UMBC Physics Department

Mini-course in Gravitational Waves and the LIGO Experiment

We had 15 people out at the UMBC Observatory last Thursday for our first Open House of 2018.

- 9 UMBC students
- UMBC '89 Alum with husband & son
- 3 surrounding community members

We discussed Cosmic Distances and talked about how some sci-fi writers have attempted superluminal travel.

- Toured facility
- Stargazing 101 with Orion, Winter Triangle, Ta**us, Circumpolar Sky
- Observed Great Orion Nebula with small scope
- Talk as described above

Telescope Open House on 12/7/17

James N. Reeves, a CSST Visiting Scientist, wins an award from the Italian government for a research project he worked on while visiting UMBC. He is 3rd from the left in the photo.

PRESS RELEASE:
A study on black holes to receive the 2017 Aspen Award

A debate on the future of research and the economics of space exploration, with Nobel Prize Winner Samuel C.C. Ting, Luciano Maiani and Dr. Colleen Hartman del NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Rome, October 26, 2017 – Today Thursday, October 26, from 10:30am to 1pm, at the Aspen offices at Piazza Navona 114, the ceremony took place for the 2017 edition of the Aspen Institute Italia Award for scientific research and collaboration between Italy and the United States. The recipient of this year’s prize – now in its second year – is a research project entitled “Wind from the black hole accretion disk driving a molecular outflow in an active galaxy”.

The study was featured on the cover of Nature on March 26, 2015. By comparing data drawn from two powerful telescopes, the authors demonstrated how the wind from black holes contributes to the formation of new stars in diverse galaxies. They also showed how the very evolution of galaxies depends on the black holes at their centers. The work contained in this study was first begun by Bruno Rossi and Riccardo Giacconi (Nobel for Physics, 2002).

The prize will be awarded following a panel debate entitled “Looking up: Space Research, Space Economy”. The event will be open to the press. Participants will include Samuel C. C. Ting, Nobel Prize winner, Thomas Dudley Cabot, Professor of Physics at MIT; Roberto Battiston, President of the Italian Space Agency; Colleen Hartman, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Paolo Savona, Vice Chairman of Aspen Institute Italia; Lucio Stanca, Vice Chairman of Aspen Institute Italia; Luciano Maiani, Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics at La Sapienza University in Rome.

The award-winning authors are: Francesco Tombesi, Researcher and Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at University of Rome Tor Vergata, Assistant Research Scientist at the Department of Astronomy of the University of Maryland, College Park - USA; Astrophysicist at the NASA – Goddard Space Flight Center - USA; Marcio B. Meléndez Hernández Research Scientist in the Astronomy Department at University of Maryland; Sylvain Veilleux, Professor of Astronomy and Joint Space Science Institute Fellow at the University of Maryland; James N. Reeves, Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County - USA; Astrophysics Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Keele University - United Kingdom; Eduardo González Alfonso, Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Spain’s University of Alcalá; Christopher S. Reynolds, Professor of Astronomy and Joint Space Science Institute Fellow at the University of Maryland.

Aspen Institute Italia Award for scientific research and collaboration between Italy and the United States
Established in 2016, this annual award honors a research contribution to theoretical or applied natural sciences that is the product of collaboration between scientists and/or research organizations in Italy and the United States. The aim of the award is to raise the profile of collaborative efforts between the two countries in research in the natural sciences and its associated applications, by granting a cash prize of forty thousand euros for the winning entry. The Aspen Institute Italia Award builds on the commitment of the institute to organize initiatives and events exploring issues related to scientific culture and technological innovation, with a special focus on their relevance to Italy. The Announcement of the Winning Entry, the Call for Entries, the Award Rules, the Award Entry form, and all other relevant information can be found on the Aspen Italia website at www.aspeninstitute.it/en/aspen-institute-italia-award-scientific-research-and-collaboration-between-italy-and-united-states.

Aspen Institute Italia Award for scientific research and collaboration between Italy and the United States | Aspen Institute Italia 1. The attached Award Rules form an integral part of this Call for Award Entries, and set out the aims, nature, and procedures for the conduct of the Award.

Dr. T. Jane Turner Discusses Black Holes in GRIT-X talk

Here Be Dragons: Investigating Black Holes in Galaxy Nuclei

Astronomers have discovered that every galaxy has a huge black hole at its core, millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun. In most galaxies, these black holes are only revealed by their gravitational influence. However, in a few percent of galaxies gas and dust are actively falling on to the central black hole, resulting in large amounts of radiation being produced from close to the event horizon. Turner will discuss what we can learn by studying these exotic systems.

