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Bard Physics Program

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Bard College Astronomer Shuo Zhang and Undergraduate Student Rose Xu Discover New X-ray Flares from the Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole Sgr A*

Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang and Bard mathematics and dance major Rose Xu ’23 were invited by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to present their most recent findings on new x-ray flares from the now inactive supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Their talk, “Detection of Seven High-Energy X-ray Flares from the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole,” was presented at the 241st AAS press conference on January 12 in person in Seattle and virtually.

Bard College Astronomer Shuo Zhang and Undergraduate Student Rose Xu Discover New X-ray Flares from the Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole Sgr A*

Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang and Bard mathematics and dance major Rose Xu ’23 were invited by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to present their most recent findings on new x-ray flares from the now inactive supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Their talk, “Detection of Seven High-Energy X-ray Flares from the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole,” was presented at the 241st AAS press conference on Thursday, January 12 from 5:15pm to 6:15pm ET, in person in Seattle and virtually via Zoom and YouTube livestream. For more information about the 241st AAS press conference, click here.

The center of the Milky Way galaxy harbors the nearest supermassive black hole Sgr A* to Earth, with forty million times the mass of the Sun. Although being in an inactive status nowadays, Sgr A* demonstrates mysterious flares almost every single day, which could come from magnetic phenomena. We are sitting in the front row of these cosmic fireworks. Using 2 Ms data from NASA’s NuSTAR X-ray telescope, our math senior Rose Xu, working with Bard physics professor Shuo Zhang, has discovered seven new hard X-ray flares that took place between 2016 and 2022. This new result doubled the current database of bright Sgr A* X-ray flares, and can help to answer long-standing questions in flare physics, such as: What are the physical mechanisms behind Sgr A* flare? Do bright flares and faint flares share the same origin? 

Watch the Presentation at the American Astronomical Society Press Conference

“Astronomers are in the exhilarating process of revealing the physical conditions at the vicinity of our own supermassive black hole, which I couldn’t imagine myself being involved in before meeting professor Shuo Zhang. Solving practical problems from a liberal arts perspective is a skill that I am grateful to gain here at Bard College,” said Xu.
 

Post Date: 01-17-2023

Bard Physics Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Coauthors New Research on How the James Webb Space Telescope Impacts Our Understanding of Planetary Atmospheres

Assistant Professor of Physics Clara Sousa-Silva has published a new study, “The impending opacity challenge in exoplanet atmospheric characterization,” in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy. “We find ourselves in the extraordinary situation where the incredible engineering of James Webb Space Telescope has resulted in the data collected from distant planets outcompeting our ability to interpret what we are seeing,” says Sousa-Silva. 

Bard Physics Professor Clara Sousa-Silva Coauthors New Research on How the James Webb Space Telescope Impacts Our Understanding of Planetary Atmospheres

Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Clara Sousa-Silva has published a new study, “The impending opacity challenge in exoplanet atmospheric characterization,” in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy. The paper is led by graduate student Prajwal Niraula (MIT), and coauthored by Julien de Wit (MIT), Iouli E Gordon (Harvard), Robert Hargreaves (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Clara Sousa-Silva (Bard), and Roman Kochanov (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian). Their research suggests that the current tools astronomers use to analyze data received from space telescopes may not be precise enough to accurately decode the unprecedented clarity of light-signals captured through next-generation observatories, including the extremely powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launched by NASA in December 2021. 

“We find ourselves in the extraordinary situation where the incredible engineering of JWST has resulted in the data collected from distant planets outcompeting our ability to interpret what we are seeing,” says Sousa-Silva. 

Astronomers rely on ‘opacity models,’ which interpret how matter interacts with light, to describe and predict the physical properties of astronomical objects. This new study used existing opacity models to analyze spectral data collected from JWST and to look at the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres—predicting atmospheric temperature, pressure, and elemental composition. The researchers warned that for each possible atmospheric signal from an exoplanet, multiple interpretations could be made with current models and fundamental molecular inputs. The imprecision from these models means that data from an alien atmosphere could be misinterpreted. The implications of such misinterpretations include our understanding of whether an exoplanet could support life or not.

