The Friday Physics Colloquia at the Department of Physics are open to all. An important goal for the colloquia is to be a meeting place between faculty and students to learn about interesting developments in physics. Undergraduate students are especially encouraged to attend. Speakers are asked to keep the talks at a level targeting a master student in physics.

In the fall semester 2021, colloquium lectures start at 14:15 CET. Lectures are presented in either physical seminar or webinar formats according to the speaker's desire and the pandemic situation. Seminars are held in D5-175 and webinars are live streamed via Zoom platform.

Autumn 2021 schedule

October 8 @ 14:15 - The many faces of neutron stars

Speaker: Manuel Linares, Department of Physics, NTNU

Place: D5-175

Abstract: We know more than three thousand neutron stars in our Galaxy because we see them as "pulsars", and many more are hidden. Neutron stars show many faces throughout their lives, displaying a wide range of phenomena powered by rotational, gravitational, magnetic and nuclear energy. I will explain how neutron stars are born, how they live and die, and how they can be resurrected. I will also review recent progress in the hunt for super-massive neutron stars, with more than 2 times the mass of the Sun. These give new constraints on the properties of ultradense matter as well as on the possible outcomes of double neutron star mergers.

October 15 @ 14:15 - Title: Magnetic field matters in spinal cord MRI

Speaker: Johanna Vannesjo, Department of Physics, NTNU

Place: D5-175

Abstract: Signal encoding in MRI is crucially dependent on a strong background magnetic field that is temporally stable and spatially homogenous, upon which time-varying, spatially linear, "gradient" fields are added for spatial encoding. Several factors, however, perturb the encoding magnetic fields, giving rise to artefacts that can obscure image features and bias quantitation. Imaging of the spinal cord is particularly affected by both static and dynamic magnetic field imperfections owing to the anatomical and physiological environment of the spinal cord. The issue of field fidelity is further exacerbated on ultra-high field (7 Tesla) MR systems, while these at the same time can yield superior image resolutions compared to regular clinical systems. In this talk, I will outline common factors compromising the encoding magnetic fields, show examples of their relevance, and discuss novel approaches to overcoming these challenges, with a focus on spinal cord imaging at 7T.

November 12 @ 14:15 - Multimessenger astronomy with high-energy neutrinos

Speaker: Foteini Oikonomou, Department of Physics, NTNU

Place: D5-175

Abstract: The recent discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos has opened a new window to the Universe. Identifying the sources of these neutrinos is the main focus of the emerging field of neutrino astronomy. Combining neutrino data and electromagnetic measurements in a multi-messenger approach may lead us to the sources of the neutrinos and help to solve the long-standing big question of the origin of high-energy cosmic rays. A leading candidate source population is active galaxies, which host accreting supermassive black holes and relativistic jets. In this talk I will review the current status of  the field and what we know about the possible role of jetted AGN as sources of high-energy neutrinos.

December 10 @ 14:15 - TBA

Speaker: Gerhard Sonnert, Harvard University, USA

Place: Zoom meeting

Abstract: TBA