Spectrum 2023

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

The year 2024 begins a new era that coincides with changes in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Construction continues on the Applied Science Project with a building that will serve as the hub for our research and teaching activities. This new facility, a retrofit of the historic Stewart Building, plus a new structure immediately south of the Crocker Science Building, will provide the physical infrastructure necessary to unify and support our expanding faculty and student body, fostering an environment for innovative research, collaboration, and learning.

As the new chair, I am committed to bring our faculty and community together, encourage participation, and provide the necessary resources to support and facilitate a collegial environment. Commitment for this is found in our staff and other resources focused on grants, outreach, and

administrative services. These resources will empower our current and new faculty members to pursue their research and educational endeavors effectively, while also enhancing our funding and research, community engagement, and focus on recruitment and reinforcement of new students and faculty, including new members of our condensed matter research group.

The faculty mentorship program will contribute to the growth and success of our entire community.

Our new shared facility with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy will offer further interdisciplinary opportunities. We hope to move into the new space in 2025. Watch for reports on our progress!

As we look towards a new era for our department, I’d like to reflect on the generosity of our

extended community. I am deeply grateful for the ongoing support of our donors, the dedication of our faculty and staff, and the enduring commitment of our alumni. Together, we are poised to achieve new heights of excellence in physics education and research. I look forward to sharing more updates with you as we continue on this exciting journey.

Warm regards,

IN MEMORIUM

Read the extended remembrances at physics.utah.edu/news

Spectrum is the official magazine of the Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Utah, published in partnership with Marketing & Communications, College of Science.

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TELESCOPE ARRAY DETECTS SECOND HIGHEST-ENERGY COSMIC RAY EVER

UTAH HAS BEEN HOME TO LARGE COSMIC RAY DETECTORS COVERING HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES OF DESERT WITH SURFACE COSMIC RAY DETECTORS.

On May 21, 2021, the most energetic surface array event ever detected was triggered by a very energetic cosmic messenger particle. This event was second only in energy to an event detected in 1991, using a different detection technique. The energy of this cosmic ray (affectionately known as the Oh-My-God particle) shocked astrophysicists. Nothing in our galaxy had the power to produce it, and the particle had more energy than was theoretically possible for cosmic rays traveling to Earth from other galaxies. Simply put, the particle should not exist.

Since 1991, the U's Telescope Array has observed more than 30 ultra-high-

energy cosmic rays, though none approaching the Oh-My-God-level energy. No observations have yet revealed their origin or how they are able to travel to Earth.

At 2.4 x 1020 eV, the energy from the 2021-detected single subatomic particle is equivalent to dropping a brick on your toe from waist height. Led by the U and the University of Tokyo, the Telescope Array consists of 507 surface detector stations arranged in a square grid that covers 700 km2 (~270 mi2) outside of Delta, Utah in the state’s West Desert. The 2021 event triggered 23 detectors at the northwest region of the Telescope Array, splashing across 48 km2 (18.5 mi2). Its arrival direction appeared to be from the Local Void, an empty area of space bordering the Milky Way Galaxy.

“The particles are so high energy,

they shouldn’t be affected by galactic and extra-galactic magnetic fields. You should be able to point to where they come from in the sky,” says John Matthews, Telescope Array cospokesperson at the U and co-author of a new study. “But in the case of the Oh-My-God particle and this new particle, you trace its trajectory to its source, and there’s nothing high energy enough to have produced it. That’s the mystery of this—what the heck is going on?”

In their observation that published on Nov. 23, 2023, in the journal Science, the international Telescope Array collaboration of researchers describe the ultra-high-energy cosmic ray, evaluate its characteristics, and conclude that the rare phenomena might follow particle physics unknown to science. The researchers named it the Amaterasu particle

after the sun goddess in Japanese mythology. The Oh-My-God and the Amaterasu particles were detected using different observation techniques, confirming that while rare, these ultra-high energy events are real.

“These events seem like they’re coming from completely different places in the sky. It’s not like there’s one mysterious source,” says John Belz, co-author of the study. “It could be defects in the structure of spacetime, colliding cosmic strings. I mean, I’m just spit-balling crazy ideas that people are coming up with because there’s not a conventional explanation.”

