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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The Response Of Atomic-To-Molecular Hydrogen Transition Points In Photodissociation Regions Due To A Hard X-Ray Spectrum, Gregory Joseph Colarch May 2023

The Response Of Atomic-To-Molecular Hydrogen Transition Points In Photodissociation Regions Due To A Hard X-Ray Spectrum, Gregory Joseph Colarch

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation develops a model for the response of the transition points in the density profiles from atomic (H0) to molecular (H2) hydrogen in a photodissociation region (PDR) due to a hard X-ray flux (HXR). A model for a steady-state PDR due to the photodissociation of H2 by the far-ultraviolet (FUV) Lyman-Werner radiation band is presented both analytically and computa- tionally. A steady state X-ray dissociation region (XDR) from an HXR in the 1 - 100 keV energy range is also developed both analytically and computationally. An analytic model is then developed by combining these two different steady state models. …


On Outflows Due To Radiation, Randall Cody Dannen May 2023

On Outflows Due To Radiation, Randall Cody Dannen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Observations of ionized AGN outflows have provided compelling evidence that the radiation field transfers both momentum and energy to the plasma. At parsec scale distances in AGN, energy transfer can dominate, in which case the only force needed to launch an outflow is due to gas pressure. Much closer to the black hole, gravity dominates thermal energy due to insufficient heating by the radiation and the gas is in the so-called ’cold wind solution’ regime. Only magnetic or radiation forces can lead to outflow, but it is unclear how these forces depend on the spectral energy distribution (SED) and the …


Simulating Radial Ring Structure With An Ambipolar Elsasser (Am) Bump In Non-Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics Of Protoplanetary Disks, Aleksey S. Mohov May 2023

Simulating Radial Ring Structure With An Ambipolar Elsasser (Am) Bump In Non-Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics Of Protoplanetary Disks, Aleksey S. Mohov

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rings are one of the most ubiquitous substructures observed in protoplanetary disks. They are known to be a robust site for planetesimal formation; thus we look for mechanisms that can originate stable rings. From chemical modelling of snow lines, we expect a bump in the Ambipolar Diffusion (AD) Elssaser number (Am) in the radial direction. We use the Athena++ code to model the non-ideal Magentohydrodynamics (MHD) behavior of an Am bump. We explore a parameter space of Gaussian bumps with Am = 5, 1, 0.5 peak strength and σ = 0.25, 1, 5. The Gaussian profile is inserted into the …


Inferring The Compositions And Interior Structures Of Small Planets, David R. Rice May 2023

Inferring The Compositions And Interior Structures Of Small Planets, David R. Rice

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although there are now over 10,000 confirmed and candidate extrasolar planets, accurate masses and radii have been determined for around 200 planets of less than 10 Earth-masses. This number will grow exponentially over the next decade as extreme precision radial velocity spectrographs see first light. The densities of small planets hint at a diverse range of compositions for terrestrial worlds from super-Mercuries to super-Ganymedes. Uncertainty in density is as low as 3% in the Trappist-1 system. To determine composition from observed parameters, the community uses a variety of interior structure models. Underlying these models are multiple computational techniques, numerous experimental …


Joint Constraints On Kepler-36 From Kepler And New Keck-Hires Data, Nicholas Juliano May 2023

Joint Constraints On Kepler-36 From Kepler And New Keck-Hires Data, Nicholas Juliano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I analyze new HIRES Radial Velocity (RV) data in conjunction with transit mid-times and uncertainties from the full 17 quarters of Kepler data to reassess the orbital parameters of the Kepler-36 system. Six additional RV measurements were taken by the Keck-HIRES spectrograph from September 21, 2021 to October 11, 2021. I carry out a differential evolution Markov Chain Monte Carlo-based (DEMCMC) analysis to infer improved orbital elements for the two known planets in the system. Leveraging additional information provided by the new RV measurements, I extend this DEMCMC analysis to a possible three-planet configuration. I explore the likelihood of a …