RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and
Mathematical Sciences Program

iTHEMS Science Outreach Workshop 2022 was held on July 29-31, 2022

On July 29-31, we had Meeting on Outreach of RIKEN iTHEMS 2022 @Kobe & Zoom. This year the meeting was hosted by Suuri Cool Kobe and the venue was the auditorium (8F) + the cafeteria (6F) of Kobe Integrated Innovation Building (IIB). This meeting was hit by the big growth of infected population by Covid-19 omicron BA.5. However, under careful preparation and precaution taken, 27 people participated at Kobe IIB and 24 more by zoom. There were 11 talks at the venue and 6 talks by zoom. 4 talks were by members of iTHEMS explaining recent development in various fields in sciences. 3 talkes were from universities on different aspects of research or fostering young researchers. 10 talks were given by journalists. There were also 3 posters (2 on research and 1 on a monthly academic magazine), in addition, the Black Hole Reacorder was exhibited at the cafeteria. The participants consist of 9+10 members from RIKEN, 6+4 from universities and 12+10 journalists (at venue + by zoom). By the success of this meeting, we hope the continuation of Journalist in residence program and this workshop next year.

2022-08-08

iTHEMS and RIKEN-Berkeley Center is featured in RIKEN at a Glance 2022

RIKEN's pamphlet "RIKEN at a Glance 2022" features iTHEMS and the newly opened RIKEN-Berkeley Center. Please see the related link for details.

2022-07-26

RIKEN Research: Flitting between the wings of a butterfly

Just making small tweaks to certain variables could potentially modify extreme weather events such as sudden downpours, computer simula- tions by two RIKEN researchers have shown. Scientists have long desired to develop ways to control the weather. Research in this area has intensified due to climate change, which is giving rise to more extreme weather events. Present methods for modifying the weather have limited success. Seeding the atmosphere can induce rain, but only when the atmosphere is already in a state where it might rain. Geoen- gineering projects have been envisioned, but they have yet to be conducted due to concerns about unpredicted long-term effects. As a promising approach, Takemasa Miyoshi and Qiwen Sun, both of the RIKEN Center for Computational Science, have looked to chaos theory to assess the possibility of mitigating weather events such as torrential rain by making small changes. Instead of con- sidering the weather system in all its complexity, they focused on a far simpler system—the butterfly attractor. To read more, please see related links.

2022-06-28

RIKEN Research: Worming out of the black-hole information paradox

RIKEN physicist and two colleagues have found that a wormhole—a theoretical bridge connecting distant regions of the Universe—may help to shed light on the mystery of what happens to information about matter consumed by black holes. Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicts that nothing that falls into a black hole can escape its clutches. But in the 1970s, Stephen Hawking calculated that black holes should emit radiation when quantum mechanics, the theory governing the microscopic realm, is considered. “This is called black hole evaporation because the black hole shrinks, just like an evaporating water droplet,” explains Kanato Goto of the RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences. To read more, please see related links.

2022-06-28

RIKEN-Berkeley Center was opened

RIKEN iTHEMS and N3AS Physics Frontier Center have started a joint research center, RIKEN-Berkeley Center (RBC), physically located on the 3rd floor of the physics building in Univ. California, Berkeley. This new Center aims to enhance the collaboration on nuclear astrophysics and quantum information science between the two institutions. On May 27-29, 2022, the first annual meeting of N3AS was held in Berkeley together with their international partners, RIKEN iTHEMS and CNRS Centre Pierre Binetruy. iTHEMS members are encouraged to use RBC as a base to interact with researchers in physics, mathematics, biology and related fields at Berkeley.

2022-06-09

Ryosuke Iritani was interviewed by The Big Issue of Japan

Ryosuke Iritani (Research Scientist, iTHEMS) is interviewed by The Big Issue Japan, and the latest volume (vol 432) is just published on 1st June. The Big Issue is a magazine dedicated to supporting people in difficult circumstances and helping them achieve self-reliance. Each issue costs 450 yen, out of which 230 yen is the direct income of the street sales staff. The content is about mathematical biology and is accessible for anyone. We hope as many people as possible take it a read and support the people!

