Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Physical Properties Of Faint Meteors Through High-Resolution Observations, Dilini Subasinghe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Small, faint meteors (with masses between 10^-7 and 10^-4 kg) were once part of an asteroid or comet, and collide with Earth's atmosphere daily. Studying meteors is an effective way to survey the physical properties of their parent bodies. Meteor light curves and orbital information is easily obtained from wide-field observations, from which meteoroid structure can be inferred through meteoroid ablation modelling. A high-resolution narrow-field camera can provide much more detail about the poorly understood ablation processes and physical properties of the meteoroid. The goal of this thesis is to better understand the physical properties of meteors using …

Photonic Band Structure Of Diamond Colloidal Crystals In A Cholesteric Liquid Crystal, Setarehalsadat Changizrezaei, Colin Denniston

Physics and Astronomy Publications

In this paper, we demonstrate the presence of a photonic band gap for a diamond lattice structure made of particles with normal anchoring inside a cholesteric liquid crystal. As is typical for liquid crystals (LCs), there is considerable contrast between the dielectric constant parallel ε∥ and perpendicular ε⊥ to the director, with ε∥/ε⊥∼4 here. It is shown that the size of the photonic band gap is directly related to the size of colloidal particles and the contrast between the dielectric constant in the particles and the extreme values of ε in the LC medium (one needs either ε in the …

Zr-Doped Tio2 As A Thermostabilizer In Plasmon-Enhanced Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Anastasia Pasche, Bernd Grohe, Silvia Mittler, Paul A. Charpentier

Physics and Astronomy Publications

Harvesting solar energy is a promising solution toward meeting the world’s evergrowing energy demand. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are hybrid organic–inorganic solar cells with tremendous potential for commercial application, but they are plagued by in efficiency due to their poor sunlight absorption. Plasmonic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been shown to enhance the absorptive properties of DSSCs, but their plasmonic resonance can cause thermal damage resulting in cell deterioration. Hence, the influence of Zr-doped TiO2 on the efficiency of plasmon-enhanced DSSCs was studied, showing that 5 mol.% Zr-doping of the photoactive TiO2 material can improve the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs by …

Vacuum Birefringence, The Photon Anomalous Magnetic Moment And The Neutron Star Rx J1856.5−3754, Sree Ram Valluri, J.W. Mielniczuk, Farrukh Chishtie, D. Lamm, S. Auddy

Physics and Astronomy Publications

We analyse the spectrum of the Hamiltonian of a photon propagating in a strong magnetic field B ∼ B_cr, where Bcr=m2e≃4.4×1013" role="presentation">Bcr=m2e≃4.4×1013 G is the Schwinger critical field. We show that the anomalous magnetic moment of a photon in the one-loop approximation is a non-decreasing function of the magnetic field B in the range 0 ≤ B ≤ 30 B_cr. We provide a numerical representation of the expression for the anomalous magnetic moment in terms of special functions. We find that the anomalous magnetic moment μ_γ of a photon for B = 30 B …

A Vision For Canadian Space Exploration, Ilaria Caiazzo, Sarah C. Gallagher, Jeremy Heyl

Physics and Astronomy Publications

We propose a sustained and balanced program in space exploration to fuel innovation in the space sector, support Canada's world-leading space researchers, inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators, and create thousands of highly skilled, well-paying jobs for Canadians. During the next decade we recommend a total investment of approximately $1B, increasing to $1.3B in each decade that follows, including a regular flagship mission that Canada would lead and a constellation of smaller missions, either led by Canada or in collaboration with international partners.

Using Bolide Airwaves To Estimate Meteoroid Source Characteristics And Window Damage Potential, Nayeob Gi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We examined the far-field infrasonic signals produced by 78 bolides simultaneously detected by U.S. government sensors to determine the mechanisms responsible for interstation spreads in infrasound signal period. These signal period spreads lead to large variances in source energy estimates. Our analysis suggests that while acoustic source height contributes to some extent to the variance in signal periods, the range from the source to the station and in particular station noise plays a more significant role.

By simulating the near-field weak shocks from a suite of well-observed energetic fireballs, we have empirically estimated how often fireball shocks produce overpressure ( …

Investigating Brown Dwarf Atmospheres: Gravity, Dust Content, Cloud Structure And Metallicity, Kendra Kellogg

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Brown dwarfs are the lowest mass products of star formation. Their low masses don't allow them to sustain, or sometimes even begin, the thermonuclear processes that provide stars with internal energy and the thermal pressure necessary to maintain hydrostatic equilibrium. Thus, their radii and effective temperatures decrease as they age, continually changing their spectral classification. However, it is now a well-known fact that the spectral appearance of ultra-cool dwarfs is governed by more than just temperature. Factors such as gravity, metallicity and cloud distribution play an important role in the structure and composition of ultra-cool dwarf atmospheres and ultimately their …

Heterogeneous Colloidal Particles Immersed In A Liquid Crystal, Setarehalsadat Changizrezaei, Colin Denniston

Physics and Astronomy Publications

In this paper, we explore anisotropic interactions between particles with heterogeneous boundary conditions inside both nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals. The results show that when particles are put at different distances and angles with respect to each other, new types of defect structures are produced, depending on the relative distances and directions. In a cholesteric liquid crystal, the value of the pitch affects the defect structures and induced forces. Moreover, it was observed that it is energetically favorable for the particles to remain in a plane parallel to the far-field director in a nematic liquid crystal, while for particles immersed …

Detection And Characterization Of Extrasolar Planets Through Planet-Disk Dynamical Interactions, Maryam Tabeshian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Structures observed in circumstellar disks may be caused by gravitational interaction with planetary or stellar companions. These perturbed disks are often signposts of planet birth in exoplanetary systems, and offer insights into the properties of both the disk and the perturbing planets. Therefore, structures observed in these disks provide a powerful tool for detecting and studying extrasolar planetary systems. In this work, we examine the link between disk structures and nearby/embedded planets using numerical simulations of both hypothetical and observed disk systems.

We demonstrate that gaps can be opened in dynamically cold debris disks at the mean-motion resonances (MMRs) of …

Tutorial: The Quantum Finite Square Well And The Lambert W Function, Sree Ram Valluri, Ken Roberts

Physics and Astronomy Publications

We present a solution of the quantum mechanics problem of the allowable energy levels of a bound particle in a one-dimensional finite square well. The method is a geometric-analytic technique utilizing the conformal mapping w -> z = we(w) between two complex domains. The solution of the finite square well problem can be seen to be described by the images of simple geometric shapes, lines, and circles, under this map and its inverse image. The technique can also be described using the Lambert W function. One can work in either of the complex domains, thereby obtaining additional insight into the …

Deconstructing A Galaxy: Colour Distributions Of Point Sources In Messier 83, A. K. Kiar, P. Barmby, A. Hidalgo

Physics and Astronomy Publications

What do we see when we look at a nearby, well-resolved galaxy? Thousands of individual sources are detected in multiband imaging observations of even a fraction of a nearby galaxy, and characterizing those sources is a complex process. This work analyses a ten-band photometric catalogue of nearly 70 000 point sources in a 7.3 square arcmin region of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier 83, made as part of the Early Release Science programme with the Hubble Space Telescope'sWide Field Camera 3. Colour distributions were measured for both broad-band and broad-and-narrow-band colours; colours made from broad-bands with large wavelength differences generally …