NATURAL PARTICLE ACCELERATORS

Cosmic rays are echoes of violent celestial events that have stripped matter to its subatomic structures and hurled it through the universe at nearly the speed of light. Essentially, cosmic rays are charged particles with a wide range of energies consisting of positive protons, negative electrons, or entire atomic nuclei that travel through space and rain down onto Earth constantly.

Cosmic rays hit Earth’s upper atmosphere and blast apart the nucleus of oxygen and nitrogen gas, generating many secondary particles. These travel a short distance in the atmosphere and repeat the process, building billions of secondary particles that scatter to the surface. The footprint of this secondary shower is massive and requires that detectors cover an area as large as the Telescope Array. The surface detectors utilize a

ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE

Interpretive specialist Paul Ricketts captured the below image at the base of Notch Peak, near Delta, Utah. For this image, he utilized a 70mm Coronado Solarmax III and captured this shot with a modified Canon D70. This telescope is set up specifically to view the hydrogen in the chromosphere and is one of the only ways to view prominences, which can be observed as wisps along the edge of the solar surface in this image.

The Bailey's Beads (lower right quadrant) visible in the image are due to the Moon’s terrain where light peeks between mountains and craters on the very edge of the lunar surface.

Ricketts hosts star parties yearround, every Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. at the South Physics Observatory (SPO). Even when the skies are cloudy, science demos are available. These parties are free and require no reservations. The SPO also hosts an astronomy club, which is a great way to learn more about research and presentations from faculty and graduate students at the U.

suite of instrumentation that gives researchers information about each cosmic ray; the timing of the signal shows its trajectory, and the amount of charged particles hitting each detector reveals the primary particle’s energy.

Because particles have a charge, their flight path resembles a ball in a pinball machine as they zigzag against electromagnetic fields through the cosmic microwave background. It’s nearly impossible to trace the trajectory of most cosmic rays, which lies on the low- to middle-end of the energy spectrum. Even high-energy cosmic rays are distorted by the microwave background. Particles with Oh-My-God and Amaterasu energy blast through intergalactic space relatively unbent. Only the most powerful of celestial events can produce them.

“Things that people think of as energetic, like supernova, are nowhere near energetic enough for this. You need huge amounts of energy, really

high magnetic fields to confine the particle while it gets accelerated,” says Matthews.

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays must exceed 5 x 1019 eV—the equivalent of a single subatomic particle carrying the kinetic energy of a major league pitcher’s fast ball, and have tens of millions of times more energy than any human-made particle accelerator can achieve. Astrophysicists calculated this theoretical limit, known as the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff, as the maximum energy a proton can hold traveling over long distances before interactions of the microwave background radiation slow it down. Known source candidates, such as active galactic nuclei or black holes with accretion disks emitting particle jets, tend to be more than 160 million light years away from Earth. The new particle’s 2.4 x 1020 eV and the Oh-My-God particle’s 3.2 x 1020 eV easily surpass the cutoff.

Researchers also analyze cosmic ray composition for clues of its origins. A heavier particle, like iron nuclei, has more charge and is more susceptible to bending in a magnetic field than a lighter particle made of protons from a hydrogen atom. The new particle is likely a proton. Particle physics dictates that a cosmic ray with energy beyond the GZK cutoff is too powerful for its path to be distorted by the microwave background, but back tracing Amaterasu’s trajectory points towards empty space.

“Maybe magnetic fields are stronger than we thought, but that disagrees with other observations that show they’re not strong enough to produce significant curvature at these ten-tothe-twentieth electron volt energies,” says Belz. “It’s a real mystery.”

EXPANDING THE FOOTPRINT

The Telescope Array is uniquely positioned to detect ultra-highenergy cosmic rays. It sits at about 1,200 m (4,000 ft), the elevation sweet-spot that allows secondary particles maximum development, but before they start to decay. Its location in Utah’s West Desert provides ideal atmospheric conditions in two ways: the dry air is crucial because humidity will absorb the ultraviolet light necessary for detection; and the region’s dark skies are essential, as light pollution will create too much noise and obscure the cosmic rays.

