Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Researching Effective Methods For Teaching The Phases Of The Moon, Heather Patti Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of commonly used instructional methods for teaching the phases of the Moon to fifth and sixth grade students. The instructional methods investigated were the use of diagrams, animations, and models. The effectiveness of each method was tested by measuring students' understanding of Moon phases with a pre and post-assessment after receiving instruction with a specific method or combination of methods. These methods were then evaluated for their ability to help students learn essential concepts, reinforce relevant vocabulary and discourage misconceptions. Results showed that students had better scores with less prevalence of misconception when they were …

First Temperature Observations With The Usu Very Large Rayleigh Lidar: An Examination Of Mesopause Temperatures, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron, Marcus J. Bingham, Lance W. Petersen, Matthew T. Emerick

Leda Sox

No abstract provided.

Spectroscopy Of 88Y By The (P,Dγ) Reaction, T. J. Ross, C. W. Beausang, R. O. Hughes, N. D. Scielzo, J. T. Burke, J. M. Allmond, C. Angell, M. S. Basunia, D. L. Bleuel, R. J. Casperson, J. Escher, P. Fallon, R. Hatarik, J. Munson, S. Paschalis, M. Petri, L. Phair, J. J. Ressler

Physics Faculty Publications

Low-spin, high-excitation energy states in ⁸⁸Y have been studied using the ⁸⁹Y(p,dγ) reaction. For this experiment a 25 MeV proton beam was incident upon a monoisotopic ⁸⁹Y target. A silicon telescope array was used to detect deuterons, and coincident γ rays were detected using a germanium clover array. Most of the known low-excitation-energy low-spin states populated strongly via the (p,d) reaction mechanism are confirmed. Two states are seen for the first time and seven new transitions, including one which bypasses the two low-lying isomeric states, are observed.

Weak Values Are Universal In Von Neumann Measurements, Justin Dressel, Andrew N. Jordan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We refute the widely held belief that the quantum weak value necessarily pertains to weak measurements. To accomplish this, we use the transverse position of a beam as the detector for the conditioned von Neumann measurement of a system observable. For any coupling strength, any initial states, and any choice of conditioning, the averages of the detector position and momentum are completely described by the real parts of three generalized weak values in the joint Hilbert space. Higher-order detector moments also have similar weak value expansions. Using the Wigner distribution of the initial detector state, we find compact expressions for …

Calipso Observations Of Transatlantic Dust: Vertical Stratification And Effect Of Clouds, W. Yang, A. Marshak, T. Varnai, O. V. Kalashnikova, A. Kostinski

Department of Physics Publications

We use CALIOP nighttime measurements of lidar backscatter, color and depolarization ratios, as well as particulate retrievals during the summer of 2007 to study transatlantic dust properties downwind of Saharan sources, and to examine the influence of nearby clouds on dust. Our analysis suggests that (1) under clear skies, while lidar backscatter and color ratio do not change much with altitude and longitude in the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), depolarization ratio increases with altitude and decreases westward in the SAL; (2) the vertical lapse rate of dust depolarization ratio, introduced here, increases within SAL as plumes move westward; (3) nearby …

First Temperature Observations With The Usu Very Large Rayleigh Lidar: An Examination Of Mesopause Temperatures, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron, Marcus J. Bingham, Lance W. Petersen, Matthew T. Emerick

Posters

As the impetus for extended observational measurements throughout the middle atmosphere has increased1 , the limits of previous instrumentation need to be pushed. The Rayleigh lidar group at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) at Utah State University has pushed such limits on existing Rayleigh scatter lidar technology and, through major upgrades to the previous lidar system, has been able to gather temperature measurements in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere from approximately 70P109 km. A data campaign with the new system was conducted around the annual temperature minimum, centered on late June 2012, in this region. The temperatures from this …

Multiple Peaks In Saber Mesospheric Oh Emission Altitude Profiles, Jordan Rozum, Gene A. Ware, Doran J. Baker, Martin G. Wlynczak, James M. Russell

Browse All Undergraduate research

No abstract provided.

Merrill-Cazier Library Gas Exhibition, Betty Rozum, Andrew Wesolek, Pamela N. Martin

Andrew Wesolek

This exhibition, presented in the Merrill-Cazier Library, captured the history and accomplishments of the GAS program. Click the download button to see a PowerPoint presentation featuring images and text from the exhibition.

