Cynthia Reichhardt
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM

Abstract

Local probes at the nanoscale: Avalanches, melting, and jamming transitions

The equilibrium and nonequilibrium dynamics of a nanoscale medium can be readily accessed by driving a single particle through the system.  This type of local probe couples directly to the size and energy scales of heterogeneities in the material, permitting the observation and control of rare events which may trigger intermittent or avalanche-like processes. I will describe how magnetic force microscopy can be used to manipulate individual magnetic vortices in a superconductor, and show through simulations that this local probe can be used to study vortex melting, entanglement, and avalanches.  I demonstrate that local probes can also be applied to soft and biological matter, including studies of the jamming transition in granular media, extensions of the fluctuation theorem, and swimming bacteria.

Please come meet the speaker over refreshments from 3:45-4:10pm in the foyer on floor G above the lecture hall. All Welcome Host: Doerte Blume