Astrophysicists are still baffled by the mysterious phenomena. The Telescope Array is in the middle of an expansion that that they hope will help crack the case. Once completed, 500 new scintillator detectors will expand the Telescope Array and will sample cosmic ray-induced particle showers across 2,900 km2 (1,100 mi2), an area nearly the size of Rhode Island. The larger footprint will hopefully capture more events that will shed light on what’s going on. <

A version of this story appears in @TheU

OVERCOMING PHYSICS PHOBIA

“THE CORE CONCEPT OF PHYSICS IS A PHYSICAL INTUITION ABOUT THE WORLD,” KEVIN DAVENPORT SAYS. “HUMAN BEINGS LOVE TO THINK ABOUT PUZZLES AND PROBLEM SOLVING.”

Davenport who earned his PhD at the U in 2019 is now an assistant professor (lecturer) in the department of Physics & Astronomy and recipient of the College of Science’s 2023 Distinguished Educator Award.

Inspired by the U's "Math Circle," one of the most well-established in the nation, Davenport , together with colleagues Oleg Starykh and Tugdual LeBohec, has been instrumental in creating Utah Physics Circle, a program designed to help high schoolers get involved in physics by fostering the specific type of thinking that physics requires. Meeting monthly, the Circle is built to facilitate the specific problem-solving mindset that will help students succeed in physics classes. “The point of the

Physics Circle is to try to develop a group where we can invite people to come in and enjoy problem solving,” Davenport states.

DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC LENSES

Davenport teaches a series of labs for non-majors that have a focus in life sciences. He creates his class with a lens toward students who are new to physics and haven’t mastered the intuitive way of thinking specific to physics. “When I design my classes this way, it's really important not to lose sight of what it feels like not to know how to do this,” he says. “We don't want them to have an experience where we put up this edifice of really complicated terminology and mathematics that seems impenetrable.”

Teaching a class as difficult as physics requires adapting to students and having many ways of teaching the same concepts. “I constantly rebuild my class,” Davenport says. “I'll try to tailor the examples and things we talk

about to my students. If there's a lot of biology students, for instance, I'll pick problems that are probably of more interest to them.”

Davenport enjoys teaching students an introduction to physics. Most have very little understanding of physics when they come into a college physics class. They’re affected by what Davenport calls “physics phobia” because of how intimidating and new it is. But Davenport, who has a broad academic and work background in everything from information technology to design, is uniquely poised to help students understand the subject.

“What's interesting to me is explaining concepts to a large group of people where this is not the thing they've chosen to do with their life,” Davenport says. “I'm deeply interested in communicating complex ideas to people who don't understand the complex ideas initially.” <

A COHORT OF TEENS AT THE SALT LAKE CENTER FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION (SLCSE) IS LEARNING THE PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

The ASPIRE program is led by U faculty member Tino Nyawelo, one of three recipients of the 2023 Spirit of Salam Award given annually on the birthday of the famed theoretical physicist from Punjab, Pakistan, Abdus Salam.

This pilot program is an extension of the larger, successful REFUGES initiative, designed to support refugee students entering Utah’s public school system, a transition that can often be difficult due to the agebased placement of schools. “[The students] couldn't succeed in this school system because they spent years in refugee camps without any education,” says Nyawelo. “Since we can't change the school system, we have to fill in by providing additional support.” In addition to hands-on experience with science, the students

are also provided with resources for personal health and wellness, college and career readiness, and assistance applying for scholarships, with several students from the last cohort receiving full-ride scholarships.

Nyawelo emphasizes the importance of this component: “For [students] to succeed, you need to address the costs of education. That's why we have college and career readiness, and we have provided scholarships. They can be smart and all those kinds of things, but if you don't support them and don't provide all those resources, they may not be able to afford to come [to the U], for example.” Beyond the unique opportunity to engage with real physics, ensuring a viable future path for its participants is one of the program’s vital elements.

DETECTORS FOR COSMIC RAY SCIENCE

The detector technology is adapted from HiSPARC (High School Project on Astrophysics Research with Cosmics), a program co-founded by physicists Bob van Eijk and Nyawelo’s former advisor Jan-Willem van

Holten, a theoretical physicist at Nikhef (the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics) with whom Nyawelo continues to collaborate to this day. Van Holten and a number of researchers who worked on the HiSPARC project have flown to Utah several times to help Nyawelo adapt the program in its new digs in the Mountain West. “I still have a big connection with the Netherlands,” says Nyawelo. “Van Holten, van Eijk, and their colleagues at Nikhef have donated a lot of the equipment for free to work and build cosmic ray

detectors with high school students here in Utah, and they handed me the project that they started more than 20 years ago.”

