HIP NEWS April 22nd 2014

Posted on April 22, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS April 22nd 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 22 April 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Risto Paatelainen (Jyväskylä)
Modeling the space-time evolution of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

Abstract: Understanding the different stages of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions is essential in extracting the properties of the quark-gluon plasma. In this seminar talk I will review our perturbative QCD based model for the initial production of matter which is combined with a hydrodynamical framework for the subsequent space-time evolution. Finally, I will compare the results from the model with experimental data from RHIC and LHC based on which we can constrain the shear viscosity of the QCD matter.

Thursday 24 April 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Andreas Schmitt (Wien)
Sound modes and two-stream instability in a relativistic superfluid

Abstract: Relativistic superfluids are most likely present in the interior of compact stars, in nuclear matter and/or quark matter. I will discuss a field-theoretical approach to superfluidity and how it is connected to the usual two-fluid picture developed by Landau for superfluid helium. I will then show some applications of this approach, most notably the two sound modes for all temperatures and the so-called two-stream instability that is known from plasma physics and that may be relevant for compact star phenomenology.

Training for international staff
———————————————-
24.4. Completing your tax return form
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/home/sisalto?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pp_list&placeId=HY286456

Tax Administration.
http://vero.fi/en-US/Tax_Administration/Contact_information

CERN FINNISH OFFICE OPENING HOURS after Easter 2014:
—————————————————
Tuesday 22.4.2014 office CLOSED.
Wednesday 23.4.2014 office OPEN, 8:30-12, 14-16.

NORMAL opening hours 24.4.2014 onwards.
Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri: 8:30-12, 14-16.
CLOSED on Wednesdays.

Are you looking for funding for your research?
————————————————
Research Funding Services of the University of Helsinki are providing UH
academic and research staff, research administrators and PhD students with

free access to a comprehensive international research funding database:
http://www.researchprofessional.com/login.html

Kumpula
13.5. at 14-16
Physicum, room D210
max 17 participants

For further information of the training please contact
Helena Meriluoto, tel. 191 24004.

Best regards,
Javier Caldentey, PhD, Docent
Senior Advisor
Research Funding Services
http://www.helsinki.fi/university/

Visitors
———
P. Dendooven 12.5. – 14.5. (PE, JÄ)
M. Hindmarsh 22.4. – 15.6. (KR)
N. Hopkins 28.4. – 23.5. (KR)
D. Mulryne 16.4. – 16.5. (SN)
R. Paatelainen 21.4. – 22.4. (AV)
A. Schmitt 23.4. – 26.4. (AV)

HIP NEWS April 14th 2014

Posted on April 14, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS April 14th 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 15 April 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Tomas Lindén (HIP)
Compact fusion reactors

Fusion research is currently to a large extent focused on tokamak
(ITER) and inertial confinement (NIF) research. In addition to these
large international or national efforts there are private companies
performing fusion research using much smaller devices than ITER or
NIF. The attempt to achieve fusion energy production through
relatively small and compact devices compared to tokamaks decreases
the costs and building time of the reactors and this has allowed some
private companies to enter the field, like General Fusion and
Lawrenceville Plasma Physics. Some of these companies are trying to
demonstrate net energy production within the next few years. If they
are successful their next step is to attempt to commercialize their
technology. In this presentation an overview of compact fusion reactor
concepts is given.

Tax Administration.
http://vero.fi/en-US/Tax_Administration/Contact_information

Visitors
———
M. Hindmarsh 22.4. – 15.6. (KR)
N. Hopkins 28.4. – 23.5. (KR)
D. Mulryne 16.4. – 16.5. (SN)
R. Paatelainen 21.4. – 22.4. (AV)
A. Schmitt 23.4. – 26.4. (AV)

HIP NEWS April 7th 2014

Posted on April 7, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS April 7th 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 8 April 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Maxime Gouzevitch (Universite Claude Bernard-Lyon I, France)
Standard Model Physics at the LHC

Abstract:
The LHC has collected a wealth of data, which strongly supports the Standard Model of particle physics, and has so far lent little evidence for new physics beyond it. We give an overview of the Standard Model Physics program and recent results at the CMS experiment, with highlights such as the measurement of alpha_s in the TeV scale.

Tax Administration.
http://vero.fi/en-US/Tax_Administration/Contact_information

Wondering where to publish your articles? Hear the tips of the publisher
————————————————————————–
Time: April 10th, 2014 at 9 pm – 12
Further information:
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/units/farmasia?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=T18802259611379669329428&contentId=HY313996&lang=en&_pageLabel=P12000359611379669328883

HIP NEWS March 31st 2014

Posted on March 31, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS March 31st 2014
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J.V. Snellman prize
———————–
University of Helsinki has awarded the 2014 J.V. Snellman Prize to Syksy Räsänen. The prize is recognition for achievements in science out-reach.