“There is a scientifically significant difference between a compound like water being present at 5 percent versus 25 percent, which current models cannot differentiate,” says study coauthor Julien de Wit.

The authors show how the limits of our knowledge on light–matter interactions (i.e. opacity models) will affect our exploration of exoplanetary atmospheres. “Accounting for these limits will prevent biased claims,” they write. “Guided improvements in opacity models, their standardization and dissemination will ensure maximum return on investment from the next-generation observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope.” Their findings call for an investment in improved laboratory and theoretical data on atmospheric molecules, and development of more precise opacity models.
Read more on Space.com
Read more on Cnet.com

Post Date: 09-18-2022

Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Receives NASA Grant for Research on Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole Sgr A*

Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang has received a $91,933 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in support of her investigation, “Joint NuSTAR and EHT Probe of SgrA*: Flares, Black Hole Shadows, a New Hard X-Ray Source.” “Among all the fascinating science one can pursue via a joint X-ray and EHT observations of our own supermassive black hole, the physics behind mysterious daily Sgr A* flares is the jewel in the crown that astronomers have been pursuing. I am proud of our own students, physics major Nathalie Jones ’21, dance and mathematics major Rose Xu ’23, and physics major Grace Sanger-Johnson ’23, who have contributed to this exciting project.” says Zhang.

Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Receives NASA Grant for Research on Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole Sgr A*

Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang has received a $91,933 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in support of her investigation, “Joint NuSTAR and EHT Probe of SgrA*: Flares, Black Hole Shadows, a New Hard X-Ray Source.” The NASA grant supports Zhang’s investigation, which includes the engagement of a postdoctoral researcher, three undergraduate research assistants, equipment, and travel. As the joint observation involves the international Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, coinvestigators on this project come from around the globe including Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan. 

NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is a space telescope that detects high-energy X-ray light and studies some of the most energetic objects and processes in the universe. The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is an international collaboration capturing images of black holes using a virtual Earth-sized telescope. Zhang’s investigation proposes an observation of Sgr A*, the now inactive supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. This research aims to capture bright X-ray flares from Sgr A* and feed this result to the EHT analysis. A secondary goal is to study a mysterious X-ray source located at merely three light years from Sgr A*.

“Among all the fascinating science one can pursue via a joint X-ray and EHT observations of our own supermassive black hole, the physics behind mysterious daily Sgr A* flares is the jewel in the crown that astronomers have been pursuing. I am proud of our own students, physics major Nathalie Jones ’21, dance and mathematics major Rose Xu ’23, and physics major Grace Sanger-Johnson ’23, who have contributed to this exciting project.” says Zhang.

This NASA grant supports the training and involvement of three Bard undergraduate research assistants who will work on the preparation and analysis of the new data during the summer of 2023. Under Zhang’s supervision, the Bard students will study NuSTAR data analysis pipeline, X-ray spectral and image analysis softwares, and will contribute to data preparation.

Since 2019, Zhang has received five grants from NASA for her astrophysics research, totaling more than $331,000 in NASA funding to date.

Post Date: 08-08-2022
More Alumni/ae News
  • Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Antonios Kontos Receives $210,000 Grant from the National Science Foundation to Support Research in Measuring Gravitational Waves

    Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Antonios Kontos Receives $210,000 Grant from the National Science Foundation to Support Research in Measuring Gravitational Waves

    Bard College has received a $210,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in support of Assistant Professor of Physics Antonios Kontos’s proposal “Research in Light Scattering Metrology for Gravitational Wave Optics.” The three-year NSF grant supports his continuing research, summer research assistants, and equipment. All research projects are to be carried out with the engagement of Bard undergraduate and local area high school students, who will be hired as summer research assistants, and provide opportunities to gain invaluable experience in pursuing careers in technology and academia.

    “This NSF grant will ensure that Bard continues to contribute to the fascinating new field of gravitational wave astronomy and that our students will continue to engage in cutting edge research in optics,” says Kontos.

