Sep 18 Image OSC Colloquium: Vivishek Sudhir 3:30 – 5 p.m., Sept. 18, 2025 A pre-eminent problem of modern physics is to reconcile the disparity between the laws of quantum physics – which apply at the small scale – and the laws of gravity – that apply at the large scale. This talk will motivate the nature of the fundamental problem and highlight some of the ideas we are currently pursuing to address it. In particular, a decisive confrontation of gravity and quantum theory calls for mechanical objects, massive enough to measurably gravitate with each other, prepared in quantum states of their motion.
Sep 11 Image OSC Colloquium: Kyungtae Kim 3:30 – 5 p.m., Sept. 11, 2025 Optical atomic clocks now reach fractional frequency uncertainties below 10^-18, pressing toward a redefinition of the second. Optical lattice clocks harness laser cooling and trapping technologies for holding and probing ultracold atoms. These clocks are based on simple atomic spectroscopy, but as we continue zooming in to narrower frequency ranges, we encounter challenges that test our fundamental understanding of how atom-light and atom-atom interactions work, demanding cutting-edge laser stabilization and quantum state control.