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 1 April 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Venus Keus (Southampton)
Multi Higgs doublet models

Abstract: Multi Higgs-doublet models (NHDMs) are amongst the simplest extensions of the Standard Model, motivated for instance by Supersymmetric scenarios. I will discuss NHDMs with various symmetry groups which contain viable dark matter candidates, preserved by the remnant of the symmetry after EWSB. I will describe the dark matter phenomenology of these models and look into new Higgs decay channels offered by the extra doublets and their effect on the Standard Model Higgs couplings.

VISITORS
——–
V. Keus 28.3. – 1.4. (OL)
O. Taanila 31.3. – 4.4. (AV)

HIP NEWS March 24th 2014

Posted on March 24, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS March 24th 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 25 March 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Mikko Möttönen (Aalto University)
Observation of Dirac monopoles in a synthetic magnetic field

Abstract: Magnetic monopoles–particles that behave as isolated north or south magnetic poles–have been the subject of speculation since the first detailed observations of magnetism several hundred years ago. Numerous theoretical investigations and hitherto unsuccessful experimental searches have followed Dirac’s 1931 development of a theory of monopoles consistent with both quantum mechanics and the gauge invariance of the electromagnetic field. The existence of even a single Dirac magnetic monopole would have far-reaching physical consequences, most famously explaining the quantization of electric charge. Although analogues of magnetic monopoles have been found in exotic spin ices and other systems there has been no direct experimental observation of Dirac monopoles within a medium described by a quantum field, such as superfluid helium-3. Here we demonstrate the controlled creation of Dirac monopoles in the synthetic magnetic field produced by a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate. Monopoles are identified, in both experiments and matching numerical simulations, at the termini of vortex lines within the condensate. By directly imaging such a vortex line, the presence of a monopole may be discerned from the experimental data alone. These real-space images provide conclusive and long-awaited experimental evidence of the existence of Dirac monopoles. Our result provides an unprecedented opportunity to observe and manipulate these quantum mechanical entities in a controlled environment.

Utrecht Network ?Academic English? Summer School
30.06.-11.07.2014 for posgraduate students
——————————————-
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/home/sisalto?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=content_view&contentId=HY313468&placeId=HY034203

VISITORS
——–
V. Keus 28.3. – 1.4. (OL)

HIP NEWS March 17th 2014

Posted on March 17, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS March 17th 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
——————————————————-
Tuesday 18 March 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Mohammad Mirkazemi (MPI, Garching)
Brightest X-ray clusters of galaxies in the CFHTLS wide fields: Red sequence finder, optical mass estimator, and stellar mass estimation

Abstract: Red sequence technique is one of the robust tool to identify galaxy clusters. This talk will introduce a new multi-color red sequence method. Using a spectroscopic sample of early-type galaxies and different stellar population models, I determined red sequence configuration parameters such as color model and a characteristic magnitude. I will show that our red sequence finder is a robust tool for determining the clusters redshift. Moreover, the correlation between z-band luminosity and total mass of clusters (derived from the X-ray luminosity) will be discussed. At the end, I will also present my recent work on the stellar mass estimation in CFHTLS and dependence of galaxy stellar mass function on the environment.

COSMO-Seminar
—————
Thu 20 March at 14:15 in Exactum B121 (NOTE exceptional time and place!)
Subir Sarkar (Oxford)
Title: TBA

Utrecht Network Academic English Summer School
30.06.-11.07.2014 for posgraduate students
——————————————-
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/home/sisalto?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=content_view&contentId=HY313468&placeId=HY034203

VISITORS
——–
S. Sarkar 20.3. – 21.3. (KE, SF)

HIP NEWS March 10th 2014

Posted on March 10, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS March 10th 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 11 March 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Germano Nardini (Desy)
Higgs sector and collider signatures in the triplet extension of the MSSM

Abstract: The MSSM can accommodate the observed Higgs mass m_h ~ 126 GeV at the price of some unpleasant amount of tuning. This problem can be alleviated in scenarios with an enlarged field content. By requiring minimality, only two options are allowed to extend the MSSM: either a singlet or a SU(2)_L triplet can be added. This talk focuses on the latter possibility. In particular, we will discuss its Higgs sector and signatures at collider. Comments on loop-induced Higgs decays, as well as on constraints coming from dark matter analyses, will be also provided.