The GRIT-X-2017 talk may be found on YouTube

T. Jane Turner: GRIT-X 2017 T. Jane Turner — Professor, Physics & Director, Center for Space Science and Technology Here Be Dragons: Investigating Black Holes in Galaxy Nuclei Astronome...

2017 Joseph F. Mulligan Memorial Lecture
Presented by Natalie DeNigris
Wednesday, May 10, 2017 · 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Physics : 401

TITLE: The Experiences of Japanese Physicists during World War II

Colloquium: Barbara Balestra,
Inst of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz
Wednesday, May 3, 2017 · 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Physics : 401

TITLE: The use of the phytoplanktonic group coccolithophore as climate proxy: insight from the IOPD Expedition 339.

ABSTRACT: Coccolithophores are one of the most abundant groups of extant phytoplankton, they are significant components of marine sediment, and they play a major role in marine primary production and the oceanic carbon cycle. Until about forty years ago, the vast majority of coccolithophore studies were focused primarily on taxonomy, zonation development, and applied biostratigraphy. More recently, the coccolithophore living and fossil record in the ocean and in the deep-sea sediments has been used in paleoceanographic studies. These studies include using extant coccolithophore assemblages as proxies for temperature and environmental change. In the fossil record, it is established to trace changes in the nannofossil assemblages that are strictly linked to variations in the physical and chemical properties of the waters such as salinity, turbidity, temperature, nutrient content etc. In particular, different coccolith taxa are known to be sensitive to specific environmental parameters.

The purpose of this seminar is to explain what these phytoplanktonic organisms are, why they are important and show how the coccolithophore assemblage variation can be used to characterize the dynamics of the different water masses in paleoceanographic studies. We will do this describing the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and presenting results from the recent IODP Exp 339 (November 2011 to January 2012) in the Gulf of Cadiz and the West Iberian Margin. These regions are key locations for the investigation of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) through the Gibraltar Gateway and its influence on global circulation and climate.

Kirk Knobelspiesse
Ocean Ecology Laboratory,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 · 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Physics : 401

TITLE: Multi-angle polarimetry: the once and future king (of aerosol remote sensing)

ABSTRACT: One of the largest sources of uncertainty in our understanding of climate is the role of particulate matter in the atmosphere (aka aerosols) and their interactions with clouds. Satellite observations can provide the needed observations to reduce this uncertainty, but existing instruments are fundamentally information limited. This means that assumptions must be made during an observation about aerosol optical properties, which limits the value of such observations for climate. Existing instruments, while incredibly useful, simply cannot measure all that is needed by the climate modeling community.

For these reasons, instruments have been developed that maximize information observed in a scene. They do so by observing a scene at multiple viewing angles, and by determining the polarization state of the reflected radiation. The Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) on the NASA Glory Mission was once such instrument, which unfortunately did not successfully reach orbit during its 2011 launch. Future NASA missions that may have multi-angle polarimeters include the phase A Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Mission and the pre-phase A Aerosol/Clouds/Ecosystems Mission. There is also a robust airborne instrument community and international efforts to create such instruments.

I will give an overview of why multi-angle polarimetry is useful, its history in planetary and earth observations, and some details about polarimetric observational units. Inspired by a 2015 Army Research Office sponsored workshop, I’ll also discuss gaps, challenges and future research directions of this community.

Colloquium: Heidi Dierssen TITLE:Ocean Color Remote Sensing: Understanding Sources of Light Scattering in the Southern Ocean ABSTRACT: The Southern Ocean ranges from highly productive coastal regions of the Antarctic...

UMBC Atmospheric Physics Program Earth Day Symposium http://physics.umbc.edu/home/events/umbc-atmospheric-physics-program-earth-day-symposium/

Colloquium: Kurt Jacobs
Wednesday, March 29, 2017 · 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Physics : 401
TITLE: Exploring open quantum systems beyond master equations

ABSTRACT: Master equations are an excellent tool for understanding the behavior of quantum systems coupled to thermal baths, but they have their limitations. Real systems coupled to thermalizing many-body systems do not necessarily follow the simple dynamics of master equations. Here I will discuss a number of facts and questions about the behavior of open quantum systems beyond master equations, some of them based on recent work and some on work currently in progress. Among other things, I will discuss the relationship between Fermi's golden rule, the oscillator bath, and random matrix models, master equations for time-dependent systems, and the use of MPS methods for exact simulations of systems coupled to an oscillator bath.