    The NSF award supports Kontos’s research in gravitational wave (GW) detector instrumentation, one of the most important leaps in scientific progress in recent years. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Antenna (LIGO) project has given scientists the ability to observe the universe in a completely new way. Unlike conventional telescopes which use the light emitted by stars and galaxies to learn their properties and their place in the universe, GW detectors use gravitational waves which are similarly emitted by many astrophysical objects.

    Gravitational-waves are ripples in spacetime that travel to Earth, and cause the detectors to essentially change in size. To do that, the LIGO detectors require state-of-the-art mirrors, which are used to sense the stretching of space. Improvements in mirror design will allow observers to look further into space, and detect more of these GW signals. 

    Kontos’s proposed project will aid in pushing the mirror technology, by utilizing light scattering as a tool to study mirror coatings. Specifically, an important aspect of mirror quality is the presence of defects which scatter light and inhibit the operation of the LIGO detectors. Defects may sometimes develop on the mirror surface with time, but the process is not always understood. This research project is designed to study defects on mirrors so that we can ultimately improve LIGO’s sensitivity and improve our understanding of space, time, matter, energy, and their interactions. 

    Post Date: 06-07-2022
  • Bard College Appoints Beate Liepert as Visiting Professor of Environmental and Urban Studies and Physics in the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing

    Bard College Appoints Beate Liepert as Visiting Professor of Environmental and Urban Studies and Physics in the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing

    Bard College’s Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing is pleased to announce the appointment of Beate Liepert as Visiting Professor of Environmental and Urban Studies and Physics. Professor Liepert, who joined the Bard faculty in January 2022, focuses on environmental physics, with a specific research goal of pursuing local solutions to the global issue of climate change. Her research interests include micrometeorology, air pollution, and community-based science.

    Dr. Beate Liepert is a climate scientist who pioneered research on the phenomenon of “global dimming,” a decline in the amount of sun reaching the Earth’s surface, which has implications on the planet’s water and carbon cycles. She comes to Bard from the Seattle area, where she worked for and founded start-ups in the clean tech and insure tech fields, and was a lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Seattle University. The start-ups included CLIWEN LLC, a climate, energy, and weather consulting concern; and Lumen LLC, a company that developed design solutions for solar cells. She also served as a research scientist at True Flood Risk LLC in New York, NorthWest Research Associates in Seattle, and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Her work centers on basic questions of climate variability, from interannual to centennial time scales. Research interests also include taking measurements of aerosols and solar radiation and investigating climate effects on ecosystems.

    Additional activities have included serving as editor for Environmental Research Letters, a UK-based journal; proposal review panelist and proposal reviewer for the National Science Foundation; presenting at more than 50 international conferences and university colloquia; and authoring reviews and articles for journals including Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Climate, Frontiers, International Journal of Climatology, Nature, Science, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, and Global and Planetary Change, among many others. She has been interviewed on CNN and numerous international TV broadcasts; was a featured scientist in the BBC documentary Dimming the Sun, which also aired on PBS; and was profiled in a “Talk of the Town” essay in the New Yorker. Professor Liepert is the recipient of the 2016 WINGS World Quest “Women of Discovery” Earth Award and in 2015 she delivered a Distinguished Scientist Lecture at Bard on “Dimming the Sun: How Clouds and Air Pollution Affect Global Climate.”

    Diploma, Institute of Meteorology and Institute of Bioclimatology and Air Pollution Research, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich; Doctor rer. nat., Institute of Meteorology, Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians University; postdoctoral research scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University; certificate program in fine arts, Parsons School of Design.

    Post Date: 04-13-2022
  • Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Presents Research on Supermassive Black Hole at 2022 American Astronomical Society Press Conference

    Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Presents Research on Supermassive Black Hole at 2022 American Astronomical Society Press Conference

    Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang has been invited by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to present her most recent research on how surrounding molecular gas clouds offer insight into the activity history of Sgr A*, the now inactive supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Zhang’s talk, “Galactic Center Molecular Clouds: Storytellers of Past Outburst of the Galactic Center Supermassive Black Hole,” is being presented at a virtual AAS press conference to be held on Tuesday, January 11 from 4:15pm to 5:15pm ET via Zoom. For more information about the virtual press conference, click here.

