IFT Fellesseminar

Abstract: Several features of the Sun, including the huge explosions known as solar flares and the 1-million-kelvin temperature of  solar corona, are likely to be explained by the process of magnetic reconnection. During this process, current sheets tends to break up in smaller elements, leading to the formation of magnetic islands, known as "plasmoids". In the corona, these plasmoids are often too small to be seen by most currently-active solar telescopes, but simulations show that plasmoid instability has a significant impact on the amount of magnetic energy that gets converted to heat. Our research proves that  the satellites Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and Solar-C, due to launch in a few years from now, will be capable of detecting and studying those plasmoids in details, hence bringing us one step closer to solving the mysteries of coronal heating and solar flares.

Øystein Færder, IFT

Abstract: Cryptography provides a crucial component of everyday life, including communication via mail and messaging apps, browsing the internet using HTTPS, and e–commerce. However, the mathematical problems underlying some of the most common cryptographic algorithms in use today will be broken if large-scale quantum computers are developed in the future. This has prompted a surge of research into post-quantum cryptography: the study of cryptographic algorithms that will remain secure in the presence of future quantum computers.

In this talk I will give a brief overview of how quantum computers will break current cryptographic algorithms and describe the mathematical problems we believe will form the secure foundations of future cryptography.

Bio: Morten Øygarden has a PhD in algebraic cryptanalysis of post-quantum cryptography. He has worked on the same topic as a post-doc at Simula UiB since 2021, and is also employed as a researcher (20%) at the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM).

Morten Øygarden, Dept of Cryptography, Simula UiB / NSM

Abstract: Recent projections for cost of electricity from floating wind have shaken investor confidence, seeing key stakeholder withdrawals at a time when the world demands cheaper and more access to renewable electricity. The industry is required to identify cost savings, one of which may be in the cost of the mooring system. The current NFR FRIPRO project, HYDROdynamic Mooring analysis for Ocean Renewable Energy (HYDROMORE) is seeking to establish new design approaches for mooring systems, which may enable leaner, safer and cheaper mooring solutions, ultimately leading to reduced costs of electricity. The current design practice for analysing extreme loads on floating wind turbines in shutdown conditions, involves running multiple analyses of 3-hour random sea-states with a 50-year return period. For moorings, where slowly varying wave drift forces are dominant, this is time-consuming to compute and does not guarantee capturing the peak loads. In this presentation, David will present an overview of these challenges, along with how the HYDROMORE project is seeking to address some of these. Some specific findings from recent model tests in the HVL MarinLab towing-tank will also be presented, where a new design wave method has been developed that targets peak mooring loads within very short time durations; just three to ten platform oscillations.

Bio: Dr David Lande-Sudall is an Associate Professor in Ocean Engineering at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Bergen in Norway. David started his current position after completing his PhD on co-located offshore wind and tidal stream turbines from the University of Manchester, UK. His research is focussed on ocean renewable energy and particularly experimental hydrodynamics within HVL’s MarinLab towing tank facility. David leads the research group, Wind, Water and Waves (W3) and is currently Principal Investigator on the Research Council of Norway funded project, HYDROMORE (324388), some of the findings for which he will present in this talk.

David Lande-Sudall, Department of mechanical engineering and maritime studies, HVL 

En introduksjon til hva Viten-TV er, hvorfor plattformen har blitt til, og hva den kan brukes til.

André Giæver Kvalvågnes:

Gruppeleder for produksjon, og lokal koordinator for Viten-TV ved Universitetet i Bergen

Ingrid Spildo Nordhuus:

Ingrid er nasjonal kurator for Viten-TV. I Viten-TV styrer hun den daglige driften og koordinerer samarbeidet mellom institusjonene.

PierGianLuca Porta Mana
HVL, Dept. of Computer Science

Abstract: Heisenberg's famous uncertainty principle states that position and momentum cannot be measured simultaneously and with arbitrary precision. Unfortunately many quantum students get the wrong idea about this principle, because it is misleadingly worded. We shall see that a simultaneous and precise measurement of these quantities is actually possible, routinely done, and even important in tasks like quantum key distribution. We end with a question and possibly a debate: why do some scientific misconceptions survive for decades?

Bio: Piero Giovanni Luca Porta-Mana i an associate professor at the Department of Computer science, Electrical engineering and Mathematical sciences at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL). He has a varied background in physics and is currently a member of the Artificial Intelligence Engineering group at HVL.

Robert Corkery
Dept. of Material Physics, Australian National University

Abstract:

Observations of remarkable micron-sized chiral structures found in the wings of Lycaenid butterflies and attemptsto to detect predicted chiral optical signals from thesestructures are presented.

Using light and electron microscopy, it is well-established within the field of butterfly optics that the green reflections come from 3D, single-gyroid crystals with cubic symmetry containing chiral motifs with unit-cell size of the order of the wavelength of visible light.  These 3D periodic dielectric crystals are closely related to the 3D periodic gyroid minimal surface structure discovered by Schoen at NASA in the early 1970s.

Individual single-gyroid crystals in certain butterflies are predicted to have a strong circular polarization band gap along the <100> crystal direction in the blue part of the visible spectrum. To date, the general consensus in the scientific literature is that the chiral photonic reflection is absent, despite many attempts to observe it. This vexinglack of previous detections has been attributed to possible factors such as polycrystallinity, absorbing pigments, suboptimal optical setups, mixed chirality and incorrect optical-reflection predictive models. 

