IV au 24 rue Lhomond, Paris.

Hydrodynamics and quantum anomalies

Đàm Thanh Sơn (University of Chicago) — June 29 Abstract : Hydrodynamics, the theory describing collective behaviors of fluids and gases, is usually considered as a classical theory. In recent years, it has been found that hydrodynamics can be (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

What can we do with genes in medicine ?

The case of immunology

Alain Fischer (Collège de France) — June 15 Abstract : Over the last 50 years, advances in molecular biology and genetics have made genome engineering possible. This resulted, amongst many applications, in the medical development of gene (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Modeling solids and its impact on science and technology

Marvin L. Cohen (University of California at Berkeley & 
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) — Tuesday June 6, 1:30 p.m. in Conf. IV !! UNUSUAL DAY : TUESDAY JUNE 6 AT 1:30 P.M. IN CONF. IV !! Abstract : For modeling solids in (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

The physics of exceptional points

Stefan Rotter (TU Vienna) — June 1st Abstract : In my talk I will discuss the recent exciting developments associated with non-Hermitian degeneracies, also known as “exceptional points”. After having been studied mostly in the domain of (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

The Nobel prize in Physics 2016 : Topological phases of matter

Jean-Noël Fuchs (Laboratoire de Physique des solides, Orsay ; Laboratoire de Physique théorique de la matière condensée, UPMC) — May 18 Abstract : Last year’s Nobel prize in physics was awarded to Kosterlitz, Thouless and Haldane for their (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

The ocean : A turbulent control system for the Earth’s climate

Sabrina Speich (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, ENS) — May 11 Abstact : Today, we can consider the ocean as the key component of the climate system. Because of its ability to take up heat and absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics and time-correlations for one-dimensional systems

Herbert Spohn (Technical University, Munich) — May 4 Abstract : Our focus are non-integrable classical systems in one dimension, like Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chains, the discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation, and 1D fluids interacting through a (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Collective effects in transport systems : From molecular motors to pedestrians

Cécile Appert-Rolland (Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, Université Paris-Sud) — April 20 Abstract : Transport systems often rely on self-propelled agents. At our scale, these agents can be pedestrians or vehicles. But we also find self-propelled (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Probing and controlling ultracold quantum matter with ultracold atoms

— from single atom microscopes to Rydberg dressed quantum gases —

Immanuel Bloch (Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Munich) — March 30 Biography : Professor Immanuel Bloch is managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich. His research is focused on the investigation of (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Nanotechnology for single-molecule and single-cell biophysics

Cees Dekker (Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology) — March 23 !! UNSUAL TIME : 2:00 P.M. !! Abstract : Nanotechnology offers fantastic opportunities to contribute to biology. I will present two recent examples (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Undecidability in physics… and its consequences

David Pérez-García (Universidad Complutense, Madrid) — March 16 Abstract : The pioneering work of Goedel and Turing in the 30s showed that there exist problems in mathematics and computer science that cannot be solved. They are called (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Electron and lattice dynamics in solids mapped by ultrafast x-ray methods

Thomas Elsaesser (Max Born Institute, Berlin) — March 9 Abstract : Time-resolved structure research aims at revealing the basic mechanisms behind the spatial re-arrangement of atoms and the re-distribution of electrons. X-ray diffraction and (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Pluto revealed by the New Horizons spacecraft... and numerical modeling

François Forget (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris) — March 2 Abstract : On July, 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by the planetary system composed of Pluto, Charon and four small satellites. (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Looking for the hidden matter in the Universe

Marco Cirelli (LPTHE, Université Pierre et Marie Curie) — February 2, 2017 Abstract : Dark Matter constitutes more than 80% of the total amount of matter in the Universe : we know it exists, we can guess some of its properties, but we have no (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

On Effective Field Theory (and a little bit of Differential Geometry) in Cosmology

Leonardo Senatore (Stanford University) — January 26, 2017 Abstract : Observational Cosmology has made tremendous progress in the last couple of decades, allowing us to explore the beginning of the universe with unprecedented precision. Such (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Shortcuts to adiabaticity

David Guéry-Odelin (Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse) — January 19, 2017 Abstract : In quantum physics, adiabatic processes keep constant the populations in the instantaneous eigenbasis of a time-dependent Hamiltonian. They are very useful (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Earthquakes ! In the laboratory...

Alexandre Schubnel (Laboratoire de Géologie, ENS) — January 12, 2017 Abstract : Because earthquakes are spectacular examples of uncontrollable catastrophes, the opportunity to study them under controlled conditions is unique and is, in fact, (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Images, robots and humans. Visit into a patient-driven inter-disciplinary research domain

Jocelyne Troccaz (TIMC-IMAG, Grenoble) — December 15, 2016 !! UNSUAL TIME : 2:00 P.M. !! Abstract : Computer-Assisted Medical Interventions (CAMI) aim at providing clinicians with assistive tools for improved diagnostic or therapeutic (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

The hydrogen atom for quantum gravity

Gerard ’t Hooft (Utrecht University, the Netherlands) — December 8, 2016 !! UNUSUAL LOCATION : SALLE DUSSANE, 45 RUE D’ULM !! Abstract : Three important insights are needed to understand quantum black holes, conservation of information, (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Prix des Trois Physiciens : The Single Molecule Game

Vincent Croquette (LPS, ENS) — November 24, 2016 — Award ceremony and special seminar by the 2016 recipient of the "Prix des Trois Physiciens". Abstract : We shall recall how single DNA molecules can be manipulated using small magnets and their (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Quantum simulations : from condensed matter to high energy models

Ignacio Cirac (Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Munich) — November 17, 2016 Abstract : Many-body quantum systems are very hard to describe and simulate in general, since the dimension of the state space grows exponentially with the number (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

The hunt for a quantum algorithm for Graph Isomorphism

Cristopher Moore (Santa Fe Institute, USA) — October 20, 2016 Abstract : Of all the interfaces between physics and computer science that have grown up in the last few decades, quantum computing is one of the most exciting. Much of this (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Understanding old masters’ painting techniques

Laurence de Viguerie (Laboratoire d’Archéologie Moléculaire et Structurale, Paris) — October 13, 2016 Abstract : Nicolas Poussin once wrote ``I have neglected nothing”. When it comes to understanding past painting techniques, or optimizing the (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Atomic force microscopy provides new vistas for nano- and picoscience

Franz J. Giessibl (University of Regensburg, Germany
) — October 6, 2016 Abstract : Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) image surfaces with atomic resolution enable local spectroscopies such as of current versus (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Gravitational Waves : Theory, Sources and Detections (2/2)

Department Lecture

Alexandre Le Tiec (LUTh, Observatoire de Paris) — September 15 and September 22, 2016 This Seminar is the second part of the yearly Department Lecture The first part is accessible here. Abstract : A century ago, Albert Einstein (...) | ↦ Lire la suite

Gravitational Waves : Theory, Sources and Detections (1/2)

Department Lecture

Alexandre Le Tiec (LUTh, Observatoire de Paris) — September 15 and September 22, 2016. This Seminar is the first part of the yearly Department Lecture. The second part is accessible here. Abstract : A century ago, Albert Einstein (...) | ↦ Lire la suite