Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Exploring The Use Of Numerical Relativity Waveforms In Burst Analysis Of Precessing Black Hole Mergers, Sebastian Fischetti, James Healy, Laura Cadonati, Lionel London, Satyanarayan R.P. Mohapatra, Deirdre Shoemaker

Laura Cadonati

Recent years have witnessed tremendous progress in numerical relativity and an ever improving performance of ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detectors. In preparation for Advanced LIGO and a new era in gravitational wave astronomy, the numerical relativity and gravitational wave data analysis communities are collaborating to ascertain the most useful role for numerical relativity waveforms in the detection and characterization of binary black hole coalescences. In this paper, we explore the detectability of equal mass, merging black hole binaries with precessing spins and total mass M_T in [80,350]Msol, using numerical relativity waveforms and template-less search algorithms designed for gravitational wave bursts. …

Frontiers In Theoretical High Energy Physics: From Physics Beyond The Standard Model To Cosmology, Mohamed M. Anber

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is focused on three lines of work. In the first part, we consider aspects of holography and gauge/gravity duality in lower and higher dimensions. In particular, we study the duality for exact solutions localized on the Randal-Sundrum 2-branes. We also test if some holographic principles in general relativity can be generalized to include higher derivative theories of gravity; namely Lovelock gravity. In the second part we consider the role of pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons (pNGBs) in inflationary cosmology. Specifically, we construct an inflationary model using string theory axions, and use these pNGBs to produce the observed coherent magnetic field …

Self-Assembly Of Nanoparticles At Liquid-Liquid Interfaces, Kan Du

Open Access Dissertations

In this thesis, we studied the self-assembly of nanoparticles at liquid metal-water interfaces and oil-water interfaces. We demonstrated a simple approach to form nanostructured electronic devices by self-assembly of nanoparticles at liquid metal surfaces. In this approach, two liquid-metal droplets, which were coated with a monolayer of ligand-stabilized nanoparticles, were brought into contact. They did not coalesce but instead remained separated by the nanoparticles assembled at the interface. Devices formed by this method showed electron transport between droplets that was characteristic of the Coulomb blockade, where current was suppressed below a tunable threshold voltage because of the energy of charging …

Characterization And Interactions Of Ultrafast Surface Plasmon Pulses, Sibel Ebru Yalcin

Open Access Dissertations

Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs) are considered to be attractive components for plasmonics and nanophotonic devices due to their sensitivity to interface changes, and their ability to guide and confine light beyond the diffraction limit. They have been utilized in SPP resonance sensors and near field imaging techniques and, more recently, SPP experiments to monitor and control ultrafast charge carrier and energy relaxation dynamics in thin films. In this thesis, we discuss excitation and propagation properties of ultrafast SPPs on thin extended metal films and SPP waveguide structures. In addition, localized and propagating surface plasmon interactions in functional plasmonic nanostructures will …

Wrinkling Of Floating Thin Polymer Films, Jiangshui Huang

Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014

This thesis presents an extensive study of wrinkling of thin polystyrene films, tens of nanometers in thickness, floating on the surface of water or water modified with surfactant.

First, we study the wrinkling of floating thin polystyrene films under a capillary force exerted by a drop of water placed on its surface. The wrinkling pattern is characterized by the number and length of wrinkles. A metrology for measuring the elasticity and thickness of ultrathin films is constructed by combining the scaling relations that are developed for the length of the wrinkles with those for the number of wrinkles. This metrology …

Type-1.5 Superconducting State From An Intrinsic Proximity Effect In Two-Band Superconductors, Egor Babaev, Johan Carlstrom, Martin Speight

Egor Babaev

We show that in multiband superconductors, even an extremely small interband proximity effect can lead to a qualitative change in the interaction potential between superconducting vortices by producing long-range intervortex attraction. This type of vortex interaction results in an unusual response to low magnetic fields leading to phase separation into domains of two-component Meissner states and vortex droplets.