New attempts to resolve this conflict between prediction and experiment are presented here.

Jan Petter Hansen
Institutt for fysikk og teknologi, UiB

14.15

Auditorium B, Allégaten 66

Abstract:

Quantum mechanics contains at least two phenomena that become absurd when transferred to our macroscopic world: Entanglement and tunneling. Curiously, entanglement has been the subject of heated discussions among giants like Bohr, Einstein, and Schrödinger for about 90 years, while the tunneling mechanism has been quietly adopted. Nevertheless, one might argue that the common enabling cause is the inherent non-locality of quantum mechanics.

The dilemma of quantum tunneling arises when it is asserted that quantum particles can pass barriers which, according to classical physics, they lack the energy to overcome. This phenomenon is not just a theoretical concept; it is a driving force behind how the world works today, for example:

• The Sun would be dark without it: Stellar energy comes from nuclear fusion. The temperature in the Sun's core is too low for atomic nuclei to collide and fuse classically.
• Geothermal heat: The radioactive decay of heavy elements like Uranium and Thorium, the main source of Earth's internal heat, is a result of quantum tunneling. Without this process, heat production in the Earth's interior would be dramatically reduced, with major consequences for the development of life.
• In biological systems, quantum tunneling is crucial for electron transport. This occurs, for example, in photosynthesis and cellular respiration, where electrons tunnel short distances between protein complexes to drive the cell's energy metabolism.

Quantum tunneling is also a prerequisite for modern electronics. In today's ultra-small transistors, tunneling is a fundamental mechanism affecting electron behavior. Without the effects of quantum physics, including tunneling, we would not have the computing power that underlies today's computers and smartphones.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis for "Macroscopic quantum tunneling." Nobel Prizes have often been awarded to researchers who have utilized the tunneling effect to build new technology, for example in 1985 for the development of the "tunneling microscope" and, perhaps most importantly for us in Bergen: Ivar Giever received
the Nobel Prize in 1973 for tunneling in semiconductors and superconducting materials. From this year's Nobel Prize, a long line of research therefore extends from today's top research environments in California back to Ivar Giever—conceived and born in Bergen.

Astrid Marie Skålvik
Institutt for fysikk og teknologi, UiB

14.15

The Bachelor Room, IFT (Room 359)

Abstract: 

In most measurement systems, we have some contextual insight into what can go wrong with the sensors — depending on the sensor technology and the environment in which they operate. From sensor testing or historical data, we can estimate the likelihood of different types of faults and how these faults manifest in the measurement signal.
 
Bayesian modeling of the measurement system allows us to translate this contextual and sensor knowledge into prior probability distributions at each time step. As new data arrive, we can compute posterior distributions that combine information from both data and prior knowledge. From these, we can estimate both measurement errors and their uncertainties.

Astrid Marie Skålvik is a PhD candidate at the Department of Physics and Technology (IFT) within the SFI Smart Ocean centre. Her research explores how underwater sensors can self-validate and self-diagnose during long deployments, combining physics-based understanding of sensor behaviour with Bayesian methods for automatic quality control. Alongside her PhD, she works as a senior researcher in the Measurement Science group at NORCE, focusing on uncertainty modelling of measurement systems.

Abstract: In this talk, we’ll look at a few problems that seem simple at first but turn out to be surprisingly complex. We’ll focus on two real-world problems, examining them both from a traditional view and through the lens of parameterized complexity. We’ll discuss what makes a problem "easy" or "hard" and how algorithms can show us when brutef orce is the only option. We’ll also see how parameterized complexity can provide efficient algorithms that are exponential only in a small parameter, making them practical to use. This approach helps us better understand and solve tough computational problems.

For more information, click here.

See mini-symposium program here.

Abstract: As laboratory instruction comes under increasing pressures due to budgetary issues and overfilled curricula, how do we justify the time and expense of laboratory instruction? Often, the justification is rather tautological: physics is an experimental subject, so physics students must do experiments. While this is true, it is not sufficient. I will discuss what I think are better justifications of laboratories in the physics curricula together with some examples of how one can transform traditional laboratory exercises into genuine scientific investigations.

Ian Bearden, Niels Bohr Institute

Abstract: Matter-wave diffraction is widely used for precision measurements, in fundamental sciences, and materials research. For investigating materials in transmission, both electron and neutron diffraction are common and well-established solutions. However, there are some limitations, for instance, in the study of radiation-sensitive materials. To overcome these, we aim to complement these techniques by coherent diffraction of atomic matter waves through crystalline materials [1]. Within this talk, we show first experimental results. Using atoms with a kinetic energy in the keV-range, we observe detailed patterns that result from interaction with the natural lattice of the crystalline gratings. This observation is remarkable as the atoms have sufficient energy to excite the membrane, which is expected to lead to decoherence and thus prevent coherent diffraction. We will discuss possible applications in the fields of materials research and fundamental science.
[1] Brand et al., New J. Phys. 21, 033004 (2019)

Christian Brand, German Aerospace Center

Abstract: While deep learning-based medical image analysis has made great strides, there are many cases where we need to keep a human in the loop. In this talk, I will introduce the field of medical visualization and provide several examples of how interactive visualization can support diagnosis, treatment planning, education, and communication in medicine.

Noeska Smit, Medical Visualization Group, UiB