After the detectors are installed at SLCSE and begin collecting data, there is a continual opportunity for the students to learn coding skills and data analysis as part of their physics and astronomy curriculum. The database is an international one, with data dumps coming in from all over the world, in real-time. The program is designed to scale up to other high schools throughout

GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2023-24

As the result of an ongoing partnership with the Department of Defense's National Defense Education Programs (NDEP), Dr. John Yopp, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, announced that the Trustees of the Goldwater Board have again been able to increase the number of Goldwater scholarships awarded for the 2023-2024 academic year to 413 college students from across the US. Two of them are physics & astronomy majors at the U.

the state so that students can have hands-on experience collecting and analyzing data about cosmic rays globally. “It’s been an exciting project that can serve as a model for other places that want to support students from these backgrounds to succeed in STEM in higher education, just like I did while attending the ICTP [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Italy] and in the Netherlands.”

Generous support for the pilot program at SLCSE was provided by Jeff and Pauline Unruh through

A sophomore, Eliza Diggins participated as a freshman in the Science Research Initiative program, sponsored by the College of Science. "Math and physics have both had a special place in my heart for most of my life. Even back in elementary school, math and science always held my attention more than other subjects. I began to actively study physics in middle school and never looked back."

Following graduation, she hopes to pursue a PhD in theoretical astrophysics to use innovative computational and analytical techniques to better understand the dynamical processes at play on all scales of the cosmos.

the Unruh Family Foundation.

"Our foundation focuses on STEM disciplines and inspiring young minds. ASPIRE is a perfect example. We're proud to support the next generation of scientists," says Jeff Unruh. With his commendable dedication to this program, Nyawelo has ensured that these students will walk away not just with extensive hands-on experience in STEM, but also with the tools to succeed in their lives beyond the classroom, fostering a brighter and more accessible future for science. <

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An honors student with a triple major, Audrey Glende is currently researching a crystal and mapping its electrical and magnetic properties at extreme conditions. The crystal (EuCd2P2) has been labeled as a superconductive candidate among other characteristics. She is hoping to complete a PhD in physics and eventually share her knowledge through teaching at the college level.

Among many influential family members in her life, she says, "I probably see myself most in my dad and know that it is very much so because of him that I have been comfortably hand-held into my passion for STEM in a way many people aren’t." <

THE UNIVERSE WITHIN CONDENSED MATTER RESEARCH AT THE U

THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY HAS A DEDICATED TEAM OF EXPERIMENTAL CONDENSED MATTER (CME) PHYSICISTS EXPLORING THE ENIGMATIC WORLD OF CONDENSED MATTER IN THE QUEST FOR DISCOVERIES THAT REDEFINE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF NATURE ON THE QUANTUM SCALE.

This group's work, spanning from the study of quantum materials to the development of advanced spintronic devices, is not only a testament to their scientific prowess but also to their commitment to addressing some of the most pressing challenges in physics today.

Visiting CME faculty and potential collaborators will find that the department offers a comprehensive overview of its research operations, showcasing its state-of-the-art facilities and the innovative work being conducted. A review of the department’s six, celebrated CME laboratory operations reveals a rich landscape where advanced scientific inquiry meets real-world applications.

Z. Valy Vardeny's work revolves around optical, electronic and magnetic properties of novel materials. The research group’s groundbreaking work on the Rashba effect in hybrid organicinorganic perovskites, as detailed in a recent article in the journal Nature Communications, has opened new pathways in understanding and manipulating quantum materials with promising advancements in fields ranging from solar energy to quantum computing.

Shanti Deemyad and her research group explore the frontiers of matter under extreme conditions, especially extreme pressure. Her research focuses on the intriguing behavior of quantum materials like superconductors and quantum solids under varying pressures and temperatures. The Fermi surface of lithium under high pressure that she and her coworkers have elucidated is a testament to the department’s CME research endeavor to push the boundaries of known physics.

