Department of Physics & Astronomy
UT Physics and Astronomy is where fascination meets function. We explore the deep questions of the universe and provide the scientific foundation for discovery that yields the technologies in your pocket, and those of tomorrow.
Our department is driven by an engaged faculty pursuing the fundamental research required for solving real-world problems. Our physicists helped put Tennessee on the periodic table. They tame the complexity of quantum materials with artificial intelligence. They study explosive stellar events and search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. They describe the properties of nuclei and neutrons and test the limits of superconductivity with novel materials. They merge physics and biology at the cellular level with lab-on-a-chip devices. And at every step, they are training the next generation of physicists, both in the classroom and in their research groups.
Colloquium Schedule
Electron Pairing and Fractionalization in the Age of AI and Quantum Computing
August 31, 2026
Speaker: Yang Zhang
Host: Adrian Del Maestro
Abstract
Electrons in solids can do two remarkable things: they can pair up and flow without resistance, and they can collectively behave as fractionally charged particles. Predicting these phenomena remains a major challenge because the physics spans enormous spatial scales and exponentially large quantum state spaces. I will show how my group uses AI to understand electron pairing in realistic materials: machine-learned Hamiltonians reproduce moiré electronic structures with meV accuracy for systems of up to millions of atoms, enabling studies of superconductivity from weak to strong coupling in twisted semiconductors.
To understand fractionalization, we turn to quantum processors. Constant-depth circuits prepare 18 fractional quantum Hall states on up to 156 superconducting qubits; remarkably, some of the most exotic states are also the easiest to prepare. Together, these efforts show how AI can extend quantum-materials modeling to realistic scales, while quantum processors open access to highly entangled states beyond classical reach.
Labor Day 2026
September 7, 2026
Abstract
No colloquium: Labor Day Holiday.
Curiosity and Perseverance: Expanding our Understanding of the Martian Surface
September 14, 2026
Speaker: Linda Kah
Host: Sherwood Richers
Abstract
Our understanding of the Red Planet is evolving as we continue to receive data from the ongoing activities of NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. In this talk, we will review the questions driving our exploration of the martian surface, take a look at the some of the basic data derived from rover science, and explore some of the fundamental difficulties of interpreting data from the surface of another planet. We will particularly focus on issues familiar to all of science: our current state of knowledge, intrinsic bias and the assumptions we make and the questions we ask, and the necessity of integrating information across both discipline and scale.
