Colloquium
Upcoming Colloquium
Rydberg Atom Sensors: From Earth Remote Sensing to Dissipative Time Crystals
Dr. Darmindra Arumugam, JPL
November 16, 2026
11:00am-12:00pm in HSCI-102
Rydberg atoms, with their highly excited electronic states and exceptional sensitivity to electromagnetic fields, offer new opportunities for sensing across a broad range of frequencies and applications. This talk will introduce the principles of Rydberg-atom sensing and explore their potential for Earth remote sensing, including soil moisture and sea surface salinity measurements. We will then examine dissipative time crystals in driven atomic systems, where collective nonlinear dynamics give rise to spontaneous, persistent oscillations. Recent experiments demonstrate how these oscillations can be synchronized to weak external fields, enabling new approaches to low-frequency electromagnetic sensing through injection pulling and locking. Additional developments, including engineered electromagnetically induced transparency and absorption, power-to-frequency transduction, and long-baseline phase-coherent microwave reception, will illustrate emerging capabilities beyond conventional atomic electrometry. Finally, we will briefly discuss future directions for Rydberg-atom sensing in remote sensing applications.
About the Colloquium
The Colloquium is a unique opportunity for students to learn about new developments in physics and what physicists do after they graduate. Hosted by the Physics and Astronomy Department at California State University, Long Beach, the weekly meetings invite guests from universities, research laboratories, and industry to present and discuss current topics in physics. All students are encouraged to attend for a well-rounded experience and training in physics.
Colloquium Coordinator
For information and suggestions about the colloquium please contact the colloquium coordinator:
Dr. Sarah Grefe
Sarah.Grefe@csulb.edu
Schedule
The schedule for Fall 2026 is posted below.
| Date | Title | Speaker and Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| November 16, 2026 | Rydberg Atom Sensors: From Earth Remote Sensing to Dissipative Time Crystals | Dr. Darmindra Arumugam, JPL |
| November 30, 2026 | (topic: AI in mathematics) | Dr. Michael Mulligan, UC Riverside |
| December 7, 2026 | Student Presentations | students, CSU Long Beach |
| December 9, 2026 | Student Presentations | students, CSU Long Beach |
Previous Colloquia
| Date | Title | Speaker and Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| November 9, 2026 | Using ultracold atoms for investigations of quantum hydrodynamics | Dr. Maren Mossman, University of San Diego |
| November 2, 2026 | Dynamical Consequences of Mass Loss in Heavily Irradiated Planetary Systems | Dr. Brad Hansen, UCLA |
| October 26, 2026 | When Electrons Break Symmetry: Charge Order in Quantum Materials | Dr. Jing Xia, UC Irvine |
| October 19, 2026 | Topology and Mechanics of Kinetoplast-Inspired Olympic Gels | Dr. Alex Klotz, CSU Long Beach |
| October 12, 2026 | Determining the Radiative Properties of Anthropogenic Halocarbons by Integrating Experimental FTIR Spectroscopy with Quantum Chemistry Calculations | Dr. Karine Le Bris, CSU Los Angeles |
| October 5, 2026 | Detecting the Secrets of the Cosmos with Quantum Materials | Dr. Elizabeth A. Peterson, Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| September 28, 2026 | Faculty Presentations | department faculty, CSU Long Beach |
| September 21, 2026 | Metamagnetic Materials as Switchable MRI Cell Tracking Micro-Labels | Dr. Barbic Mladen, Caltech |
| September 14, 2026 | Unravelling the hidden state of a kagome magnet | Dr. Yona Soh, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland |
The Colloquium Archive has the Colloquia from previous semesters.
Sponsors
We acknowledge with gratitude donations and support from the following present sponsors:
- H.E. and H.B. Miller and Family Endowment
- Benjamin Carter
- Mary L. Bresnan
- K. Y. Shen
- American Physical Society
- Anonymous
We also acknowledge with gratitude our past donors: The Forty-Niner Shops, Inc., The Northrop Grumman Foundation, Sandra Dana, Anonymous.
If you wish to support the Colloquium, please contact the colloquium coordinator or the department chair. Thank you!