    Though inactive nowadays, traces of a glorious past of Sgr A* can be found in the surrounding molecular gas clouds, which reflect incoming X-ray emission from Sgr A* up to a few hundred years ago. Therefore, by studying X-ray emission from molecular clouds at different distances from Sgr A*, we can reconstruct the activity history of Sgr A* in the past few centuries. Shuo Zhang and her post-bac researcher Nathalie Jones ’21 have focused their study on a particular Galactic center molecular cloud, the “Bridge”. Their analysis on archival data by the NuSTAR telescope during 2012-2020, and the XMM-Newton telescope data during 2000-2020 clearly demonstrates an epic 20-year-long X-ray brightening of the “Bridge” molecular cloud, making it currently the brightest diffuse feature in the Sgr A* complex region. Continuous monitoring of this molecular cloud and capturing its peak luminosity will tell us how luminous Sgr A* used to be a couple dozen years ago, which is essential to understand the activity cycle of supermassive black holes. This project is supported by NASA NuSTAR Guest Observation grant #80NSSC20K0035.

    “It is amazing to have these molecular gas clouds as storytellers of past activities of the monster black hole in the center of our Galaxy,” says Zhang. 

    About the Annual Conference of the American Astronomical Society
    The American Astronomical Society is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America, with a membership of 7,700 individuals with research and educational interests in astronomical sciences. The 239th meeting is the 2022 winter annual American Astronomical Society conference, which brings together the International astronomer community and shares the most recent discoveries and results in astronomy. Though the major meeting was canceled due to COVID situation, the press conference will take place virtually as planned.

    Post Date: 01-11-2022
  • Bard College Appoints Astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva to Tenure Track Faculty Position in Physics Program, Effective Spring 2022

    Bard College Appoints Astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva to Tenure Track Faculty Position in Physics Program, Effective Spring 2022

    Bard College is pleased to announce that Clara Sousa-Silva has been appointed to a tenure track faculty position in the Physics Program. Sousa-Silva will join the faculty of the College in spring 2022 as a full-time assistant professor of physics in the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing. Sousa-Silva is a quantum astrochemist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. She investigates how molecules interact with light so that they can be detected on faraway worlds. Sousa-Silva’s July 2021 TED talk, “The Fingerprints of Life Beyond Earth,” is featured on the front page of the TED website.

    About Clara Sousa-Silva
    Clara Sousa-Silva spends most of her time studying molecules that life can produce so that, one day, she can detect an alien biosphere. Her favorite molecular biosignature is phosphine: a terrifying gas associated with mostly unpleasant life. When she is not deciphering exoplanet atmospheres, Sousa-Silva works hard to persuade the next generation of scientists to become an active part of the astronomical community.

    Sousa-Silva holds a doctoral degree in quantum chemistry from the University College London, and a masters degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Among her many achievements, Sousa-Silva is the recipient of the prestigious 51 b Pegasi Fellowship from the Heising Simons Foundation. The fellowship supports the growing field of planetary astronomy and exceptional postdoctoral scientists who make unique contributions to the field of astronomy. Her work and commentary has been featured in the BBC, WIRED, and the New York Times, among many others. Prior to joining the Center for Astrophysics, Sousa-Silva served as a research scientist at MIT.