Charge, Bonding, And Magneto-Elastic Coupling In Nanomaterials, Qi Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

Phonons are exquisitely sensitive to finite length scale effects in a wide variety of materials because they are intimately connected to charge, structure, and magnetism, and a quantitative analysis of their behavior can reveal microscopic aspects of chemical bonding and spin-phonon coupling. To investigate these effects, we measured infrared vibrational properties of bulk and nanoscale MoS₂ [molybdenum disulfide], MnO [manganese(II) oxide], and CoFe₂O₄ [cobalt iron oxide]. From an analysis of frequencies, oscillator strengths, and high-frequency dielectric constants, we extracted Born and local effective charges, and polarizability for MoS₂ and MnO. For MoS₂ nanoparticles, in …

Condensed Matter From Gauge/Gravity Duality, Jason Edward Therrien

Doctoral Dissertations

Currently strongly coupled systems present the greatest challenge to theoretical physics. For years conventional methods of approach have failed to describe these systems analytically. In recent years it has been shown that there is a duality between weakly coupled and strongly coupled systems, the Gauge Theory/Gravity Duality. In this dissertation I will discuss how the AdS/CFT is used to describe strongly coupled condensed matter systems as well as present the work done by the author and collaborators.

Measurement Of Theta-13 Neutrino Mixing Angle From The Disappearance Of Electron Antineutrinos At The Double Chooz Experiment, Brandon Reed White

Doctoral Dissertations

The measurement of the remaining neutrino-mixing angle, theta-130, is a critical step toward further understanding of neutrino properties and to guide future neutrino oscillation experiments. Double Chooz has a unique opportunity to perform this measurement building on the original CHOOZ reactor anti-neutrino experiment, the experience that set the previous limits on theta-13. In the first phase of Double Chooz, 101 days of data was analyzed with only the far detector operating of a two-detector plan. In this thesis I will describe the design of the low background neutrino detector and the oscillation analysis performed. From the deficiency between the expected …

Confinement Effects Of Solvation On A Molecule Physisorbed On A Metal Particle, Jacob Fosso Tande

Doctoral Dissertations

We describe and present results of the implementation of the surface and volume polarization for electrostatics~(SVPE) and the iso-density surface solvation models. Unlike most other implementation of the solvation models where the solute and the solvent are described with multiple numerical representation, our implementation uses a multiresolution, adaptive multiwavelet basis to describe both solute and the solvent. This requires reformulation to use integral equations throughout as well as a conscious management of numerical properties of the basis.

Likewise, we investigate the effects of solvation on the static properties of a molecule physisorbed on a spherical particle, modeled as a polarizable …

Growth And Characterization Of Hexagonal Lu-Fe-O Multiferroic Thin Films, Wenbin Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

In the quest for new types of information processing and storage, complex oxides stand out as one of the most promising material classes. The multiple functionalities of complex oxides naturally arise from the delicate energy balance between the various forms of order (structural, electronic, magnetic). In particular, multiferroic and magnetoelectric oxides which simultaneously exhibit more than one type of ferroic orders have many advantages over existing materials. Widespread practical applications will require a single-phase multiferroic material with a transition temperature that lies considerably above room temperature, large electric and magnetic polarizations, and strong coupling between ferroic orders.

Recently, multiferroic LuFe …

Towards A Unification Of Supercomputing, Molecular Dynamics Simulation And Experimental Neutron And X-Ray Scattering Techniques, Benjamin Lindner

Doctoral Dissertations

Molecular dynamics simulation has become an essential tool for scientific discovery and investigation. The ability to evaluate every atomic coordinate for each time instant sets it apart from other methodologies, which can only access experimental observables as an outcome of the atomic coordinates. Here, the utility of molecular dynamics is illustrated by investigating the structure and dynamics of fundamental models of cellulose fibers. For that, a highly parallel code has been developed to compute static and dynamical scattering functions efficiently on modern supercomputing architectures. Using state of the art supercomputing facilities, molecular dynamics code and parallelization strategies, this work also …

Structure And Dynamics Of High Temperature Superconductors, Jennifer Lynn Niedziela

Doctoral Dissertations

High temperature superconductivity in iron based compounds has presented a series of complex problems to condensed matter physics since being discovered in 2008. The stalwart basis of condensed matter physics is the “strength in numbers" aspect of crystalline periodicity. Perfect crystalline periodicity has made possible the reduction of the questions of structural and electronic properties to single dimensions, increasing the tractability of these problems. Nevertheless, modern complex materials stretch these assumptions to their limits, and it is at this point where our work starts. Using neutron and x-ray scattering, we have conducted a series of studies on the structural disorder …

Lunar Radiation Environment And Space Weathering From The Cosmic Ray Telescope For The Effects Of Radiation (Crater), Nathan A. Schwadron, T. Baker, B. Blake, A. W. Case, J. F. Cooper, M. Golightly, Andrew P. Jordan, Colin J. Joyce, J. Kasper, K. Kozarev, J. Mislinski, J. Mazur, Harlan E. Spence

