The Helmut W. Baer Lecture is a special colloquium supported by family and friends in honor of Dr. Helmut Baer. Dr. Baer's career in physics began with his work at the University of Michigan where he was awarded a doctorate in nuclear physics in 1967. He published over 100 articles that cover a range of physics topics including nuclear physics and pion interactions. Dr. Baer was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in March of 1989, and to his delight enjoyed countless opportunities over the years to talk about physics at universities and conferences internationally. Dr. Baer set the highest personal standards for himself and his research. This lecture is held approximately every two years.
The 2024 Helmut W. Baer Lecture in Physics
This was a hybrid lecture. Watch the video of Dr. Hitoshi Murayama's lecture.
Hitoshi Murayama
Professor of Physics (University of California, Berkeley and University of Tokyo)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
3:00 PM
340 West Hall
Please join us for a reception in the Don Meyer room from 2:00 to 3:00 PM, prior to the lecture.
Lecture Title: When A Symmetry Breaks
Abstract: What is common among a magnet, a flounder, a rack of laundry, your heart on the left of your body, and the Higgs boson? The concept of spontaneous symmetry breaking is ubiquitous among many natural phenomena. I'll describe the basic concept and its applications. In particular, the original concepts from Anderson, Nambu, Goldstone, and Higgs do not quite work in many systems that include a magnet on your fridge. I generalize the concept so that it is applicable to all known natural phenomena around us.
Biography
Hitoshi Murayama studies how the universe works from microscopic particles to objects around us and the whole cosmos. He was trained in theoretical particle physics but also works on condensed matter physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. He received Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics as part of the KamLAND neutrino experiment, and is the PI for the Prime Focus Spectrograph project for the Subaru telescope. Recently he chaired a decadal planning committee for the US particle physics program called Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) appointed by the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation.
Please join us for a reception outside of 340 West Hall beginning at 2:30 pm. prior to the 3:00 pm lecture.
Previous lectures in this series:
2023: Dr. George M. Fuller, University of California, San Diego
2019: Dr. Chen-Yu Liu, Indiana University
2018: Dr. Kate Scholberg, Duke University
2016: Dr. Witold Nazarewicz, FRIB/NSCL (MSU)
2015: Dr. Hiroyuki Oigawa, Japan Atomic Energy Agency
2011: Professor David W. Hertzog, University of Washington
2008: Professor John P. Schiffer, Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago
2006: Professor Arthur B. McDonald, Physics Department, Queen's University
2004: Dr. Steve Lamoreaux, Los Alamos National Laboratory
