International Partner Seminar: Greg Scholes (Princeton University)
We are pleased to announce that our Associate Investigator Greg Scholes of Princeton University will deliver an in-person and online seminar at 1pm AEDT on Thursday 31 March 2022.
This is the latest event in a series of talks featuring our high-profile collaborators and partners at major institutions around the world.
Title: From synchronization to chemical reaction superpositions
Abstract: Synchronization abounds in nature—why is it so hard to synchronize quantum systems? I will discuss this general question, then report new experiments that show how a molecular exciton state can launch two a superposition of two chemical reactions. Specifically, we study femtosecond proton transfer in a symmetric molecule with two identical reactant sites that are spatially apart. With the reaction launched from a superposition of two local basis states, we hypothesize that the motions of the electrons and nuclei will ensue in lock-step as a superposition of probability amplitudes until decoherence collapses the system to a product. We see evidence for this, and conclude that this chemical system is a good test-bed to study the transition from quantum to classical.
When: Thursday 31 March, 1pm AEDT.
Where: University of Melbourne, Theatre 2, Level B, Building 155 (Old Geology), Parkville, VIC 3010 | Online via Zoom.
To register for the in-person event, click here.
To request Zoom access details, please email communications@excitonscience.com