Physics & Astronomy

[1] The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) measures linear energy transfer by Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mission in a circular, polar lunar orbit. GCR fluxes remain at the highest levels ever observed during the space age. One of the largest SEP events observed by CRaTER during the LRO mission occurred on June 7, 2011. We compare model predictions by the Earth-Moon-Mars Radiation Environment Module (EMMREM) for both dose rates from GCRs and SEPs during this event with results from CRaTER. We find agreement between these …

Jitter Impact On Clock Distribution In Lhc Experiments, S. Baron, Themis Mastoridis, J. Troska, P. Baudrenghien

Physics

The LHC Bunch Clock is one of the most important accelerator signals delivered to the experiments. Being directly derived from the Radio Frequency driving the beams in the accelerator by a simple division of its frequency by a factor of 10, the Bunch Clock signal represents the frequency at which the bunches are crossing each other at each experiment. It is thus used to synchronize all the electronics systems in charge of event detection. Its frequency is around 40.079 MHz, but varies with beam parameters (energy, particle type, etc) by a few hundreds of Hz. The present paper discusses the …

Aspects Of General Relativity In 1+1 Dimensions, Richard D. Mellinger Jr

Physics

What would be the properties of a universe with only one spatial dimension and one time dimension? General relativity in 1+1 dimensions is unique since the two curvature terms in the Einstein field equations cancel. This makes the Einstein field equations algebraic rather than differential equations. This special feature can make 1+1 dimensionality attractive as an instructional tool to simplify the mathematics that many beginners find opaque. We explore the implications and features of the Einstein field equations in 1+1 dimensions and find they provide a surprisingly rich and interesting model. We then study an alternate theory and its implications …

Investigation Of Optical Dipole Traps For Trapping Neutral Atoms For Quantum Computing, Danielle May

Physics

No abstract provided.

Swift Follow-Up Observations Of Candidate Gravitational-Wave Transient Events, P. A. Evans, J. K. Fridriksson, N. Gehrels, J. Homan, J. P. Osborne, M. Siegel, A. Beardmore, P. Handbauer, J. Gelbord, J. A. Kennea, M. Smith, Q. Zhu, J. Aasi, J. Abadie, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, M. Abernathy, T. Accadia, F. Acernese, C. Adams, T. Adams, P. Addesso, R. Adhikari, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, P. Ajith, B. Allen, A. Allocca, Marc Favata, Shaon Ghosh

Department of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We present the first multi-wavelength follow-up observations of two candidate gravitational-wave (GW) transient events recorded by LIGO and Virgo in their 2009-2010 science run. The events were selected with low latency by the network of GW detectors (within less than 10 minutes) and their candidate sky locations were observed by the Swift observatory (within 12 hr). Image transient detection was used to analyze the collected electromagnetic data, which were found to be consistent with background. Off-line analysis of the GW data alone has also established that the selected GW events show no evidence of an astrophysical origin; one of them …

Modelling Three-Phase Flow In Metallurgical Processes, Christoph Goniva, Gijsbert Wierink, Kari Heiskanen, Stefan Pirker, Christoph Kloss

Gijsbert Wierink

The interaction between gasses, liquids, and solids plays a critical role in many processes, such as coating, granulation and the blast furnace process. In this paper we present a comprehensive numerical model for three phase flow including droplets, particles and gas. By means of a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) - Discrete Element Method (DEM) approach the physical core phenomena are pictured at a detailed level. Sub-models for droplet deformation, breakup and coalescence as well as droplet-particle and wet particle-particle interaction are applied. The feasibility of this model approach is demonstrated by its application to a rotating drum coater. The …

Microfluidic Experiments Reveal That Antifreeze Proteins Bound To Ice Crystals Suffice To Prevent Their Growth, Yeliz Celik, Ran Drori, Natalya Pertaya-Braun, Aysun Altan, Tyler Barton, Maya Bar-Dolev, Alex Groisman, Peter L. Davies, Ido Braslavsky

Physics Faculty Research

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a subset of ice-binding proteins that control ice crystal growth. They have potential for the cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs, as well as for production and storage of food and protection of crops from frost. However, the detailed mechanism of action of AFPs is still unclear. Specifically, there is controversy regarding reversibility of binding of AFPs to crystal surfaces. The experimentally observed dependence of activity of AFPs on their concentration in solution appears to indicate that the binding is reversible. Here, by a series of experiments in temperature-controlled microfluidic devices, where the medium surrounding ice …

Development Of A Novel Technique For Predicting Tumor Response In Adaptive Radiation Therapy, Rebecca Marie Seibert

