Chris Marx, associate professor of mathematics at Oberlin College, will visit campus to discuss his work in the mathematical analysis of quantum physics.
"In classical physics, a particle can only inhabit portions of space where the potential energy is less than or equal to its total energy. In quantum mechanics, this is not true anymore — a phenomenon known as quantum tunneling. With a small probability, a particle trapped inside a potential barrier can also be found outside of the barrier. For instance, electron microscopes use the tunnel effect to produce images of surfaces at the atomic level.
"Mathematically, quantum tunneling is based on the existence of (exponentially) decaying solutions to the Schrödinger equation, the partial differential equation which determines the properties of quantum systems. In this talk we will delve into the mathematics (analysis) of this fascinating effect from quantum physics. Some of the results presented in this talk are based on joint work with my former honors student, Hengrui Zhu (Oberlin ’21)."
Join us on Tuesday, April 7, at 11:10 a.m. (note the time change) in Hayes Hall 109 to hear this exciting presentation from Marx. We hope to see you there!