    About Bard College
    Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
    # # #
    (8/31/21)
     

    Post Date: 08-30-2021
  • Bard Physicist Hal Haggard Coauthors New Study on Fast Spacetime Dynamics in Quantum Gravity

    Bard Physicist Hal Haggard Coauthors New Study on Fast Spacetime Dynamics in Quantum Gravity

    Dynamics has altered forever the once static arenas of space and time. Physicists have even measured spacetime deform and undulate as gravitational waves propagate away from colliding black holes. Regrettably, these dynamics have incompletely invaded the discrete, granular world of quantum gravity. In a new study in Physical Review Letters, Haggard, together with colleagues Seth Asante and Bianca Dittrich of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, uses computer simulations to show that dynamical grains of space can be built up into a complete picture of a small but evolving quantum spacetime.
    Read more in Physical Review Letters

    Post Date: 12-06-2020
  • Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Discusses Her Research on Galactic Center Filaments at American Astronomical Society Press Conference

    Bard Physics Professor Shuo Zhang Discusses Her Research on Galactic Center Filaments at American Astronomical Society Press Conference

    Bard College Assistant Professor of Physics Shuo Zhang discussed her current research and participated in a press briefing Tuesday, June 2, at the 236th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society. In her presentation, “Revealing the Powerful Particle Accelerator in the Galactic Center,” Zhang discussed her research exploring the nature and origin of one of the most striking phenomena in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, the existence of dozens of filamentary structures that can be as long as hundreds of light years. In a series of papers, Zhang and her research partners propose that the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, Sagittarius A*, is the engine producing energetic particles that eventually light up these filaments in the X-ray and radio wave bands.

    Zhang says the theory is supported by recent gamma-ray and radio observations. “Using observations recently obtained by the Chandra space telescope, we see evidence for new X-ray filaments,” says Zhang. “My next goal is to conduct a systematic multi-wavelength search for Galactic center filaments and use their spatial distribution and spectral information to further test our theory.”

    The American Astronomical Society is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America, with a membership of 7,700 individuals with research and educational interests in astronomical sciences. The 236th meeting is the 2020 summer annual American Astronomical Society conference, which brings together the international astronomer community and shares the most recent discoveries and results in astronomy. For more information, visit aas.org.

    Shuo Zhang, assistant professor of physics at Bard, is interested in observational high-energy astrophysics, including supermassive black hole accretion and feedback, origin of Galactic cosmic-rays and dark matter searches. She studies outburst histories of the supermassive massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy and nearby galaxies, in order to understand supermassive black hole activity cycle, particle acceleration mechanism and physics under strong gravitational field. Recently, she initiated an original particle astrophysics project on probing Galactic cosmic-ray particles at MeV through PeV energy scales suing innovative methods, aiming to understand the origin of Galactic cosmic-rays and to reveal power particle accelerators at the center of the Galaxy. Zhang served previously as a NASA Einstein Fellow at Boston University, and a postdoctoral scholar and Heising-Simons Fellow at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. In addition to her research, she is a referee for Nature, monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a panel reviewer for NASA’s Astrophysics Data Analysis Project. She is also a member of several scientific collaborations, including Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, eXTP Space Telescope Observatory Science Working Group, Chandra/ACIS Instrument Team, and NuSTAR Space Telescope Science Team, among others. Her work has appeared frequently in Astrophysical Journal and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Zhang earned a BS degree from Tsinghua University and a PhD from Columbia University.
     

    Post Date: 06-02-2020

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2023

Friday, April 21, 2023
Ligia Coelho, Cornell University
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Biopigments are colorful molecules found in all branches of life and are responsible for coloring Earth's landscapes. These molecules provide organisms with various benefits, such as protection against radiation, temperature changes, lack of resources, and dryness - conditions that are common on Earth and beyond. If life exists elsewhere, it will need to find analogous mechanisms to cope with these conditions. Biopigments have unique reflectance spectral features and are potential pervasive signatures of life. The potential colors of extraterrestrial surfaces can be studied using future large space-based telescopes such as the Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) and the Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx). To aid in the search for life on terrestrial planets, we are developing a comprehensive spectra catalog of the colors of life linked to specific ecosystems – since different biopigments (with different spectral features) will be part of the response against different environmental conditions. This free spectra library covers the visible to near-infrared and provides a guide for the search for surface life on planets like ours or other habitable planets that may be colder, drier, or just different than Earth.
 


Friday, April 14, 2023
Yeonsu Jung, Harvard University
 

Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Exploring the design principles of biological soft matter is a complex task due to disorder, nonlinearity, and interactions, among other factors. In this presentation, I will discuss my research on several biological and bio-inspired soft matter systems, including water uptake by plant roots in soil, animal architecture built based on granular jamming and entanglement principles, and stingray-inspired wearable proximity sensor.

