Abstract: In the talk I will try to convince you that the answer is yes. Maxwell postulated that there can be a current of electric charges in the vacuum. This was needed to turn the equations of electrostatics into a consistent set of quations forming the basis of electrodynamics. We argue that Maxwell’s current are moving virtual elementary particles and their anti-particles in the vacuum. We are using a phenomenological model treating the vacuum as a dielectric. We find this reproduces fairly well the coefficients and . We also formu­lated the story in the language of quantum field theory. G Leuchs, M Hawton and LL Sánchez-Soto, Physics 5, 179 (2023) G Leuchs, SPG Mitteilungen 70, 34 (2023) Bio : Gerd Leuchs is Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen and an adjunct professor within the physics department of the University of Ottawa. After 15 years in academic research at the University of Cologne, the University of Munich and JILA in Boulder, Colorado, he worked at a Swiss optics company for five years before becoming a full professor at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. His scientific work includes quantum beats, photo-electron angular distributions in multiphoton ionization, quantum noise-reduced and entangled light beams and solitons in optical fibers and quantum communication protocols, focusing light beams and nanophotonics. For five years, Gerd Leuchs led the German gravitational wave detection group (1985-1989). He has been a Visiting Fellow of JILA, Feodor-Lynen Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Heisenberg Fellow of the German Science Foundation and Visiting Professor at the Australian National University, at the University of Adelaide and the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel of the Ecole Normale Supérieure. He is a member of the German Physical Society, the German Society for Applied Optics, the European Physical Society, and the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Optica and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He holds honorary degrees from the Danish Technical University and Saint Petersburg State University. Over the years, he has served on several OSA committees. In 2005, he received the Quantum Electronics Prize from the European Physical Society, and in 2018, the Herbert Walther Prize jointly awarded by OSA and the German Physical Society (DPG). He won an advanced grant from the European Research Council, a megagrant from Russia, and a Julius-von-Haast Fellowship award from the Royal Society of New Zealand. With his research, Gerd Leuchs is contributing to the field of quantum technology. He is member of a number of advisory boards for quantum technology application and innovation in Germany and abroad. Local J-1035 Pavillon J. A. Bombardier, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

[] Free Registration (with a Zoom account; you can get one for free if you don't already have it): https://sjsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvf--vrD0vG9PV_qyMcgadMIWG2eH2LrpY Synopsis: Neurological disorders are a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Early detection and efficient management of these disorders can provide significant health benefits. By providing real-time, data-driven insights AI-driven methods meet an urgent need for early detection and management of these disorders. In this talk, Prof. Phoha will present the potential of AI-driven early diagnosis and Digital Therapeutics (DTx) for neurological disorders. Using the unique properties of data generated through neurological anomalies and disorders, one can use AI methods such as transfer learning from existing knowledge; one-shot and few-shot learning for spiking and sparse data, and hidden Markov models to find underlying relationships and causes of malignant neurological disorders. The speaker will show how the generated data can be captured through smart wearables and phones, how uncovering relationships provides insights for digital rehabilitation, and how using augmented reality and virtual reality provides tremendous potential for cognitive therapy, psychiatric assessments, and rehabilitation. Prof. Phoha will outline a proof-of-concept smart diagnostics-enabled mirror and discuss security issues in smart diagnostics. Speaker(s): Prof. Vir Phoha, Dr. Vishnu S. Pendyala Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/438778

- We are expected to arrive at C2M at 12:45 pm. To ensure we all arrive at the same time, we will be leaving from the INRS parking lot at 11 am. - Please meet us at the parking lot behind INRS at 10:45 am. There we will organize seating for the carpooling and head out together. - For those who have a car: please note we will only be reimbursing gas for those who carpool (i.e. minimum 3 people in the car). - If you decide to go there on your own, it is your responsibility to make sure you arrive on time, otherwise you will not be able to join the visit/ tour at C2MI. - You will need to bring a clean pair of shoes/ indoor shoes, as requested by C2MI. Co-sponsored by: OPTICA-SPIE Student Chapter at INRS Centre de Collaboration MiQro Innovation (C2MI), 45 Bd de l'Aéroport, Bromont, Quebec, Canada, J2L 1S8

Montréal Quantum Photonics Seminar Series Abstract: When a pulse of light traverses a material, it incurs a time delay referred to as the group delay. Should the group delay experienced by photons be attributed to the time they spend as atomic excitations? However reasonable this connection may seem, it appears problematic when the frequency of the light is close to the atomic resonance, as the group delay becomes negative in this regime. To address this question, I used the cross-Kerr effect to probe the degree of atomic excitation caused by a resonant transmitted photon by measuring the phase shift on a separate beam that is weak and off-resonant. These results, over a range of pulse durations and optical depths, are consistent with the recent theoretical prediction that the mean atomic excitation time caused by a transmitted photon (as measured via the time integral of the observed phase shift) equals the group delay experienced by the light. Specifically, I measured mean atomic excitation times ranging from (−0.82 ±0.31)τ0 for the most narrowband pulse to (0.54 ±0.28)τ0 for the most broadband pulse. I report these times normalized to the non-post-selected excitation time τ0, which is equal to the scattering (absorption) probability multiplied by the atomic lifetime τsp. These results suggest that negative values taken by times such as the group delay have more physical significance than has generally been appreciated. Bio: Daniela Angulo is a physicist from Colombia who recently completed her PhD at the University of Toronto, focusing on experimental light-matter interaction. Under the supervision of Aephraim Steinberg, her research explored the behavior of photons in atomic clouds using weak measurements. She is passionate about teaching and science communication. Outside the lab, she is an avid cyclist and musician. Local J-1035 Pavillon J. A. Bombardier, Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

This is a unique opportunity for IEEE student members to come together and learn from fellow officers the tools and experience to run an IEEE Student Branch. [] Agenda: AGENDA: - Benefits of Joining IEEE - Office Tools and Software for running a Student Branch (SB) - Scholarships for IEEE Volunteers - Funding Resources - Exchange resources and ideas with fellow SB leaders (Concordia, McGill, Polytechnique Montréal, etc.) Room: 6900, Bldg: INRS-Energie, 800 Rue De La Gauchetière O, Sixth Floor, Montreal, Quebec, Canada