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation concentrates on the introduction of Predictive Adaptive Radiation Therapy (PART) as a potential method to improve cancer treatment. PART is a novel technique that utilizes volumetric image-guided radiation therapy treatment (IGRT) data to actively predict the tumor response to therapy and estimate clinical outcomes during the course of treatment. To implement PART, a patient database containing IGRT image data for 40 lesions obtained from patients who were imaged and treated with helical tomotherapy was constructed. The data was then modeled using locally weighted regression. This model predicts future tumor volumes and masses and the associated confidence intervals based …

A Search For Wimp Dark Matter Using An Optimized Chi-Square Technique On The Final Data From The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Experiment (Cdms Ii)., Manungu Joseph Kiveni

Physics - Dissertations

During the last two decades, cosmology has become a precision observational science thanks (in part) to the incredible number of experiments performed to better understand the composition of the universe. The large amount of data accumulated strongly indicates that the bulk of the universe’s matter is in the form of nonbaryonic matter that does not interact electromagnetically. Combined evidence from the dynamics of galaxies and galaxy clusters confirms that most of the mass in the universe is not composed of any known form of matter. Measurements of the cosmic microwave background, big bang nucleosynthesis and many other experiments indicate that …

Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert J. Brecha

Physics Faculty Publications

Debates about the possibility of a near-term maximum in world oil production have become increasingly prominent over the past decade, with the focus often being on the quantification of geologically available and technologically recoverable amounts of oil in the ground. Economically, the important parameter is not a physical limit to resources in the ground, but whether market price signals and costs of extraction will indicate the efficiency of extracting conventional or nonconventional resources as opposed to making substitutions over time for other fuels and technologies. We present a hybrid approach to the peak-oil question with two models in which the …

Protein Nano-Object Integrator (Pronoi) For Generating Atomic Style Objects For Molecular Modeling, Nicholas Smith, Brandon Campbell, Lin Li, Chuan Li, Emil Alexov

Publications

Background

With the progress of nanotechnology, one frequently has to model biological macromolecules simultaneously with nano-objects. However, the atomic structures of the nano objects are typically not available or they are solid state entities. Because of that, the researchers have to investigate such nano systems by generating models of the nano objects in a manner that the existing software be able to carry the simulations. In addition, it should allow generating composite objects with complex shape by combining basic geometrical figures and embedding biological macromolecules within the system.

Results

Here we report the Protein Nano-Object Integrator (ProNOI) which allows for …

Building An Alpha Spectrometer For The Cuore Collaboration, David J. Miller

Physics

This paper will give the reader a brief introduction to the Standard Model, Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (0νββ), and the CUORE experiment under construction at Gran Sasso National Lab in Assergi, Italy. The remainder of the paper will describe the process of creating a working alpha spectrometry system using silicon detectors and NIM and CAMAC electronics. Extensive details of the troubleshooting and calibration period are presented as a way for the reader to better understand the concepts involved in alpha spectroscopy and to not repeat mistakes made in this development process.

The First Cosmic Ray Albedo Proton Map Of The Moon, Jody K. Wilson, Harlan E. Spence, Justin Kasper, Michael Golightly, J. B. Blake, J. E. Mazur, L. W. Townsend, A. W. Case, M. D. Looper, C. Zeitlin, Nathan A. Schwadron

Physics & Astronomy

[1] Neutrons emitted from the Moon are produced by the impact of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) within the regolith. GCRs are high-energy particles capable of smashing atomic nuclei in the lunar regolith and producing a shower of energetic protons, neutrons and other subatomic particles. Secondary particles that are ejected out of the regolith become “albedo” particles. The neutron albedo has been used to study the hydrogen content of the lunar regolith, which motivates our study of albedo protons. In principle, the albedo protons should vary as a function of the input GCR source and possibly as a result of surface …

Saturation-Dependence Of Dispersion In Porous Media, B. Ghanbarian-Alavijeh, Thomas E. Skinner, Allen Hunt

Physics Faculty Publications

In this study, we develop a saturation-dependent treatment of dispersion in porous media using concepts from critical path analysis, cluster statistics of percolation, and fractal scaling of percolation clusters. We calculate spatial solute distributions as a function of time and calculate arrival time distributions as a function of system size. Our previous results correctly predict the range of observed dispersivity values over ten orders of magnitude in experimental length scale, but that theory contains no explicit dependence on porosity or relative saturation. This omission complicates comparisons with experimental results for dispersion, which are often conducted at saturation less than 1. …

Nnll Resummation For W-Boson Production At Large Pt, Nikolaos Kidonakis, Richard J. Gonsalves

Faculty and Research Publications

We present new results for W-boson production at large transverse momentum at the LHC and the Tevatron. The contribution of soft-gluon corrections is derived from NNLL resummation and added to the exact NLO result. Numerical results and their uncertainties for the approximate NNLO W-boson transverse momentum distributions are derived and compared to recent data from the LHC.