BCS theory and its strong-coupling extension have been widely successful in accounting for the properties of conventional superconductors, where phonons mediate pairing. These theoretical frameworks, however, neglect critical physical processes like the formation of competing phases or lattice polarons. This aspect has left several crucial questions in conventional superconductivity unanswered. For example, is there a maximum Tc for conventional superconductors? In this talk, I will discuss recent attempts to answer this question using numerically exact quantum Monte Carlo methods applied to the Holstein hamiltonian. I will show that many parameter regimes considered in the current literature violate the assumptions underlying this canonical toy model. These results remind us that we must be careful when using model hamiltonians to derive general conclusions about materials; however, they also direct us towards a wide-open are of research beyond BCS theory.

Host: Ambrose Seo

The Standard Model of Particle Physics (SM), our most fundamental mathematical description of physics reality, is the great triumph and the great frustration of modern physics.  The triumph is that the SM has survived all laboratory tests.  The frustration is that the SM is not consistent with basic features of the universe.  Tabletop measurements of electron dipole moments provide some of the most stringent tests of the SM and beyond. 

Host: Gardner and Korsch

I will talk about, the measurement of little g; Lunar laser ranging (This
year is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.); and
the measurement of big G, the Newtonian constant of gravitation. I believe
that by extending the reach of our hands & quickening the response of our
eyes, new measurement methods and instrumental capabilities have driven
and implemented much of scientific progress. In my talk I will evidence
the commonality of all precision measurement physics and introduce some
thoughts about doing science. My aim will be for you to carry away from my
talk some new thought, idea, awareness, or perhaps just a saying that you
will want to think about long after I’m gone.

Host : Misha Eides

High energy particle physics seeks to find the fundamental constituents of matter and understand the forces between them. To accomplish this, powerful high energy accelerators are used to probe smallest possible scale along with complex, large scale detectors.  With the discovery of the Higgs particle in 2012, which has been sought for over 5 decades and the subsequent measurements of its properties getting closer and closer to that predicted by the Standard Model, it is increasingly important for the field of high energy physics to fully understand the neutrino sector which deviates from the Standard Model.   The precision measurements of oscillation properties, the mass hierarchy and the CP phase measurements demand high intensity neutrino beams and large mass detectors.  These new facility provide opportunities to search for dark matter which could be produced in the beams and for boosted dark matter which originates from the galactic center. In this talk, I will discuss searches for low mass dark matter at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), progress and timeline of the experiment, including the status of its prototype detectors and the potential for early physics at DUNE.