Vikram Deshpande’s laboratory is a hub of activity focusing on atomically-thin nanostructures, so called 2D-materials. This work includes research on Dirac materials, a cutting-edge area of contemporary condensed matter physics. Their landmark study on emergent helical edge states in a hybridized threedimensional topological insulator opens the door to applications in spintronics and quantum computing, a step towards harnessing the unique properties of quantum materials for practical technologies that could revolutionize the electronic and computational landscape.

Eric Montoya’s lab offers research on an array of magnetic materials and spintronic devices, another testament to the department’s expertise in the field of magnetism and spin physics. Montoya’s innovative work on the development of the easy-plane spin Hall oscillators offers exciting prospects for advancements in telecommunications and spintronicsbased computing, indicating a future where technology is seamlessly integrated with advanced physics.

Andrey Rogachev’s research group investigates the fascinating world of superconducting nanowires and thin films. Their groundbreaking study provided crucial insights into the behavior of these low-dimensional structures under external magnetic fields, contributing significantly to our understanding of quantum critical phenomena. This research not only furthers our knowledge of superconductivity but also provides a foundation for future explorations into quantum computing and ultrasensitive magnetic field sensors.

Christoph Boehme’s research group is a place where spin physics, quantum mechanics, and material science converge with their focus on the exploration of spindependent electronic transitions in condensed matter. Their recent breakthrough demonstrating the existence of Floquet spin states in organic light emitting diodes is representative of how the department's CME research programs succeed in bridging the gap between quantum physics and practical applications. <

The Applied Science Project is a $93.5 million endeavor that includes renovation of the historic William Stewart Building and a new 100,000-square-foot building with modern teaching labs and stateof-the-art research facilities. Upon completion in 2025, these spaces will house the Department of Physics & Astronomy as well as the Department of Atmospheric Sciences along with The Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy.

Researchers in Physics & Astronomy will use the facilities for a range of activities, such as developing new advances in semiconductors and quantum materials and managing the Willard Eccles Observatory telescope at Frisco Peak. The partnership between the two departments is a component of the merger between the College of Science and the College of Mines and Earth Sciences, announced in 2022.

“The collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of this project will bring together faculty

and students who will work together to address the grand challenges of our day and make great advances in fundamental research,” says Peter Trapa, dean of the College of Science.

The project will boost the capacity for crucial undergraduate courses, allowing departments to address record STEM enrollment. Classes taught in the buildings are necessary for 37 different STEM degree programs and nine pre-professional programs, including all engineering, pre-medical, and computer science majors. Along with access to modern experiential teaching spaces, students will avoid bottlenecks in high-demand courses, helping reduce graduation time.

When completed, the Crocker Science Center and the two buildings in the Applied Science Project will form the Crocker Science Complex. The complex, made possible by an $8.5 million gift from Gary and Ann Crocker, will create a dynamic interdisciplinary STEM nexus at the U. < Donate to the department’s new home.

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FOR THE FIRST TIME, AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF SCIENTISTS HAS FOUND EVIDENCE OF STEADY HIGHENERGY NEUTRINO EMISSION FROM A SOURCE BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

The neutrinos originate from NGC 1068, an active galaxy in the constellation Cetus. The detection was made at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a massive neutrino telescope embedded at depths of 1.5 to 2.5 kilometers into the ultrapure ice below Antarctica’s surface near the South Pole.

The University of Utah joined the IceCube Collaboration as a full institutional member in 2020. Carsten Rott, who holds the Jack W. Keuffel Memorial Chair at the U’s Department of Physics & Astronomy, has been with the IceCube Collaboration since the early construction phase of the observatory.

“After more than ten years of taking data, it is exciting to continue to see breakthroughs like this evidence for neutrino emission from NGC 1068 that

bring us closer to understanding the origins of the energetic particles we observe in the universe,” Rott says.

Unlike light, neutrinos can escape in large numbers from extremely dense environments in the universe and reach Earth largely undisturbed by matter and the electromagnetic fields that permeate extragalactic space. Although scientists envisioned neutrino astronomy more than 60 years ago, the weak interaction of neutrinos with matter makes their detection extremely difficult for today's scientists.

Neutrinos could be key to our queries about the workings of the most extreme objects in the cosmos.

