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source: BBVA Foundation 2016年4月14日
2016 Series of Lectures on Astrophysics and Cosmology: science of the cosmos, science in the cosmos
Directed by: Ana Achúcarro
There is still so much we do not know about the cosmos! Samuel Ting opens the series with a talk on cosmic rays and anti-matter, and what we have learned from detecting them in space with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment aboard the International Space Station. Cosmic rays have their origin in ultra-energetic astrophysical processes that we still fail to understand. Werner Hofmann talks about these cosmic particle accelerators and the future network of telescopes that will attempt to answer these questions: the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), some parts of it sited in the Canary Islands.
Reinhard Genzel studies the evolution of galaxies and the role played by black holes. For two decades, Genzel and his team have been observing the black hole at the center of our galaxy and reconstructing stellar orbits in its vicinity. The resulting images are memorable indeed.
Closer to home, the exploration of the solar system (the subject of Mark McCaughrean’s talk) has recently caught the imagination of the wider public through iconic images of distant worlds that raise more questions than they solve. Even our own star, the Sun, has numerous secrets. Saku Tsuneta shows astonishing films of the solar magnetic field and solar flares taken from the Japanese observatory Hinode. Besides its scientific interest, solar activity affects our climate and may on occasion cut off satellite communications. The protective role of the Earth’s magnetic field also holds important clues to the conditions needed for life to exist on other planets.
But many of us will remember 2016 for David Reitze’s already famous February statement: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have detected gravitational waves. We did it!” Measuring a distortion of space equal to one part in 10 21 is an astounding technological feat. This is a long awaited discovery that has demanded over forty years of technological development, spectacular advances in computing, and the work and dedication of around a thousand scientists. We are lucky enough to have David Reitze with us to tell the story.
The direct detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States, as part of a joint effort with European experiments Virgo and GEO600, has opened a new window onto the Universe which will undoubtedly revolutionize what we know about the cosmos and some of the most energetic processes unfolding within it. For the moment, we can revel in the first evidence of the fusion of two black holes, each with a mass some thirty times greater than the Sun’s. Proof that these giants do exist.
Free entrance. Limited seating. Simultaneous translation will be provided.
Those wishing to attend (maximum of 2 people) should write to confirmaciones@fbbva.es, giving their name, surname(s) and contact phone numbers for themselves and their companion.
Lecture by Samuel Ting from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel Prize 1:06:19
Synopsis
There are two types of cosmic rays that reach Earth from outer space. The first type are electrically neutral (photons and neutrinos), whose study using spaceborne, ground-based and underground telescopes and detectors has contributed greatly to our understanding of the Universe. The second type of cosmic rays carry charge and mass and are absorbed in the Earth’s atmosphere. Their study calls for a precision magnetic spectrometer located in space, beyond the atmosphere, to identify their mass, electrical charge, energy and directionality. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a precision particle physics detector deployed on the International Space Station in May 2011, which in its first four years measured 76 billion cosmic rays. The precision of the detector and its ability to measure and distinguish cosmic atomic nuclei have changed our understanding of the properties of charged cosmic rays.
Bio notes
Samuel Ting received the 1976 Nobel Prize for the discovery of the J particle at Brookhaven National Laboratory (United States), one of many awards and honors bestowed on him in his research career. His seminal results include the observation of nuclear anti-matter (the anti-deuteron) and a long series of precision studies that have demonstrated the validity of key aspects of the Standard Model of elementary particles. He also developed the first large superconducting magnet (2 tons) for spaceborne research and has demonstrated separation of helium isotopes in space. He currently leads a fifteen-nation collaboration involving some 500 physicists and engineers to use the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory to probe fundamental questions of cosmology and elementary particle physics, including the origin of cosmic rays, the nature of dark matter and the search for traces of primordial anti-matter.
(Subtitling) Lecture by Samuel Ting from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel Prize 1:06:19
Lecture by Prof. Saku Tsuneta from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 56:17
(Subtitling) Lecture by Prof. Saku Tsuneta from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) 56:16
Lecture by Mark McCaughrean from European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Netherlands 1:22:44
(Subtitling) Lecture by Mark McCaughrean from European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) 1:22:44
Lecture by Reinhard Genzel from MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching (Germany) 1:13:09
(Subtitling) Lecture by Reinhard Genzel from MPI for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching (Germany) 1:13:09
Lecture by Werner Hofmann from Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Germany 1:08:11
(Subtitling) Lecture by Werner Hofmann from Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Germany 1:08:11
Lecture by David Reitze from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 1:04:01
(Subtitling) Lecture by David Reitze from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 1:04:01
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