Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Probing The Black-Hole-Mass-Galaxy Connection Of Active Galaxies Using 2d Galaxy Fitting Techniques On Near-Infrared Images, Isak Dan Stomberg

Physics

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) provide a unique opportunity to measure the mass of supermassive black holes located in the centers of their host galaxies. This enables studying the scaling relations between the mass of the black hole and the properties of the host galaxy.

In this thesis, we present an investigation of the relationship between black hole masses and the host galaxy bulge and total luminosity for a pilot sample of 15 objects imaged in the near-infrared with the 8m telescope of Gemini North observatory. We perform a 2D decomposition of the host galaxies using the software Galfit and obtain …

Investigation Of Neutron Induced Ternary Fission With The Niffte Time Projection Chamber, Alex C. Kemnitz

Physics

Ternary fission is a rare occurrence in which three particles are produced from a single fission event. This analysis uses tracked fission event data recorded by NIFFTE’s time projection chamber with a series of refined cuts to isolate all possible ternary events. The experiment used two targets, each consisting of two isotopes; one target was Pu-239 and U-235, and the other was U-238 and U-235. The data was used to measure the ternary/binary fission ratios for each isotope. The ratios for the Pu-239 and U-235 target that were found are shown to be too high due to alpha contamination. The …

Faraday-Talbot Effect From A Circular Array Of Pillars, Jessica J. Pilgram

Physics

When an oil bath is vertically oscillating with an acceleration above some critical value, known as the Faraday threshold, the bath surface becomes unstable and nonlinear standing wave patterns emerge. One phenomenon that has been observed above the Faraday threshold is the formation of Faraday-Talbot carpets, resulting from near-field diffraction. The optical Talbot effect occurs when a monochromatic wave passes through a diffraction grating. In the near-field, the formation of self- images is observed at integer multiples of what is known as the Talbot length. These two-dimensional patterns have various applications including X-ray imaging and atom and particle trapping. Two- …

Solar Powered Single-Axis Heliostat Active Solar Tracking Device, Mason Kyle Roberts

Physics

As a means of cooking food, the burning of biomass accounts for over 4 million premature deaths in third world countries (“Household Air Pollution and Health”). The focus of this project was to explore an alternative that could utilize focused sunlight to cook food. A solar tracker was designed to be affixed to a parabolic, reflective, tilted single axis heliostat to follow the sun throughout the day and focus the reflected light to the bottom of a cooking surface. This surface became hot enough to for the preparation of food or boiling/sterilization of water.

A goal for each project was …

Working With Cuore In Search For The Neutrinoless-Double Beta Decay, Kevin H. Phung

Physics

The neutrino, if found to be its own anti-particle, will reshape the Standard Model of physics. This paper will give some background information regarding CUORE’s experiment to discover the radioactive process known as neutrinoless double-beta decay, how their experiment works, and my own involvement in their research during the installation phase of the project in the summer of 2017.

On-Sight Shifting At The Cryogenic Underground Observatory For Rare Events, Aaron C. Wong

Physics

During the summer of 2016, four Cal Poly students traveled to Assergi, Italy to contribute to the CUORE collaboration which is in search of a rare process called neutrinoless double beta decay. If detected, neutrinoless double beta decay will make break throughs in particle and nuclear physics, and will be the first observation of lepton number violation. The Cal Poly students provided on-sight shifting support during the installation phase of the project. This is a breakdown of the physics behind CUORE and Cal Poly's contribution.

Optical Physics Of Rifle Scopes, Ryan Perry

Physics

Optical systems are typically consist of multiple lenses and mirrors and are used in a wide variety of fields. While there exist a variety of setups, there are a few key concepts that are at the core of all of them. These could be used from the most advanced scientific research to a simple magnifying glass. They are also used in industry and consumer products such as glasses and cameras. We are going to go over these key concepts and show how they apply to telescopes, or more specifically rifle scopes. First, we will go over Snell's Law of refraction …

Improvements For The T0c+ Geometry Of The Fast Interaction Trigger (Fit) Upgrade To Alice At The Cern Lhc, Noah Miller

Physics

The purpose of the ALICE experiment at CERN is to investigate the properties of the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma formed in the high-energy collisions of lead nuclei in the CERN Large Hadron Collider. ALICE has been collecting data since 2009. The upcoming upgrade of the CERN LHC injectors during 2019-20 will boost the luminosity and the collision rate beyond the design parameters for several of the key ALICE detectors including the forward trigger detectors. The new Fast Interaction Trigger (FIT) will enable ALICE to discriminate beam-beam interactions with a 99% efficiency for the collisions generated by the LHC at a …

Investigation Of Peltier Devices For Refrigeration, Evan C. Drake

Physics

The purpose of our project was to characterize Peltier devices and determine if they were good candidates toward inexpensive off-grid solar powered refrigeration in poor countries. We measured the rate of cooling with a constant temperature thermal sink for different current inputs. Through numerous experiments we calculated the coefficient of performance for two different thermoelectric coolers (TECs) through a range of temperature differentials. In addition, we found the lowest temperature these Peltier chips could reach so that we could test the accuracy of the information provided by the manufacturers spec sheets. Overall the data gathered through our research is compelling …

My Contributions To The Cryogenic Underground Observatory For Rare Events Experiment And The Utilization Of Geant4 In Their Analysis, Kevin Armenta

Physics

First, a brief introduction and background of the basics of particle physics and the Standard Model is discussed in order to give context to nature of the neutrinoless double beta decay ($2\nu\beta\beta$) and why it is so interesting to particle physicists. Next, the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) experiment is discussed in detail, explaining the rational behind the experimental setup and detection process. Finally, I conclude by discussing Geant4, an important software toolkit used in particle physics, and how it is utilized in the CUORE experiment.

The Classical Limit Of Entropic Quantum Dynamics, Anthony V. Demme

Physics

The framework of entropic dynamics (ED) allows one to derive quantum mechanics as an application of entropic inference. In this work we derive the classical limit of quantum mechanics in the context of ED. Our goal is to find conditions so that the center of mass (CM) of a system of N particles behaves as a classical particle. What is of interest is that ~ remains finite at all steps in the calculation and that the classical motion is obtained as the result of a central limit theorem. More explicitly we show that if the system is sufficiently large, and …

Developing An Imaging System To Monitor Atom Traps For Neutral Atom Quantum Computing, Jenna Valdez

Physics

Quantum computing exploits the laws of quantum mechanics to exponentially increase computing rate for certain processes. A realized quantum computer could break encryptions and simulate large quantum systems previously unbreakable and unattainable with classical computers. Neutral atom quantum computing is a viable candidate for building these devices that satisfies four of the five criteria for a successful quantum computer. We are exploring a novel method in creating neutral atom qubits that involves a magneto-optical trap and a dipole trap created in the diffraction pattern behind an array of pinholes. The magneto-optical trap works to cool the atoms and centralize them …