A candidate extreme object is NGC 1068, a type 2 Seyfert active galaxy where most radiation is not produced by stars but is due to material falling into a black hole.

Surrounding NGC 1068 is a torus of nuclear dust that obscures most of the high-energy radiation

produced by the dense mass of gas and particles that slowly spiral inward toward the center of the galaxy.

“Recent models of the black hole environments in these objects suggest that gas, dust, and radiation should block the gamma rays that would otherwise accompany the neutrinos,” says Hans Niederhausen, a postdoctoral analyzer at Michigan State University. “This neutrino detection from the core of NGC 1068 will improve our understanding of the environments around supermassive black holes.”

With the neutrino measurements of NGC 1068, IceCube is one step closer to answering the century-

old question of the origin of cosmic rays. Additionally, these results imply that there may be many more similar objects in the universe yet to be identified. Shiqi Yu, recently hired at the U, is leading efforts to search IceCube’s data for neutrinos in the direction of other Seyfert II galaxies and if a general pattern can be established. “Advanced machine learning techniques are essential in helping us find more astrophysical neutrino signals with IceCube,” says Yu, “which can lead to better understanding of the astrophysical sources that produce them. The improved knowledge then can be used to find more similar sources.”

“The IceCube Neutrino Observatory’s identification of a neighboring galaxy as a cosmic source of neutrinos is just

the beginning of this new and exciting field,” says NSF Physics Division Director Diana Caldwell.

A NEW VIEW OF THE MILKY WAY

On June 30, 2023, The IceCube collaboration announced that they have produced an image of the Milky Way galaxy using high-energy neutrinos. This study has established the galaxy as the source of highenergy neutrinos. This breakthrough was made possible by advanced machine learning and new data analysis tools, which have provided an entirely new perspective of our galaxy. The study included 60,000 neutrinos events spanning ten years of IceCube data.

The analysis focused on the southern sky, where the bulk of neutrino emission from the galactic plane

RECOGNITION

The High Energy and Particle Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS) recently awarded the SDSS/BOSS/eBOSS collaborations the Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize for an outstanding contribution to particle astrophysics and cosmology in the last 15 years. The U was a key contributor to these international collaborations, including Kyle Dawson (right), which used the Sloan Telescope in New Mexico to collect the largest spectroscopic sample of galaxies in the world. <

is expected near the center of our galaxy. Until now, the background of muons and neutrinos produced by cosmic-ray interactions with the Earth’s atmosphere posed significant challenges. These high-energy neutrinos have energies millions to billions of times higher than those produced by the fusion reactions that power stars. “The strong evidence for the Milky Way as a source of highenergy neutrinos has survived rigorous tests by the collaboration,” says Ignacio Taboada, a professor of physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology and IceCube spokesperson. “Now the next step is to identify specific sources within the galaxy.” <

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy welcomed the University of Utah as a new member in April. Located in one of the darkest states in the nation, housing the Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, and launching the first-ever minor in dark sky studies in the United States, the U is a leader in exploring the impacts of artificial light at night and the loss of our night skies through a broad range of disciplines. “Participating in AURA is a clear next step,” says U faculty member Anil Chandra Seth, “as many of the key facilities our research programs rely on are managed by AURA.” <

IN SEPTEMBER, THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY HOSTED THE 12 TH INTERNATIONAL RETROVIRAL SYMPOSIUM AT SNOWBIRD, UTAH.

The retroviral symposium is held biannually and is hosted alternatively in the US or Europe. This symposium originally initiated from a group of NIH (National Institues of Health) researchers which had strong collaborations with European scientists beginning in the 1990s.

Fundamental mechanisms that ensure proper assembly, maturation, and uncoating of retroviruses remain unclear. Understanding these mechanisms is critical for the development of effective antivirals. While HIV antivirals now exist, the rapid evolution of HIV under antiviral selection requires new targets. This past symposium was focused on assembly, maturation, and uncoating and highlighted fundamental biochemical, virological and biophysical mechanisms involved in these processes.