COSMO-Seminar
—————
Wed 12 March at 14:15 in A315
Kjell Rosquist (Stockholm)
Evolution of cosmological models with discrete sources.

In this talk I will report on general relativistic cosmological models in which the sources are discrete. The distribution of the sources is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. Such models belong to the class of locally inhomogeneous models. One motivation for considering this kind of models is to obtain a closer correspondence with the actual universe as compared to models in which the matter is a fluid. The relation between the evolution of exactly homogeneous vs. locally inhomogeneous models is a nontrivial and difficult problem because of the nonlinear nature of the Einstein equations. In the talk I will give examples of discrete models in which the evolution is tracked by analytical and semi-analytical methods. Their relation to exactly homogeneous and isotropic (FLRW) models will also be discussed.

University of Helsinki and Aalto University:
Experiencing Finland Event, March 13, 2014
——————————————–
Newly arrived international staff and their family members are welcomed to the next Experiencing Finland event, taking place in Thursday 13 March 2014, at 17.00-19.30 at Töölö Towers.

For more details and registration please follow the link to Flamma:
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/home/fh?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=view&contentId=HY311656

Ms Tiina Kosunen
Head of Development, International Affairs, University of Helsinki
tiina.kosunen@helsinki.fi

PHYSICS DAYS
————-
Physics Days 2014 is organized in Tampere Hall, on March 11-13, 2014.
The theme of the event is Physics in human life – breakthroughs in nanotechnology, biological sciences, and energy production. Special emphasis is laid on physics in entertainment industry and on career prospects for young physicists.

HIP ANNUAL REPORT
————————————–
The second version of the Annual Report
(with language revision and updated links)
is available at
www.helsinki.fi/~chelmine/annual13
Please send corrections to
Christina.Helminen@helsinki.fi

VISITORS
——–
G. Nardini 7.3. – 13.3. (AV)
T. Koivisto 10.3. – 14.3. (KE)

HIP NEWS March 3rd 2014

Posted on March 3, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS March 3rd 2014
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HIP Phone Directory
———————-
Please check, if your contact information is OK on the HIP web pages. For any corrections, contact Mikko.

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
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Tuesday 4 March 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Laura Covi (Göttingen)
SuperWIMPs at the LHC

Abstract: We will review the status of SuperWIMP Dark Matter and then discuss recent bounds and prospects at the LHC especially in the case of stop NLSP. We will then discuss an intriguing idea of connecting SuperWIMP gravitino DM with baryogenesis at the weak scale through R-parity breaking.

Monday 10 March 2014 at 10.15 in E206. Note place and time!
Miklos Långvik (Marseille)
Aspects of Locally Conformal Spinnetworks

Abstract: Spinnetworks are a 3d geometry employed as the kinematical states of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) and Spin Foam (SF) models, the covariant counterpart to the Hamiltonian formulation of LQG. In this talk we explore a particular representation (all 3 Casimirs proportional) of the cotangent bundle of the double cover of the conformal group T*SU(2,2) that sits inside T*SL(2, C). We find that the generator of dilatations changes the extrinsic curvature of the triangulation, something we interpret as curving the edges of the tetrahedra of the triangulation. This has previously been suggested to account for the cosmological constant in the SF-models, which is currently described by the quantum group T*SL_q(2, C). We also discuss a possible extension of the construction to locally conformal spinnetworks that take into account all possible values of the 3 Casimirs of the conformal group. This talk will be preceded by a relatively lengthy introduction to both LQG and SF-models to highlight the main ideas behind the quantization of geometry and the particular constructions.

For more details and registration please follow the link to Flamma:
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/home/fh?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=view&contentId=HY311656

Ms Tiina Kosunen
Head of Development, International Affairs, University of Helsinki
tiina.kosunen@helsinki.fi

HIP ANNUAL REPORT
———————-
The first version of the Annual Report 2013
is available at
www.helsinki.fi/~chelmine/annual13.
Please send corrections and missing material
to Christina.Helminen@helsinki.fi asap.

VISITORS
——–
M. Bastero Gil 3.3. – 7.3. (SN)
L. Covi 3.3. – 5.3. (OL)
S. Yokoyama 24.2. – 7.3. (KE)

HIP NEWS February 24th 2014

Posted on February 24, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS February 24th 2014
============================

HIP Staff News
==============
The Staff representatives in the HIP Board of Directors
for the 4-year period starting April 1st are Kenneth
Österberg and as substitute member Hannu Kurki-Suonio.

