Title: Solar Neutrino Oscillations and the MSW Resonance

Speaker: Prof. Mike Guidry, University of Tennessee

Time & Place: 周五, 2019.5.17下午2:30, 物理楼五楼咖啡馆

Abstract: The solution of the solar neutrino "problem" by neutrino oscillations through the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) resonance has been well described in many places.  However, most technical discussions assume the reader to have substantial knowledge of relativisitic quantum field theory for the weak interactions.  In a book just published by Cambridge University Press (Stars and Stellar Processes--Mike Guidry), I used two chapters to translate this discussion into language accessible to anyone with an understanding of quantum mechanics at the level of an advanced undergraduate student.  In this lecture I will use this textbook presentation as outline for a pedagogical overview of the solar neutrino problem, its solution through neutrino oscillations and the MSW resonance, and the broader implications of that result for astrophysics and for elementary particle physics.

About the speaker: 

Mike Guidry is the author of more than 200 journal publications and invited conference presentations, and 5 published textbooks. These address a range of topics in nuclear physics, computational science, advanced educational technology, programming mobil devices, astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, general relativity, the mathematics of symmetry in physics, elementary particle physics, relativistic quantum field theory, and condensed matter physics. His published textbooks include:

1. Gauge Field Theories:  An Introduction with Applications – Mike Guidry (Wiley Interscience, 1991)

2. Online Journey through Astronomy – Mike Guidry and Tina Riedinger (Brooks-Cole, Cengage, 2000)

3. Virtual Astronomy Laboratories – Mike Guidry and Kevin Lee (Brooks-Cole, Cengage, 2004)

4. Stars and Stellar Processes – Mike Guidry (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

5. Modern General Relativity: Black Holes, Gravitational Waves, and Cosmology – Mike Guidry (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

A sixth textbook, Symmetry and Broken Symmetry: Groups, Algebras, and Topologies in Modern Physics is currently in preparation for Cambridge University Press. He previously held the role of lead technology developer for several major college textbooks in introductory physics, astronomy, biology, genetics, and microbiology. He has won multiple teaching awards and is responsible for a variety of important science outreach initiatives. His current research centers on development of new algorithms for solving large coupled sets of differential equations in astrophysics and other scientific applications, developing new symmetry-based techniques for understanding high-temperature superconductors and other strongly-correlated electron systems, and  development of new symmetry-based approaches to quantum Hall physics in graphene.