Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A High-Yield Synthesis Of Chalcopyrite Cuins2 Nanoparticles With Exceptional Size Control, Aaron Thurber, Alex Punnoose

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report high-yield and efficient size-controlled syntheses of Chalcopyrite CuInS₂ nanoparticles by decomposing molecular single source precursors (SSPs) via microwave irradiation in the presence of 1,2-ethanedithiol at reaction temperatures as low as 100◦C and times as short as 30 minutes. The nanoparticles sizes were 1.8nm to 10.8 nm as reaction temperatures were varied from 100◦C to 200◦C with the bandgaps from 2.71 eV to 1.28 eV with good size control and high yields (64%–95%). The resulting nanoparticles were analyzed by XRD, UV-Vis, ICP-OES, XPS, SEM, EDS, and HRTEM. Titration studies by ¹H NMR using SSP 1 with 1,2-ethanedithiol …

A 236-Ghz Fe3+ Epr Study Of Nanoparticles Of The Ferromagnetic Room-Temperature Semiconductor Sn1-XFeXO2 (X = 0.005), Sushil K. Misra, S. I. Andronenko, Alex Punnoose, Dmitry Tipikin, J. H. Freed

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

High-frequency (236 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of Fe³⁺ ions at 255 K are reported in a Sn_1-xFe_xO₂ powder with x = 0.005, which is a ferromagnetic semiconductor at room temperature. The observed EPR spectrum can be simulated reasonably well as the overlap of spectra due to four magnetically inequivalent high-spin (HS) Fe³⁺ ions (S = 5/2). The spectrum intensity is calculated, using the overlap I(BL) + (I(HS1) + I(HS2) + I(HS3) + I(HS4)) 9 x e^-0.00001xB, where B is the magnetic field intensity …

Transition From N-Type To P-Type Destroys Ferromagnetism In Semiconducting Sn1-XCoXO2 And Sn1-XCrXO2 Nanoparticles, C. Van Komen, A. Punnoose, M. S. Seehra

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This work reports strong correlations between the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of room temperature ferromagnets (RTFM) Sn_1-xCo_xO₂ and Sn_1-xCr_xO₂ for x = 0 to 0.1. The samples prepared by the sol-gel chemical method show RTFM for x < x_L with the limiting concentration x_L = 0.01 for Co doping and x_L = 0.025 for Cr doping. As doping level x is increased from x = 0, the magnetic moment per ion, μ, increases and the lattice volume V_L decreases up to _x = x_L. …

Accurate Inversion Of High-Resolution Snow Penetrometer Signals For Microstructural And Micromechanical Properties, Hans-Peter Marshall, Jerome B. Johnson

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Measurements of snow using a high-resolution micropenetrometer can be used to discriminate between different snow types; in lower-density snow the signal is sensitive to microstructure, and micromechanical properties can be estimated. Although a physics-based snow penetration theory was first developed almost a decade ago, since that time the majority of studies using snow micropenetrometers have focused on using direct hardness measurements in statistical relationships. We use Monte-Carlo simulations to rigorously test the existing physics-based snow micropenetration theories over a wide range of parameters. These tests revealed four major sources of error in the inversion, which are corrected in this analysis. …

Modeling Soil Depth From Topographic And Land Cover Attributes, Teklu K. Tesfa, David G. Tarboton, David G. Chandler, James P. Mcnamara

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil depth is an important input parameter in hydrological and ecological modeling. Presently, the soil depth data available in national soil databases (STATSGO and SSURGO) from the Natural Resources Conservation Service are provided as averages within generalized land units (map units). Spatial uncertainty within these units limits their applicability for distributed modeling in complex terrain. This work reports statistical models for prediction of soil depth in a semiarid mountainous watershed that are based upon the relationship between soil depth and topographic and land cover attributes. Soil depth was surveyed by driving a rod into the ground until refusal at locations …

Infrasonic Ambient Noise Interferometry From Correlations Of Microbaroms, Matthew M. Haney

CGISS Publications and Presentations

We show that microbaroms, continuous infrasound fluctuations resulting from the interaction of the ocean with the atmosphere, have long-range correlation properties that make it possible to estimate the impulse response between two microphones from passive recordings. The processing is analogous to methods employed in the emerging field of ambient noise seismology, where the random noise source is the ocean coupling with the solid Earth (microseisms) instead of the atmosphere (microbaroms). We find that timedependent temperature fields and temperature inversions determine the character of infrasonic impulse responses at Fourpeaked Volcano in Alaska. Applications include imaging and monitoring the gross structure of …

Stability And Error Estimates For Vector Field Interpolation And Decomposition On The Sphere With Rbfs, Edward J. Fuselier, Grady Wright

