====== PA Colloquium Speaker Schedule Sign Up ======

[[public:Current Schedule]]

[[https://pa.msu.edu/news-events-seminars/colloquium-schedule.aspx|Current PA Colloquium Schedule]]

**Speaker** = [[https://leibrandtgroup.physics.ucla.edu/people.html|Prof. David Leibrandt]] of [[https://leibrandtgroup.physics.ucla.edu/|UCLA]]

**Host** = Xing Wu [[wux@frib.msu.edu]]

**When** = 2025-11-20 Thursday

**Where** = BPS 1415

Please feel free to sign up below, but note that some slots may need to be re-assigned to accommodate those with a specific need to meet the speaker. If this happens, the Admin or Speaker Host will reach out to you via email.

**Wednesday November 19**
^ Start Time ^ End Time ^ Name ^ Building ^ Room ^ 
| 11:30 | 13:00 | traveling from Ann Arbor |  |  | 
| 13:00 | 13:30 | Xing Wu | FRIB | 2001 |
| 13:30 | 14:00 | Xing Wu | FRIB | 2001 | 
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Jaideep Taggart Singh | FRIB | 2016 |
| 14:30 | 15:00 | Jaideep Taggart Singh | FRIB | 2016 | 
| 15:00 | 15:30 | Nuclear Science Seminar Refreshments | FRIB | 1300 | 
| 15:30 | 16:30 | Nuclear Science Seminar | FRIB | 1300 |
**Thursday November 20**
^ Start Time ^ End Time ^ Name ^ Building ^ Room ^
| 09:00 | 09:30 | Quest Lab | FRIB | 1344 | 
| 09:30 | 10:00 | Quest Lab | FRIB | 1344  | 
| 10:00 | 10:30 | Marcos Dantos | Chemistry | 58 | 
| 10:30 | 11:00 | Marcos Dantos | Chemistry | 58 |
| 11:00 | 11:30 | Spinlab | FRIB | TBD | 
| 11:30 | 12:00 | Spinlab | FRIB | TBD | 
| 12:00 | 12:30 | Spinlab | FRIB | 1350 |
| 12:30 | 13:30 | Lunch with Graduate Students | BPS | 1400 | 
| 13:30 | 14:00 | Chirag Vyas | FRIB | IHV | 
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Chirag Vyas | FRIB | IHV |
| 14:30 | 15:00 | Johannes Pollanen | BPS | 4216 | 
| 15:00 | 15:30 | PA colloquium prep | BPS | 1415 | 
| 15:30 | 16:30 | PA colloquium | BPS | 1415 |
**Friday November 21**
^ Start Time ^ End Time ^ Name ^ Building ^ Room ^
| 09:00 | 09:30 | Witek Nazarewicz | FRIB | 2059 | 
| 09:30 | 10:00 | Kei Minamisono | FRIB | 3103 | 
| 10:00 | 10:30 |  |  | | 
| 10:30 | 11:00 |  |  |  |
| 11:00 | 11:30 | Jonas Becker | FRIB | Lobby | 
| 11:30 | 12:00 | Jonas Becker | BPS | | 
| 12:00 | 13:00 | PA Undergrad Lunch | BPS | 1400 | 
| 13:00 | 13:30 | Franziska Maier| FRIB | 3101 |
| 13:30 | 14:00 |  |   |   | 
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Shane Wilkins | FRIB | 2014 |
| 14:30 | 15:00 | Jaideep Taggart Singh | FRIB | 2016 | 
| 15:00 | 15:30 | Ruby Ghosh | BPS |  | 
| 15:30 | 16:00 | Ruby Ghosh | BPS |  |
| 16:00 | 16:30 |  |  |  |
| 16:30 | 17:00 |  |  |  |

===== Context =====

**Title** = Tests of fundamental physics with thorium nuclear clocks

**Abstract**
<blockquote>Clocks based on hyperfine and electronic transitions in laser-cooled
atoms, with fractional inaccuracy and instability now reaching below
1e-18, have revolutionized positioning, navigation, and timekeeping
(PNT) and serve as one of the experimental foundations on which the
Standard Model of particle physics was built. A new type of clock based
on the internal transitions of atomic nuclei, dubbed nuclear clocks, was
proposed by Peik and Tamm in 2003. Among nuclei, the thorium-229
nucleus is unique in having a transition at low enough energy to be
accessible with present-day laser technology, and laser spectroscopy of
the 148 nm thorium-229 nuclear isomer transition was first
demonstrated by three groups nearly simultaneously in 2024. Due to
the higher energy scales and additional fundamental interactions
present in the nucleus, nuclear transitions are much more sensitive to
small deviations from the predictions of the Standard Model than
atomic transitions. Beyond applications in PNT, thorium nuclear clocks
may offer insights about the nature of dark matter or other hints about
what lies beyond the Standard Model.

In this colloquium, I will begin with a brief overview of the thorium-229
nuclear isomer transition and the two experimental approaches
currently being pursued to build thorium nuclear clocks: one based on
thorium doped into solid-state hosts and the other based on trapped
and laser-cooled thorium ions. Next, I will present the design and
current status of a trapped-ion thorium clock experiment under
construction in my lab at UCLA. Finally, I will conclude with a discussion
of the fundamental physics reach of this and other thorium nuclear
clocks.</blockquote>

**Relevant background with commentary from Speaker**
  * TBD...