Polarizing Majorana Fermions

Classically, a spin-1/2 fermion can interact electromagnetically via four methods: its charge, electric and magnetic dipole moments, and anapole moment. One can polarize a collection of these particles, such that their spins align, by applying an external field or current. The particle experiences a torque that aligns its spin with the direction of the applied field or current. A Majorana fermion is a particle that is its own antiparticle, which means that it can only interact with currents via its anapole moment. These particles are natural candidates for dark matter particles given their electromagnetic properties. One could indirectly observe dark matter by looking at its annihilation signiture. It turns out that the annihilation cross section for Majorana fermions is dependent on the relative spin states of the particles involved in the interaction. Using techniques in quantum field theory, this research looks to theoretically investigate methods by which one could polarize a collection of Majorana fermions, such that their spins align

Microwave Atom Chip Design

We present a toolbox of microstrip building blocks for microwave atom chips geared towards trapped atom interferometry. Transverse trapping potentials based on the AC Zeeman (ACZ) effect can be formed from the combined microwave magnetic near fields of a pair or a triplet of parallel microstrip transmission lines. Axial confinement can be provided by a microwave lattice (standing wave) along the microstrip traces. Microwave fields provide additional parameters for dynamically adjusting ACZ potentials: detuning of the applied frequency to select atomic transitions and local polarization controlled by the relative phase in multiple microwave currents. Multiple ACZ traps and potentials, operating at different frequencies, can be targeted to different spin states simultaneously, thus enabling spin-specific manipulation of atoms and spin-dependent trapped atom interferometry

Accelerating precision medicine in metastatic prostate cancer

Despite advances in prostate cancer screening and treatment, available therapy options, particularly in later stages of the disease, remain limited and the treatment-resistant setting represents a serious unmet medical need. Moreover, disease heterogeneity and disparities in patient access to medical advances result in significant variability in outcomes across patients. Disease classification based on genomic sequencing is a promising approach to identify patients whose tumors exhibit actionable targets and make more informed treatment decisions. Here we discuss how we can accelerate precision oncology to inform broader genomically-driven clinical decisions for men with advanced prostate cancer, drug development and ultimately contribute to new treatment paradigms