Plenary sessions
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Program for the Nordic Physics Days 2015, June 9-12
Overview
Plenary sessions
Abstracts for the six plenary sessions.
Plenary sessions takes place in Auditorium S2 in the Central Building at Campus Gløshaugen (NTNU). Full program overview
Plenary session 1
Chair: Asle Sudbø
Serge Haroche, Collège de France, Paris
Controlling photons in a box and raising Schrödinger cats of light: when thought experiments become real
In our Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (CQED) experiments, we trap microwave photons in a superconducting cavity and we let them interact with large electric-dipole-carrying Rydberg atoms crossing the cavity one at a time. We are able in this way to count photons without destroying them and to prepare and manipulate non-classical Schrödinger cat states of radiation.
These experiments are actual realisation in the laboratory of some of the thought experiments imagined by the founders of quantum theory. They have allowed us to illustrate the fundamental concepts of state superposition and entanglement and to investigate experimentally the process of decoherence which explains the transition from the quantum to the classical world. CQED physics has been recently extended to artificial atoms made of superconducting Josephson junctions in a new domain of mesoscopic physics called "Circuit QED". This development opens the way to promising applications in quantum information science.
Plenary session 2
Chair: Jon Otto Fossum
Daniel Bonn, University of Amsterdam
Granular friction: from building the pyramids to the anatomy of individual contacts at the nanoscale
I will discuss the rheology and mechanical properties of wet granular materials, and show why the behavior can be very subtle. Once one understands the mechanical properties, I will show that one can use this knowledge to construct the perfect sandcastle, or to understand why the ancient Egyptians wetted the desert sand with water before sliding heavy stones over it (figure).
I will then go on to show some new results on friction at the microscopic scale, between 2 grains. Amonton’s famous friction law states that the friction force is proportional to the normal force since both are proportional to the area of contact. However for spherical grains, the contact area is not proportional to the normal force, as shown by Hertz long ago. We use a new fluorescence technique that allows us to probe the real area of contact between 2 rough surfaces. In our case, we conclude that important deviations from Amonton’s law are observed.

Plenary session 3
Chair: Åshild Fredriksen
Jesper Bruun, University of Copenhagen
Networks in physics education research
Network science offers a unique way of investigating how physics students learn physics. When combined with traditional physics education research, networks can be used to discern patterns and structures that are otherwise hidden in educational contexts. This talk will provide an overview of results from the growing number of especially Nordic researchers, with perspectives including cognitive ability, group interactions, and systemic patterns. Furthermore, the talk will elaborate on some of the ongoing efforts of using networks to understand how different aspects of physics education function and feed in to one another, and how educational change can be assessed.
Networks in Physics Education Research (LinkedIn)
Plenary session 4
Chair: Catharina Davies
Cees Dekker, Delft University of Technology
Nanotechnology for biophysics, from single molecules towards synthetic cells
Nanotechnology offers many opportunities to contribute to biophysics and biology. I will present examples where single-molecule tools and nanofabricated structures are used to examine the biophysics from single molecules to cells. I will illustrate the great potential of nanobiology with some recent examples from our lab:
Single-molecule tools to probe DNA and DNA-protein
The past two decades have yielded many scanning probe and tweezer technique to probe single biomolecules. I will show some illustrative examples, focusing on the direct visualization of the dynamics of individual supercoils in DNA. Such coiled-up DNA structures are found to move along DNA by diffusion or, unexpectedly, by a fast hopping process.
DNA translocation through solid-state nanopores
Solid-state nanopores have proven to be a surprisingly versatile probe for single-molecule analysis of DNA, and much work is carried towards DNA sequencing. I will describe some of our recent findings – specifically DNA knots – as well as our efforts to expand the capabilities of solid-state nanopores even further, in the direction of single-protein detection, graphene nanopores, plasmonic nanopores, and DNA origami nanopores.
Exploring biophysics of bacteria with nanofabricated shapes
With nanofabricated structures, we shape bacteria into forms that deviate from their natural phenotype. Specifically, I will show our ability to shape live E. coli bacteria into novel shapes such as rectangles, squares, triangles and circles. We study pattern formation in these geometries. I will show spatiotemporal oscillations of Min proteins – associated with cell division – in such artificial geometries of live E. coli cells.
Finally, I will briefly sketch some of our ideas to explore the building of synthetic cells, specifically our first steps to establish synthetic cell division.
Nanotechnology for biophysics, from single molecules towards synthetic cells [pdf]
Plenary session 5
Chair: Åshild Fredriksen
Helge Kragh, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen
General relativity: origin and early development
On 25 November 1915 Einstein presented to the Prussian Academy in Berlin his covariant field equations for gravitation, thereby completing the theory of relativity. How did he arrive at the equations? What role did mathematical and empirical considerations play in his path to general relativity? Two years later, Einstein used his theory in an extended version (including the cosmological constant) to describe the universe and effectively create the theoretical basis of modern cosmology. The lecture will follow Einstein and his relativity theory from around 1911 to the dramatic confirmation of local space curvature in the fall of 1919.
Plenary session 6
Chair: Asle Sudbø
Jean-Marc Triscone, University of Geneva
2-dimensional superconductivity at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface
The interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3, two good band insulators, which was found in 2004 to be conducting, and, in some doping range, superconducting with a maximum critical temperature of about 200 mK is attracting of lot of attention. The electronic structure of the system displays signatures of confinement and of the d-character of the carriers. This electron liquid has a thickness of a few nanometers at low temperatures and a low electronic density. Being naturally sandwiched between two insulators, it is ideal for performing electric field effect experiments that allow the carrier density to be tuned and the phase diagram of the system to be determined.
I will discuss in this presentation superconductivity, the phase diagram of the system and the link with bulk doped SrTiO3, spin orbit, and an approach that allows superconducting coupling between different gases to be studied. I will also discuss recent thermopower measurements that allow access to very localized electronic states.
2-dimensional Superconductivity at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Interface [pdf]
Exhibitions
Social program
Nordic physics meetings
Nordic Physics Days 2015 (NTNU)
Nordic Physics Days 2013 (Lund)
Physics Days 2011 (Helsinki)
The Nordic Meeting of the Physical Societies 2009 (Copenhagen)
Important dates
Abtract submission: April 30
Early fee until April 29
Late fee from April 30.
Deadline for booking hotel room: May15 (April 30)
Conference dates: June 9-12. 2015
Contact
Organizer: Asle Sudbø, NTNU
Email: asle.sudbo@ntnu.no
Co-organizer: Åshild Fredriksen, Norwegian Physical Society
Email: ashild.fredriksen@uit.no