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
——————————————————-
Tuesday 25 February 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Alessandro Amato (Swansea)
Transport coefficients of quark-gluon plasma

Tuesday 25 February 2014 at 14.15 in E206 Note time and place!
Dirk Rischke (Frankfurt)
Inhomogeneous phases in dense strongly interacting matter – a generic
phenomenon?

COSMO-Seminar
—————–
Feb 26 (Wed), 14:15 in A315 (Cosmo Seminar)
Shuichiro Yokoyama (ICRR, Tokyo)
TBA

Swedish lunch in Kumpula
————————–
Practise your Swedish by having lunch with your colleagues 26.2.at
11.30, at restaurant Practikum in Kumpula! More information:
campuscoordinator Eva Åberg, eva.aberg@helsinki.fi

For more details and registration please follow the link to Flamma:
https://flamma.helsinki.fi/portal/home/fh?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=view&contentId=HY311656

Ms Tiina Kosunen
Head of Development, International Affairs, University of Helsinki
tiina.kosunen@helsinki.fi

FINNISH OFFICE OPENING HOURS in February 2014:
————————————————
Mon-Fri, 17.- 21.2.2014, 8:30-12.
NORMAL opening hours 24.2.2014 onwards.
Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri: 8:30-12, 14-16.
CLOSED on Wednesdays.

Chancellor’s Travel Grants 2014
———————————
Researchers and teachers at the University of Helsinki may apply for Chancellor?s Travel Grants to cover the costs of foreign travel for
academic purposes. The deadline for applications is Friday, February 28, 2014, at 3:45 p.m.

Applications are submitted online through an electronic application form, which can be found at: http://helsinki.fi/aava/kansleri/.

The call announcement and further instructions on applying for the grant are available at Flamma: https://flamma.helsinki.fi/en/HY278530.

VISITORS
——–
A. Amato 24.2. – 26.2. (KR)
D. Rischke 25.2. (KK)
S. Yokoyama 24.2. – 7.3. (KE)

HIP NEWS February 17th 2014

Posted on February 17, 2014December 1, 2023 by Tarja Heikkilä

HIP NEWS February 17th 2014
============================

Please note voting date !
==========================
Election of the HIP staff representative in the HIP Board
=========================================================
The election days are at CERN 14.2. (Suomi -office at 10-12)
and in Kumpula 17.2. (in room A311 at 13-15).

The names put forward as candidates for staff representative
in the HIP Board are:

Tuomas Lappi (substitute Janne Pakarinen)

Kenneth Österberg

In the election one can vote any HIP member eligible to vote.

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS / HIP JOINT COLLOQUIA / SEMINARS
——————————————————-
Tuesday 18 February 2014 at 10.15 in A315
Jörn Kersten (Hamburg)
New Physics in the Late Early Universe

Abstract: The measurements of the cosmic microwave background by the Planck satellite seem to confirm the standard LambdaCDM cosmological scenario. However, a closer look reveals some tension in this simple picture. There are hints for a larger radiation density than expected in the standard model (dark radiation). Planck results for some cosmological parameters do not agree completely with local measurements of these parameters at low redshift, which points to a hot dark matter component. Finally, the observed structures at relatively small scales do not quite agree with the predictions by simulations of structure formation. While all these problems might eventually be solved by astrophysics, they could also point to new physics beyond the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. I will discuss two scenarios for the latter, the production of dark radiation in late particle decays, and a model where the cold dark matter has self-interactions as well as interactions with sterile neutrinos.

COSMO-Seminar
—————–
Wednesday 19 February 2013 at 14.15 in A315
Shaun Hotchkiss (Sussex)
Voids, cosmology and the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect

More than half of the volume of the universe is made up of under-dense regions (“voids”). This means that light from distant objects spends the majority of its journey to us in voids. Therefore the analysis and classification of such voids (in both LCDM and other models) will be of great use in the era of precision large scale structure surveys we are about to enter. I will discuss methods that can be used to construct such catalogues, as well as listing various potential pitfalls that can (and have) occur(ed) when analysing voids. Regarding potential cosmological applications, I will make specific mention of the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, where some results have been found that could be pointing to new physics (or they could just be a fluke).

Applications are submitted online through an electronic application form, which can be found at: http://helsinki.fi/aava/kansleri/.

The call announcement and further instructions on applying for the grant are available at Flamma: https://flamma.helsinki.fi/en/HY278530.

VISITORS
——–
J. Kersten 17.2. – 18.2. (OL)
S. Hotchkiss 17.2. – 21.2 (SN)
S. Yokoyama 24.2. – 7.3. (KE)