ERIK MCLEAN / UNSPLASH

Physikalisches Kolloquium

Friday, 23. January 2026 5:00 pm  Symbolic AI for theoretical physics - two recent examples

Dr. François Charton, Axiom Math und Ecole des Ponts, Paris. Symbolic AI for theoretical physics - two recent examples Dr. François Charton Axiom Math und Ecole des Ponts, Paris Small language models can be trained on generated data to help build insight in theoretical physics. I present two recent works: understanding scattering amplitudes in planar N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory, and generating Calabi-Yau manifolds for string compactification.

Particle Colloquium

Three Decades of Dark Matter Annual Modulation Searches with NaI Detectors: Overview and Current Status of COSINUS

Prof. Dr. Karoline Schäffner, Max-Planck-Institut für Physik Garching Three Decades of Dark Matter Annual Modulation Searches with NaI Detectors: Overview and Current Status of COSINUS Prof. Dr. Karoline Schäffner Max-Planck Institut und TU / München - Garching The search for an annual modulation in the event rate induced by the Earth’s motion through the Galactic dark matter halo provides a powerful tool for discriminating potential dark matter signals from detector backgrounds. The DAMA/LIBRA experiment, a pioneer in exploiting this signature, has observed a modulated signal with very high statistical significance, exhibiting a period and phase consistent with dark matter expectations. However, these results remain in strong tension with the null results of most other direct detection experiments, and a fully model-independent experimental verification has still not been achieved. COSINUS aims to address this long-standing puzzle by operating sodium iodide crystals as cryogenic scintillating calorimeters. Compared to other NaI-based searches, COSINUS offers several distinctive features: a low nuclear-recoil energy threshold, superior energy resolution, and event-by-event particle identification. In this seminar, I will review the current global program of NaI-based dark matter searches and focus on the status of the COSINUS experiment. I will present recent results from the COSINUS prototype detector, describe the development of the dedicated lowbackground cryogenic facility at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, and outline the ongoing commissioning toward the first physics data-taking campaign planned to start mid 2026. To conclude, I will discuss the remaining experimental challenges and the open questions that continue to keep this enduring puzzle unresolved.

Astronomy colloquium

Tuesday, 27. January 2026 4:30 pm  The Growth of Supermassive Black Holes

Anna-Christina Eilers, MIT The discovery of billion-solar-mass black holes within the first Gigayear of cosmic history presents an intriguing puzzle: how did supermassive black holes (SMBHs) grow so rapidly in such a short amount of cosmic time? In this talk, I will introduce new approaches to probing the early growth of SMBHs. First, I will present the first measurement of the clustering strength of luminous quasars and their surrounding galaxies at z>6 using recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. These measurements allow us to infer the properties of the quasars’ host dark matter halos and their duty cycles, offering new insight into the environments that foster SMBH growth. I will then highlight new results from deep spectroscopic observations of background galaxies behind a luminous high-redshift quasar, which allow us to tomographically map the quasar’s ionized bubble, constraining the obscured fraction of quasars, their emission geometry, and the timescales of SMBH growth. To arrange a visit with the speaker during the visit, please contact their host: Nadine Neumayer

Center for Quantum Dynamics Colloquium

Wednesday, 4. February 2026 4:30 pm  Dynamics of open quantum systems

Prof. Doerte Blume, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma Dynamics of open quantum systems Prof. Doerte Blume Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy & Center for Quantum Research and Technology, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA Reliable theoretical modeling of the dynamics of open quantum systems, such as an externally driven quantum system, is essential for the realization of quantum devices, quantum simulators, and quantum computers. This talk discusses the dynamics of open quantum systems from several different viewpoints using master equations of the Lindblad form. Examples include the treatment of the p-wave contact of single-component Fermi gases, dissipation engineering in few-level systems, and the development of a dynamic invariant- or Lie-algebra-based master equation framework in which higherorder terms can be accounted for systematically. Bio info: Doerte Blume holds a Georg Lynn Cross Research Professorship at The University of Oklahoma (OU). She received her Ph.D. in physics in 1998 from the Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany. After postdoctoral work at JILA/University of Colorado in Boulder, she took up a faculty position in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Washington State University (WSU) in the beautiful inland Northwest. In the summer of 2017, Doerte relocated to OU. Doerte is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a recipient of a Bush Lectureship at OU and a Meyer Distinguished Professorship at WSU. Her research accomplishments at WSU were also recognized through the College of Arts and Sciences Mid-Career Achievement in Scholarship/Creative Activities Award and the College of Sciences Young Faculty Performance Award.