Seminars

"The wealth of very precise data collected by the Tevatron and LHC experiments is offering the possibility of new high-precision tests of the Standard Model. In this talk I will review the status of the determination of two important pseudo-observables of the EW sector: the W boson mass and the sinus of the weak mixing angle. I will discuss the challenges that have to be faced at the LHC to achieve results competitive with those from LEP and from the Tevatron. Eventually, I will briefly summarize the impact of these high precision studies in view of the searches for signals of physics beyond the Standard Model."

"The phenomenon of frustrated magnetism arising out of geometrical arrangement of magnetic ions is one of the modern topics of research in condensed matter physics. It is in general believed that the spin-glass behavior, if observed in such geometrically frustrated systems, is not intrinsic to this phenomenon, but due to finite disorder, in contrast to earlier proposals. In this talk, I will present novel magnetic behavior arising out of geometrical frustration in the intermetallics, R3Ru4Al12 (R= Rare-earths), in which the magnetic R ions are arranged in the form of a ‘kagome’ net. On the basis of observed systematics, we propose that spin-glass anomalies could be intrinsic, at least in this family, but could be of an exotic type."

"The prime spectrum of an MV-algebra is a spectral space, but not any spectral space is homeomorphic to the prime spectrum of an MV-algebra. The characterization of the class of spectral spaces arising as the spectrum of an MV-algebra is an important open problem in the theory of MV-algebras."

"We will give a survey lecture regarding the famous tau function of Ramanujan. We will indicate how his three conjectures regarding this function motivated the growth of the theory of modular forms, as well as its intimate connection to algebraic geometry and the Langlands program. We will discuss some recent developments and indicate open problems. The talk will be accessible to a general mathematical audience."

"TBA"

"The "Digital Revolution" that transformed our lives and our economy is based on the ubiquity of information-processing devices whose processing power increased exponentially for many decades, following Moore's law. As this trend is approaching fundamental physical limits, new directions are explored for even more powerful computational devices based on quantum mechanical systems. Such devices can solve problems that will remain out of reach for conventional computers. The main difficulty for their implementation is the fragility of information stored in suitable physical systems that obey the laws of quantum mechanics. This talk will highlight some aspects of the potential offered by quantum computers, as well as the difficulties that must be overcome to realise this potential."

"TBA"

"ICA event"

"The coupling of intracellular calcium (Ca 2+ ) dynamics with mitochondrial bioenergetics is crucial for the functioning of cardiomyocytes both in healthy and disease conditions. A pathophysiological signature of the cardiac dysfunction (CD) is commonly related to decreased ATP production due to mitochondrial functional impairment and to an increased mitochondrial calcium content ([Ca 2+ ] m ). The present study aimed to understand this CD condition using mathematical model and proposed potential therapeutic target to prevent such condition. We build a four-dimensional model with calcium content of different cellular component and ATP. We observed that a strong coupling of the [Ca 2+ ] m oscillations with the ATP synthesis rate ensures robust calcium cycling and avoids CD. We also suggested a cardioprotective role of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) and predicted that a mitochondrial sodium calcium exchanger (mNCX) could be a potential therapeutic target to restore the normal functioning of the cardiomyocyte. Diabetes is another reason that might also lead to CD. Calcium dynamics in cardiomyocytes is governed by ATP which depends on insulin dependent glucose concentration, via the glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4). It would therefore be interesting to see how calcium dynamics changes in a cardiomyocyte under diabetic conditions. We proposed and analyzed another four-dimensional ordinary differential equation (ODE) model to capture the interdependency of calcium dynamics on glucose uptake and ATP generation. More specifically, we looked for the role of GLUT4, energy metabolism, L-type channels, RyR2 channels, SERCA2a pumps and leakage rate in the normal functioning of cardiomyocytes. We observed that any divergence in the GLUT4 activity (especially a decrease in the glucose uptake rate) might cause abnormal calcium oscillation, leading to CD. Our study finally hypothesizes that a regulated sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium flux could be a possible therapeutic strategy to maintain normal calcium dynamics in diabetic heart and to prevent possible CD."