Department Of Physics & Astronomy.
WHEN GALAXIES COLLIDE
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES & NEXT GENERATION ART
Image credit: Hannah Openshaw
#INFINITELYCURIOUS
NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2017
CONT GET STUCK IN! ENTS University can be daunting, The society organises socials
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Award-winning LIGO research
but there are plenty of opportunities to meet people through the Physics Society (Physoc) - @SheffieldPhysoc. This society is run by students for students!
which range from drinks and cinema trips to grand end of year balls. Every year there is a holiday to a brilliant physics research facility like CERN or the Max Planck Institute.
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COVER STORY: When galaxies collide
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Inspiration for Life
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COVER STORY: Next generation art
PHYSICS SOCIETY UPDATE SPACE SOCIETY UPDATE
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Semiconductor Quantum Photonics
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LHC ATLAS Project
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2nd year laboratory refurbishment
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NATIONAL STUDENT SPACE CONFERENCE 2017 The University’s Space Society visited Exeter for the UKSEDS National Student Space Conference in March 2017. The event featured talks, panels and a careers fair from key players in the space industry, including Airbus, the Met Office, and Foster & Partners - who are currently
designing lunar and martian habitats for NASA. Academics from numerous universities and organisations gave talks on lots of cutting edge research, such as exoplanetary atmospheres. It was a fantastic weekend and the conference is only set to get bigger and better in the coming years!
AWARD-WINNING LIGO RESEARCH On the 14th September 2015, almost exactly 100 years after Einstein predicted their existence, gravitational waves were observed for the first time. Nearly a year after the announcement of the discovery, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) team were awarded the 2017 Group Achievement Award in astronomy from The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
The direct detection of gravitational waves is just the tip of the ongoing research in this area. Sheffield is a founding member of GOTO, the ‘gravitational-wave optical transient observatory’. GOTO is a new wide-field telescope on La Palma that is dedicated to following up possible gravitational wave detections. It aims to detect the optical afterglow of the sources of gravitational waves, which would allow us to learn even more about their origins.
“THIS DISCOVERY REPRESENTS A HISTORIC ADVANCE OF SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT.”
Royal Astronomical Society
Read more: www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics/news
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WHEN GALAXIES COLLID Astronomers based at the University of Sheffield have found evidence that stars are ripped apart by supermassive black holes 100 times more often than previously thought.
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Until now, such stellar cannibalism – known as Tidal Disruption Events, or TDEs – had only been found in surveys which observed many thousands of galaxies, leading astronomers to believe
they were exceptionally rare: only one event every 10,000 to 100,000 years per galaxy. However, the pioneering study conducted by leading scientists from the University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, recorded a star being destroyed by a supermassive black hole in a survey of just 15 galaxies – an extremely small sample size by astronomy standards. “Each of these 15 galaxies is undergoing a ‘cosmic collision’ with a neighbouring galaxy,” said Dr James Mullaney, Lecturer in Astronomy and co-author of the study. “Our surprising findings show that the rate of TDEs dramatically increases
DE when galaxies collide. This is likely due to the fact that the collisions lead to large numbers of stars being formed close to the central supermassive black holes in the two galaxies as they merge together.” Clive Tadhunter, Professor of Astrophysics and leader of the study, said: “Based on our results for F010042237, we expect that TDE events will become common in our own Milky Way galaxy when it eventually merges with the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy in about 5 billion years.
“Each of these 15 galaxies is undergoing a ‘cosmic collision’ with a neighbouring galaxy,” Dr James Mullaney
Looking towards the centre of the Milky Way at the time of the merger we’d see a flare approximately every 10 to 100 years. The flares would be visible to the naked eye and appear much brighter than any other star or planet in the night sky.”
Read more: www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics/news
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INSPIRATION FOR LIFE We want to tell you a story about Dr Tim Richardson - an inspirational Physics and Astronomy lecturer who wished to promote lifelong learning and encourage the public’s understanding of science. 6
He also wanted to raise money for health research and hospices that supported those affected by cancer, like himself. He created the charity ‘Inspiration for Life’, which started work in the autumn of 2012, and continues to this day in his name. His solo 24 hour lecture marathon in aid of Children in Need inspired the charity’s first major fundraising event - a 24 hour lecture-a-thon featuring lectures on a wide range of subjects from asteroids to magic, extra-terrestrial life forms to music, human rights, and infinity.
Each year the University gives prizes in his name to Physics and Astronomy students who also offer inspiration to others. For a student who has managed to fulfil their academic potential despite significant personal difficulties, this is a landmark achievement. Last year’s recipient said: “I have had a wonderful year in Sheffield and I’m so proud to be a Sheffield graduate. It is important to remember that the Physics department is incredibly supportive of its students. I unfortunately suffered with some issues such as depression during my time in Sheffield. If anyone finds themselves with any personal problems at all remember to talk to someone in your department, as they are simply fantastic.”
“It is important to remember that the Physics department is incredibly supportive of its students.” Tim Richardson Prize 2016 winner
Tim lost his battle to cancer four years ago, but the ‘24 Hour Inspire’ will take place once again on 30-31 March, raising much needed funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity. We thank you Tim for sharing your inspirational values, and to all our wonderful staff and students who keep his legacy alive.