Observation Of Geo-Neutrinos, G. Bellini, J. Benziger, S. Bonetti, M. Buizza Avanzini, B. Caccianiga, L. Cadonati, F. Calaprice, C. Carraro, A. Chavarria, F. Dalnoki-Veress, D. D'Angelo, S. Davini, H. De Kerret, A. Derbin, A. Etenko, G. Fiorentini, K. Fomenko, D. Franco, C. Galbiati, S. Gazzana, C. Ghiano, M. Giammarchi, M. Goeger-Neff, A. Goretti, E. Guardincerri, S. Hardy, Aldo Ianni, Andrea Ianni, M. Joyce, V. V. Kobychev, Y. Koshio, G. Korga, D. Kryn, M. Laubenstein, M. Leung, T. Lewke, E. Litvinovich, B. Loer, P. Lombardi, L. Ludhova, I. Machulin, S. Manecki, W. Maneschg, G. Manuzio, Q. Meindl, E. Meroni, L. Miramonti, M. Misiaszek, D. Montanari, V. Muratova, L. Oberauer, M. Obolensky, F. Ortica, M. Pallavicini, L. Papp, L. Perasso, S. Perasso, Andrea Pocar, R. S. Raghavan, G. Ranucci, A. Razeto, A. Re, B. Ricci, P. Risso, A. Romani, D. Rountree, A. Sabelnikov, R. Saldanha, C. Salvo, S. Schönert, H. Simgen, M. Skorokhvatov, O. Smirnov, A. Sotnikov, S. Sukhotin, Y. Surorov, R. Tartaglia, G. Testera, D. Vignaud, R. B. Vogelaar, F. Von Feilitzsch, J. Winter, M. Wojcik, A. Wright, M. Wurm, J. Xu, O. Zaimidoroga, S. Zavaterelli, G. Zuzel

Andrea Pocar

Geo-neutrinos, electron anti-neutrinos produced in β decays of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes in the Earth, are a unique direct probe of our planet's interior. We report the first observation at more than 3σ C.L. of geo-neutrinos, performed with the Borexino detector at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. Anti-neutrinos are detected through the neutron inverse β decay reaction. With a 252.6 ton yr fiducial exposure after all selection cuts, we detected 9.9+4.1−3.4(+14.6−8.2) geo-neutrino events, with errors corresponding to a 68.3% (99.73%) C.L. From the View the MathML source profile, the statistical significance of the Borexino geo-neutrino observation corresponds to a 99.997% …

New Experimental Limits On The Pauli-Forbidden Transitions In 12c Nuclei Obtained With 485 Days Borexino Data, G. Bellini, J. Benziger, S. Bonetti, M. Buizza Avanzini, B. Caccianiga, L. Cadonati, F. Calaprice, C. Carraro, A. Chavarria, F. Dalnoki-Veress, D. D'Angelo, S. Davini, H. De Kerret, A. Derbin, A. Etenko, K. Fomenko, D. Franco, C. Galbiati, S. Gazzana, C. Ghiano, M. Giammarchi, M. Goeger-Neff, A. Goretti, C. Grieb, E. Guardincerri, S. Hardy, Aldo Ianni, Andrea Ianni, M. Joyce, G. Korga, D. Kryn, M. Leung, T. Lewke, E. Litvinovich, B. Loer, P. Lombardi, L. Ludhova, I. Machulin, S. Manecki, W. Maneschg, G. Manuzio, Q. Meindl, E. Meroni, L. Miramonti, M. Misiaszek, D. Montanari, V. Muratova, L. Oberauer, M. Obolensky, F. Ortica, M. Pallavicini, L. Papp, L. Perasso, S. Perasso, Andrea Pocar, R. S. Raghavan, G. Ranucci, A. Razeto, A. Re, P. Risso, A. Romani, D. Rountree, A. Sabelnikov, R. Saldanha, C. Salvo, S. Schoenert, H. Simgen, M. Skorokhvatov, O. Smirnov, A. Sotnikov, S. Sukhotin, Y. Surorov, R. Tartaglia, G. Testera, D. Vignaud, R. B. Vogelaar, F. Von Feilitzsch, Y. Winter, M. Wojcik, M. Wurm, J. Xu, O. Zaimidoroga, S. Zavatarelli, G. Zuzel

Andrea Pocar

The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) has been tested for nucleons (n,p) in 12C with the Borexino detector. The approach consists of a search for γ, n, p, and β± emitted in a non-Paulian transition of 1P3/2-shell nucleons to the filled 1S1/2 shell in nuclei. Due to the extremely low background and the large mass (278 tons) of the Borexino detector, the following most stringent up-to-date experimental bounds on PEP violating transitions of nucleons have been established: τ(12C→12C~+γ)⩾5.0×1031 yr, τ(12C→11B~+p)⩾8.9×1029 yr, τ(12C→11C~+n)⩾3.4×1030 yr, τ(12C→12N~+e-+νe~)⩾3.1×1030 yr, and τ(12C→12B~+e++νe)⩾2.1×1030 yr, all at 90% C.L. The corresponding upper limits on the relative strengths for …

Hierarchical Multiple Bit Clusters And Patterned Media Enabled By Novel Nanofabrication Techniques - High Resolution Electron Beam Lithography And Block Polymer Self Assembly, Qijun Xiao