2022-06-06

Common Laws of Evolution and Ecological Dynamics

The research team of Kyosuke Adachi (Special Postdoctoral Researcher, iTHEMS / Special Postdoctoral Researcher, Nonequilibrium Physics of Living Matter RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR)), Ryosuke Iritani (Research Scientist, iTHEMS) and Ryusuke Hamazaki (Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS / RIKEN Hakubi Team Leader, Nonequilibrium Quantum Statistical Mechanics RIKEN Hakubi Research Team, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research (CPR)) have proposed a broadly valid formula for theoretical models of evolutionary and ecological population dynamics using methods from information theory and statistical physics. The results of this research are expected to lead to a unified framework for understanding complex population dynamics in evolutionary and ecological systems over time. For more information, please see the related link.

2022-06-06

Discovering Speed Limits for Macroscopic Transitions - A Unified Approach Based on the Equation of Continuity

Ryusuke Hamazaki (RIKEN Hakubi Team Leader, Nonequilibrium Quantum Statistical Mechanics RIKEN Hakubi Research Team / Senior Research Scientist, iTHEMS) has discovered a new inequality for the “speed limit," or transition rate, which is useful for physical processes that involve "macroscopic transitions". The research results are expected to have implications for nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, including the time scale of thermalization of quantum many-body systems. They are also expected to contribute to the fundamental understanding of quantum technology, e.g., the control of macroscopic quantum systems, which has become important in recent years. Please see related link for more details.

2022-05-09

Clear Visualization of Lamb Waves from Tonga's Undersea Volcano Eruption -The Full Picture of the Waves Captured by the Himawari-8

Takemasa Miyoshi (Deputy Program Director, iTHEMS / Team Leader, Data Assimilation Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS)) and Shigenori Otsuka (Research Scientist, iTHEMS / Research Scientist, Data Assimilation Research Team, RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS)) have developed an original method to clearly visualize "Lamb waves," a type of sound wave associated with Tonga's undersea volcanic eruption in January 2022, using images from the Himawari 8 meteorological satellite. Furthermore, we developed a method to automatically extract the Lamb waves from this image and clarified the relationship between the distribution of arrival times and ground pressure observations. The results of this research are expected to contribute to the scientific understanding and monitoring of atmospheric waves and associated tidal fluctuations caused by volcanic eruptions, and to the development of advanced simulations and future forecasting methods by integrating observation data with large-scale atmospheric and oceanographic calculations. Please see related links for more details.

2022-05-09

RIKEN Research: Quantum computing and deep learning could help solve the mysteries of quantum gravity

RIKEN physicists have put quantum computing and deep learning through their paces and found that they are powerful tools for gleaning insights into new theories of quantum gravity [1]. They could thus help solve one of the most formidable challenges in modern physics—developing a theory of gravity that jives with quantum physics. When Einstein nutted out his theory of general relativity in 1915, his only tools were pen and paper. The same was true of the pioneers of quantum theory. But the next major breakthrough in theoretical physics could be made with help from emerging technologies such as quantum computers and machine learning, Enrico Rinaldi of RIKEN Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory thinks. “I believe these technologies are poised to transform the way we do theoretical physics,” he says. To read more, please visit the related link.

2022-04-25

Odd couples of interdisciplinary research

Khovanov homology theory - an introduction to categorification by Dr. Taketo Sano on May 13, 2022

Fundamentals Fest, mini Pre-event on Science "Exploring and Bridging: The Potential of Basic Science"

In Search of Pc pentaquark - Simulate Hadron Interactions with FUGAKU

AAS Journal Author Series: Hirotaka Ito on 2021ApJ…918...59I

Will Useless Knowledge Change the Future? - What is the Black Hole Recorder?

RIKEN 2019 (in Japanese)

Comparison between conventional computers and quantum computers

A glimpse of enumerative geometry

Message-passing algorithms for graphical models

Canonical form of tensor networks in one and two dimensions

The basics of topological band theory

Building something from nothing: a mathematical framework for aperiodic/amorphous sets