Find out more: www.inspirationforlife.co.uk
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NEXT GENERATION ART Real physicists portrayed through photographic art. Our Physics undergraduate Hannah Openshaw has a passion to communicate to the next generation of scientists through Instagram - and her subjects are exclusively women. These are her images.
“SOCIAL MEDIA IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL FOR RAISING AWARENESS OF THE ISSUE OF GENDER INEQUALITY.” Instagram: @FemininePhysics
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“I AIM TO ENCOURAGE ASPIRING FEMALE SCIENTISTS, INCLUDING THOSE WHO FEEL THAT THEY MAY NOT CONFORM TO TYPICAL PHYSICIST STEREOTYPES, THAT THERE IS A PLACE FOR EVERYONE IN STEM.” Hannah Openshaw
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£5.6M GRANT SUCCESS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM PHOTONICS The University of Sheffield is leading the way in Semiconductor Quantum Photonics, following the award of a £5.6m grant from the Engineering and Physics Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This Sheffield-led research programme involves close collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge and Lancaster, capitalising on the advanced, complementary expertise in each institution. This grant exploits the advantageous properties of III-V semiconductors to achieve agenda setting advances in the quantum science and technology of solid state materials.
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Dr Luke Wilson said: “This largescale grant will enable us to harness quantum effects such as superposition and entanglement in ‘artificial atom’ quantum dots. We will achieve on-chip reconfigurable single photon logic gates and coupling of electron spins via photons to create quantum networks. This will open the way to new generations of applications in secure communications, quantum simulation and computing.”
We are also training our third year undergraduate students who want to pursue a research career in Quantum Technologies with the full-year year ‘Quantum Information’ module. Research leaders deliver a combination of lectures and project work in a newly-equipped, dedicated quantum optics lab in which students explore the physics underpinning optical quantum technologies for quantum cryptography and computation applications. Find out more: www.ldsd.group.shef.ac.uk Twitter: @ldsd_research
YouTube channel: goo.gl/zSZ5nV
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UPGRADING THE LHC Since the discovery of the Higgs boson on the 4th July 2012, physicists and engineers have been busy upgrading the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and its huge underground experimental detectors such as ATLAS to search for even more fundamental particles. 12
The upgraded LHC will generate 10 times more energetic particle collisions, scattering an array of different sub atomic particles in all directions. All these particles need tracking and their energy measuring to be able to identify new particles from the collision.
For more information visit: www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics/research/atlas
The construction of the next generation ATLAS Inner Detector is tasked to a specialist research team here at Sheffield. Over the next four years Sheffield will fabricate thousands of highly sensitive silicon micro-strip detectors to be mounted in a cylindrical array around the collision zone of the LHC. Each 10 cm2 sensor has 1280 wires connecting it to an on-board data processor. The cumulative signal from all 6800 sensors and a further six gigantic sub-detectors is filtered, then brought together in a massive data-set that is divided up and analysed by teams of students and staff from around the world.
“Building the ATLAS and the LHC is pushing the limits of existing technology .” Richard French
In Sheffield, the sensor fabrication team is led by Richard French. Richard runs a specialist cleanroom with the equipment needed to assemble the detector. As a result of developing the new techniques needed for ATLAS and the Large Hadron Collider, Richard has worked alongside advanced manufacturing companies like Boeing and Rolls Royce. Building the ATLAS and the LHC is pushing the limits of existing technology and it’s only natural that the world’s biggest companies will want to learn the new techniques being developed.
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OUR REFURBISHED 2ND YEAR LAB
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SAVE THE DATE
WED 11TH OCTOBER 2017 12PM - 3.30PM THE OCTAGON CENTRE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
4TH PHYSICS INDUSTRY RECRUITMENT AND PLACEMENT FAIR 15
FOOTNOTE
IT HAS BEEN A GREAT START TO THE YEAR AS WE CONTINUED TO MEET SO MANY OF YOU AT OUR UCAS OPEN DAYS. We hoped you enjoyed visiting Sheffield and meeting our staff and current undergraduates. In this newsletter you can find out more about what happens to stars when galaxies collide, our work in Semiconductor Quantum Photonics, and the latest on gravitational wave research and the upgrading of the LHC. Our students are also taking centre stage in this issue, and we are particularly excited to share with you a new art project set up by one of our undergraduates which aims to highlight that there is a place for everyone in STEM. In July, we will be celebrating the successes of our final year students and marking their outstanding achievements by awarding the next recipient of the Tim Richardson prize. At the same time, we look forward to getting to know each and every one of our new students in September as they start a very exciting period of their lives. You can contact us at any time and keep up to date with all the latest news through the channels below. Professor David Mowbray Head of Department
IMAGE CREDITS 01 – Hannah Openshaw @FemininePhysics
FOLLOW US: @PhysicsShef www.facebook.com/PhysicsShef www.instagram.com/PhysicsShef
CONTACT US www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics physics.ucas@sheffield.ac.uk Editor: Christina Metcalfe
02 – Physics Society and Space Society 04 & 05 – © Mark Garlick 06 & 07 – Inspiration for Life 08 & 09 – Hannah Openshaw @FemininePhysics 10 & 11 – Gareth Jones, 23i 12 & 13 – CERN