In a novel turn, the symposium also featured a staged reading of an original play, Emergence by playwright Gretchen A. Case, with joint appointments in the U’s Department of Theatre and the Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the U’s School of Medicine. Set “in

TAKING THE LEAP

the future, but not so far that it is unrecognizable,” the one-act has four characters: three scientists and an “AI,” as in artificial intelligence. The cast includes “Liv” who is saving her reproductive eggs in jars in a futuristic world where retroviral therapy in human reproduction is the norm. (Retroviruses, it turns out, are critical to the formation of the placenta.) The script is based on the book Discovering Retroviruses by Anna Marie Skalka, professor emerita at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Skalka attended the symposium at a postplay discussion.

Also on hand during the post-play discussion was Sydney CheekO’Donnell, chair of the U’s theater department, a long-time collaborator with symposium organizer and U faculty member Saveez Saffarian. Cheek-O’Donnell says that the project is an ongoing attempt to understand and develop a way to work across multiple disciplines between science and arts/ humanities “so that others can take the leap… . Stories,” she says, “are one of the best ways to teach people complicated new ideas.” The play was partially supported by a 1U4U award to Case, Cheek-O’Donnell, and Saffarian. <

You can watch a video of the staged reading of “Emergence” at ramm2023.utah.edu/emergence

DIRECTING INTERSTELLAR SPACE TRAVEL

THE TWIN VOYAGER SPACECRAFT CAPTURED THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION IN THE 1970S AND ’80S AS EARTH’S FIRST AMBASSADORS TO THE OUTER PLANETS, PROVIDING CLOSE-UP IMAGES OF JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, AND NEPTUNE.

Voyager 2 leapt skyward first, on August 20, 1977, followed a few weeks later by Voyager 1 on Sept. 5.

Early career astrophysicist Jamie Rankin, HBS, Physics and BA'11 Music Composition, is now playing a leading role on the team that continues to track the aging probes Voyager I and II, each more than 10 billion miles from Earth. Born in 1988, Rankin is one of the youngest researchers ever to hold such an elevated title.

“Voyager is an amazing mission, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity,” says Rankin, who as a graduate student at CalTech did the first thesis on Voyager’s data from interstellar space. Today, she is an associate research scientist at Princeton University and an instructor of the space physics laboratory class.

MAPPING THE EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

“The science still coming from the Voyagers is amazing—and

underappreciated,” says Rankin. “Everything—everything—that we’ve measured in space gets filtered through the solar wind—through the sun and its plasma and magnetic fields. And everything measured from Earth-based telescopes is also filtered through our atmosphere.“ The very first time that we could measure space directly, without being disturbed by the sun, was when Voyager crossed into the interstellar medium.”

One thing Voyager measured was the level of incoming radiation, potentially deadly outside the heliosphere at almost ten times higher than inside the Earth’s atmospheric bubble. “The solar wind is actually protecting us,” Rankin says, from incoming radiation that in the heliospheres is ten times greater than that of the Earth’s atmospheric bubble. “Before the Voyagers got out here, nobody knew quite how much we were being shielded.”

The Voyagers also discovered that the sun interacts with its boundary differently than scientists had expected. When the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) launches in 2025 in a heliophysics mission, it will map out even better that elusive boundary zone in great detail,

providing a comprehensive picture to complement the deep but geographically limited data.

Voyager 1 is now billions of miles outside the heliopause, as far from that boundary as Neptune is from Earth, and speeding onward at about a million miles a day. And it’s still making remarkable discoveries, says Rankin.

Fifty years following their launch (more than ten years before Raskin was born) the Voyagers are aging. And, at such great distances away— it takes around two days to send and receive a message—they have experienced glitches. This past August inadvertent maneuvers pointed the probe's antenna slightly away from Earth and caused a communication disruption on Voyager 2. NASA was able to successfully establish full communications with Voyager 2, and as deputy director, Jamie Rankin was there coordinating data and working for the correction. <

Thank you to all of our alumni and friends who contribute to the Department of Physics & Astronomy. Your support enables us to provide exceptional education, conduct groundbreaking research, and prepare the next generation of leaders in our chosen discipline.

Other areas of particular need include: GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT GENERAL FUND

For more information about giving to Physics & Astronomy, contact:

If you’d like to support our efforts, please consider contributing to the APPLIED SCIENCE PROJECT, which will serve as the future home of the department.

We are grateful for your investment in our students, faculty, and staff. We’d love to hear from you or have you stop by campus for a visit. You are always welcome here at the University of Utah!

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