Colloquium- Thomas Papenbrock

Thomas Papenbrock, University of Tennessee- Knoxville

Classical and Quantum Computations of Atomic Nuclei

Abstract: Computing has reshaped nuclear theory in the past two decades. The ever-increasing
power of computers now allows one to model properties of the atomic nucleus with high fidelity, As a
consequence, nuclear theory has moved from being mainly explanatory to being predictive. Recently,
quantum computers have emerged as a new technology, and nuclear theorists are exploring how to
use them. This colloquium presents recent advances in classical and quantum computations of
atomic nuclei.

Bio: Thomas Papenbrock is a professor in the Physics department with interests in nuclear theory, widely construed, and a Joint Faculty with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He specializes in systematic improvable models for atomic nuclei and in computing rare isotopes from scratch. Very recently, he became interested in quantum computing and performed the first computation of an atomic nucleus on a quantum chip. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Wednesday, October 7, 2026 @ 1:00pm (CST) in Commons Center 235/ 237

Host: Kalman Varga