To tackle the complexity of biological soft matter, I use a combined experimental and theoretical approach. Image-based visualization techniques, including Particle Image Velocimetry, Interferometry, and X-ray Tomography, are essential for accurately describing complex systems. With proper image analysis, these methods yield microscopic-scale quantitative data.

The explanatory power of theoretical modeling and computation complements the limitations of experimental approaches. Additionally, understanding the design principles of biological systems can inspire the development of bio-inspired inventions. My research aims to not only understand biological phenomena but also develop complex systems inspired by living organisms through collaboration with material scientists and roboticists.

During the presentation, I will discuss how combining experimental and theoretical techniques can provide a fundamental understanding of biological systems. Furthermore, I will explore how studying the design principles of biological systems can lead to the development of artificial systems beneficial for environment and human society.

 


Friday, April 7, 2023
Jennifer Winters, Harvard University
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Small, low-mass stars are the most numerous types of stars in the Galaxy, with 75% of all stars expected to be of spectral class M (and thus known as M dwarfs), corresponding to masses roughly 10–60% that of our Sun. However, due to their low luminosities, studying this population has been particularly challenging, and many of their properties—such as their ages, activities, multiplicity—remain unconstrained. With numerous on-going surveys searching for planets around these low-mass systems, it is critical that the stars themselves be thoroughly understood. In this talk, I will present the results of my survey to identify and discover the very closest companions to the nearest M dwarfs. I will then highlight LTT 1445, a triple M dwarf system at 7 parsecs that hosts two transiting rocky planets, to illustrate why it is so critical that we understand exoplanets' host stars.


Friday, March 31, 2023
Victoria Xu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
From atom interferometry to laser interferometry, experiments are leveraging quantum mechanics to expand our gravitational view of the Universe. In atom interferometry, we have realized ultra-long coherence times for atoms in spatially-separated superpositions, which can be used for precision table-top tests of exotic physics and gravity. In laser interferometry, as one of the most sensitive instruments ever built, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (Advanced LIGO) operates at the limit of quantum noise to detect gravitational waves (GWs) from cataclysmic cosmic events, such as the mergers of black hole and neutron star binaries. Already, the detectors inject quantum light (“squeezed” vacuum) to reduce the high-frequency quantum noise from shot noise. Major upgrades have now been commissioned to additionally reduce the excess low-frequency quantum noise from opto-mechanical backaction. This involves coupling our squeezed light source to a 300-m long, narrow-band, optical “filter” cavity, which rotates the squeezing quadrature below 100 Hz to evade low-frequency quantum noise in the astrophysically-critical band. This low-frequency squeeze rotation will at last configure the LIGO interferometers for optimal sensing, capable of exceeding the standard quantum limit to our measurement sensitivity. In the next observing run of Advanced LIGO, our quantum-enhanced sensitivity will expand the observable horizon of GW astronomy by 70%, expected to bring GW detection from a near-weekly to near-daily occurrence just 9 years after the dawn of GW astronomy.


Friday, March 17, 2023
Mary Knapp, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
We have maps of the sky across the electromagnetic spectrum - from high energy gamma rays through UV, optical, and infrared to radio frequencies.  One part of the spectrum is yet unexplored, however - very low frequency radio (< 10 MHz / 30 m).  This part of the spectrum is blocked by the Earth's ionosphere and is challenging to observe due to its very long wavelengths.  If we could access the low frequency radio sky, we could look back in time to the cosmological Dark Ages, study the plasma and magnetic fields that fill the spaces between stars, track solar storms as they barrel toward Earth, and listen for the radio signatures of exoplanetary magnetic fields. In this talk, I'll discuss low frequency radio science and past, present, and future efforts to build telescopes that can observe the low frequency sky.  I will describe the AERO-VISTA mission, which will map Earth's auroral radio environment.  I will also discuss future telescope concepts on the Moon and in space that seek to unveil this hidden part of the EM spectrum.