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis discusses the full scope of a project exploring the physics of hierarchical clusters of interacting nanomagnets. These clusters may be relevant for novel applications such as multilevel data storage devices. The work can be grouped into three main activities: micromagnetic simulation, fabrication and characterization of proof-ofconcept prototype devices, and efforts to scale down the structures by creating the hierarchical structures with the aid of diblock copolymer self assembly. Theoretical micromagnetic studies and simulations based on Landau-Lifshitz- Gilbert (LLG) equation were conducted on nanoscale single domain magnetic entities. For the simulated nanomagnet clusters with perpendicular uniaxial anisotropy, the simulation …

Rare Decays In Babar: Search For Decays Of The Neutral B Meson Into Two Leptons And Measurement Of Cp Asymmetry In Inclusive Radiative Decays Of The B Meson Into A Strange-Quark System, Emmanuele Salvati

Open Access Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Collaboration, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The rules of collaboration, implicit and explicit, vary from one field to another in physics. This variation has not been studied much, although many general articles on collaboration exist.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Research Misconduct, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Sometimes physicists cross the line in blatant, highly publicized ways, but lines are also crossed in much quieter ways.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Data Management, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

From acquiring and documenting data, to storing it and analyzing it, there are numerous procedures we employ to maintain the integrity of the data.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Conflict Of Interest, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Conflicts can occur when we have competing interests arising from our role as scientists, our career objectives, our family interests, or our financial interests.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Publication/Authorship, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Publications are used to both carry on public discourse in science and to measure the quality of research.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Peer Review, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Peer review of journal submissions and grant applications plays an important role in what ideas and which individuals advance in physics.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Mentorship, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The necessarily unequal relationship between faculty and their students and post-docs gives rise to a number of interesting issues.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Under-Represented Groups, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

The demographics of the physics profession in this country do not mirror the population at large in a number of ways that should cause us concern.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Rcr Education Strategies, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Here is where to look for ideas on how to approach ethics education in a classroom or seminar setting.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Physics And Society Issues, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Physicists As Advisors To Society And Leaders, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

During the last century, physicists have provided advice to society at large on critical issues. These references explore both the history of this advice and ethical standards that apply to those giving advice.

Ethical Issues In Physics: Getting Started, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Over the years, through discussions with colleagues and observations of debates in various forums, I have identified several concerns some have over the usefulness of ethics education in physics. I have classified some of these concerns as myths in that when they are accepted as fact, they lead us in the wrong direction.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: National Security, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

World War II put physicists in the midst of a number of issues related to national security, raising questions such as, to what extent are physicists responsible for the use of their research?

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: General Topics, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Climate Change, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Physicists can play an important role in advancing the public debate on climate change.

Annotated Bibliography Of Ethical Issues In Physics: Energy Issues, Marshall Thomsen

Ethics in Science and Engineering National Clearinghouse

Many physicists are directly or indirectly involved in issues related to society’s use of energy.

Proposal Narrative, Morton Sternheim, Stephan Schneider

STEM Digital

No abstract provided.

Efficient Modeling Techniques For Time-Dependent Quantum System With Applications To Carbon Nanotubes, Zuojing Chen

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The famous Moore's law states: Since the invention of the integrated circuit, the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit has increased exponentially, doubling approximately every two years. As a result of the downscaling of the size of the transistor, quantum effects have become increasingly important while affecting significantly the device performances. Nowadays, at the nanometer scale, inter-atomic interactions and quantum mechanical properties need to be studied extensively. Device and material simulations are important to achieve these goals because they are flexible and less expensive than experiments. They are also important for designing and characterizing new …

Theoretical And Experimental Aspects Of The Higgs Mechanism In The Standard Model And Beyond, Alessandra Edda Baas

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The Standard Model of particle physics is the best existing theory for describing the interactions between elementary particles. Even though the Standard Model has been confirmed in many experiments, there remain unanswered questions. One of the main questions is how fermions and most gauge bosons get masses; the Standard Model begins with them as massless. The Higgs effect is a mechanism to explain how fermions and several gauge bosons do get masses in the Standard Model. The corresponding Higgs boson is the only particle that has not yet been detected.

This Thesis gives a complete review of the Higgs effect …

Efficiency Of Parallel Tempering For Ising Systems, Stephan Burkhardt

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The efficiency of parallel tempering Monte Carlo is studied for a two-dimensional Ising system of length L with N=L^2 spins. An external field is used to introduce a difference in free energy between the two low temperature states.

It is found that the number of replicas R_opt that optimizes the parallel tempering algorithm scales as the square root of the system size N. For two symmetric low temperature states, the time needed for equilibration is observed to grow as L^2.18. If a significant difference in free energy is present between the two states, this changes to L^1.02.

It is therefore …