The atomic nucleus as a window to new physics

What is the nature and mass of the neutrino? Why is there an abundance of matter over antimatter in our universe? And what is dark matter, anyway? Strangely enough, answers might very well lie, yet undiscovered, in impossibly rare nuclear decays, infinitely subtle wobblings of nuclei embedded in radioactive molecules, or the faintest recoils of nuclei colliding with dark matter. As the role of atomic nuclei in unraveling such fundamental mysteries continues to deepen, first principles quantum simulations, starting from only underlying nuclear and weak forces, are currently undergoing nothing short of a revolution. In this talk I will outline this modern ab initio approach and spotlight several recent milestones, including statistical predictions of the limits of existence and the neutron skin of 208Pb to constrain neutron star properties. Parallel advances also now allow first predictions of neutrinoless double beta decay, WIMP-nucleus scattering, and symmetry violating moments, with quantifiable uncertainties, for most, if not all, nuclei relevant for such searches.

Dr. Jason D. Holt is a theoretical nuclear physicist at TRIUMF and Adjunct faculty at McGill University. He received his PhD from Stony Brook University, as well as degrees in mathematics, and English literature from the University of Michigan. His research lies at the intersection of atomic, nuclear, particle, and astrophysics, aiming at once to unravel the origin of the elements and properties of neutron stars, to unlocking the mysteries of neutrinos, dark matter, and the underlying symmetries governing our universe. Jason is highly active, having published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and given over 150 invited talks at international meetings. Jason is also enthusiastically involved in public outreach and speaking to non-specialists about modern physics, in particular connecting science and art, as exemplified in his recent TEDx Talk, My Heroes Are Not Physicists, and the Theatre and Physics Symposium The Nature of Uncertainty in collaboration with the National Arts Centre of Canada, broadcast as an episode of Ideas on CBC Radio.