Friday, March 10, 2023
Ajit Subramaniam, Columbia University
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5
The Tropical and Equatorial Atlantic Ocean has been well studied by physical oceanographers and meteorologists because of its importance to ocean circulation, deoxygenation, and rainfall in the Sahel but less is known about how the physics of this region controls biological processes.  The Tropical Atlantic is thought to have enhanced biological productivity and play an important role in global carbon flux - Longhurst (1993) estimated that the tropical Atlantic Ocean (10N – 10S) contributed more to global carbon fixation than the entire North Atlantic open ocean including the well-studied Spring Bloom.  The Equatorial upwelling process is widely accepted as being seasonal and is evident in satellite observations as lower monthly sea surface temperature and concomitant higher monthly chlorophyll concentrations between June and September of each year.  We will discuss the role of physical forcing factors such as the Amazon River outflow, the position of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, and Tropical Instability Wave activity in controlling the availability of nutrients and consequently, the phytoplankton community structure from cruises we participated in this region.
 


Friday, March 3, 2023
Mary Knapp, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5
We have maps of the sky across the electromagnetic spectrum - from high energy gamma rays through UV, optical, and infrared to radio frequencies.  One part of the spectrum is yet unexplored, however - very low frequency radio (< 10 MHz / 30 m).  This part of the spectrum is blocked by the Earth's ionosphere and is challenging to observe due to its very long wavelengths.  If we could access the low frequency radio sky, we could look back in time to the cosmological Dark Ages, study the plasma and magnetic fields that fill the spaces between stars, track solar storms as they barrel toward Earth, and listen for the radio signatures of exoplanetary magnetic fields. In this talk, I'll discuss low frequency radio science and past, present, and future efforts to build telescopes that can observe the low frequency sky.  I will describe the AERO-VISTA mission, which will map Earth's auroral radio environment.  I will also discuss future telescope concepts on the Moon and in space that seek to unveil this hidden part of the EM spectrum.


Friday, February 24, 2023
Luchang Jin, University of Connecticut
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Quantum field theory is the foundation of current high-energy physics. Quantum field theory can be properly formulated on a grid or lattice of points in space and time, which provides a non-perturbative definition of the quantum field theory and a way to perform numerical simulations. Lattice is a powerful tool to study quantum field theories, especially in the presence of strong interactions. In this talk, we will introduce the lattice approach to quantum field theory and its application to simulating quantum chromodynamics and electrodynamics, using path integral and Monte Carlo methods. In particular, we will report the results of one of our recent calculations, the electromagnetic correction to the mass of the lightest meson—subatomic particles formed by a quark and anti-quark pair, bound together by the strong interaction.


Friday, February 10, 2023
Tajana Marie Schneiderman, Cornell University
Hegeman 107  12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Circumstellar disks of gas and dust are integral parts of planetary systems from formation to maturation. Protoplanetary disks, the name for circumstellar material at the earliest stages of a stellar lifetime, provide key information about the formation processes of planets, and therefore of the initial conditions that set system evolution in motion. Debris disks, the name for circumstellar material after the protoplanetary disk dissipates, are remnants of earlier processes and carry clues to the formation conditions and evolutionary pathways of mature systems. In this talk, I will demonstrate that understanding circumstellar material is key to interpreting planetary histories by examining two case studies.

First, I will present my laboratory work seeking to understand the behavior of noble gases in disk ice analogs. These experiments help explain the extent to which each gas traces different sources of volatiles within the protoplanetary disk. They also present initial clues as to the source of Jovian noble gas abundances. Second, I will discuss observations of the circumstellar material in the HD 172555 system. Here, gas and dust analysis indicates the first evidence for a planetary atmosphere stripped in the aftermath of a giant impact. 


Discover Physics at Bard

Hal Haggard, Director
Physics Program
Bard College | PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
[email protected] | 845-758-7216
Bard College
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PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York 12504-5000
Phone: 845-758-6822
Admission E-mail: admissio[email protected]
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