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A new numerical technique based on radial basis functions (RBFs) is presented for fitting a vector field tangent to the sphere, S², from samples of the field at "scattered" locations on S². The method naturally provides a way to decompose the reconstructed field into its individual Helmholtz–Hodge components, i.e., into divergence-free and curl-free parts, which is useful in many applications from the atmospheric and oceanic sciences (e.g., in diagnosing the horizontal wind and ocean currents). Several approximation results for the method will be derived. In particular, Sobolevtype error estimates are obtained for both the interpolant and …

Wavelet-Based Bayesian Estimation Of Partially Linear Regression Models With Long Memory Errors, Kyungduk Ko, Leming Qu, Marina Vannucci

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we focus on partially linear regression models with long memory errors, and propose a wavelet-based Bayesian procedure that allows the simultaneous estimation of the model parameters and the nonparametric part of the model. Employing discrete wavelet transforms is crucial in order to simplify the dense variance-covariance matrix of the long memory error. We achieve a fully Bayesian inference by adopting a Metropolis algorithm within a Gibbs sampler. We evaluate the performances of the proposed method on simulated data. In addition, we present an application to Northern hemisphere temperature data, a benchmark in the long memory literature.

Error And Stability Estimates For Surface-Divergence Free Rbf Interpolants On The Sphere, Edward J. Fuselier, Francis J. Narcowich, Joseph D. Ward, Grady Wright

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recently, a new class of surface-divergence free radial basis function interpolants has been developed for surfaces in R³. In this paper, several approximation results for this class of interpolants will be derived in the case of the sphere, S². In particular, Sobolev-type error estimates are obtained, as well as optimal stability estimates for the associated interpolation matrices. In addition, a Bernstein estimate and an inverse theorem are also derived. Numerical validation of the theoretical results is also given.

Structural Development In Ge-Rich Ge-S Glasses, Y. Sakaguchi, Dmitri Tenne, Maria Mitkova

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Raman spectra of Ge-S glasses in the Ge-rich region from Ge 33 to 46 % have been investigated in order to know the structural development of the network glasses. From the detailed curve fits, we have found that there is an unassigned peak at 410 cm^-1 and it becomes larger with increasing Ge composition. To clarify the structural origin of the peak, we virtually constructed the atomic arrangement of the glassy state starting from the crystalline state through the liquid state and changed the composition gradually depleting the medium in sulfur. From the consideration of the structural modeling …

The Influences Of Cell Type And Zno Nanoparticle Size On Immune Cell Cytotoxicity And Cytokine Induction, Cory Hanley, Aaron Thurber, Charles Hanna, Alex Punnoose, Jianhui Zhang, Denise G. Wingett

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nanotechnology represents a new and enabling platform that promises to provide a range of innovative technologies for biological applications. ZnO nanoparticles of controlled size were synthesized, and their cytotoxicity towards different human immune cells evaluated. A differential cytotoxic response between human immune cell subsets was observed, with lymphocytes being the most resistant and monocytes being the most susceptible to ZnO nanoparticle-induced toxicity. Significant differences were also observed between previously activated memory lymphocytes and naive lymphocytes, indicating a relationship between cell-cycle potential and nanoparticle susceptibility. Mechanisms of toxicity involve the generation of reactive oxygen species, with monocytes displaying the highest levels, …

Estimating Debye Parameters From Gpr Reflection Data Using Spectral Ratios, John H. Bradford

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the GPR frequency range, electromagnetic wave attenuation is largely controlled by dielectric relaxation processes. A primary relaxation commonly occurs in the 10 – 100 MHz range for many earth materials in which the GPR signal propagates effectively. This relaxation leads to strong nonlinearity in the frequency dependent attenuation and occurs in a frequency range that is often used for groundwater investigations. This non-linearity complicates data analysis but also may provide additional material property information. I investigate inversion for Debye relaxation parameters directly from GPR reflection data, including increasing the bandwidth of the signal by summing the response from 25 …

Improved Confidence In (U-Th)/He Thermochronology Using The Laser Microprobe: An Example From A Pleistocene Leucogranite, Nanga Parbat, Pakistan, J. W. Boyce, K. V. Hodges, D. King, James L. Crowley, M. Jercinovic, N. Chatterjee, S. A. Bowring, M. Searle

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The newly developed laser microprobe (U-Th)/He thermochronometer permits, for the first time, the ability to generate precise (U-Th)/He cooling ages for even very young (Ma) samples with a spatial resolution on the order of tens of micrometers. This makes it possible to test the reproducibility of independent (U-Th)/He age determinations within individual crystals, further increasing the reliability of the method. As an example, we apply it here to a Pleistocene granite from Nanga Parbat, Pakistan, where previous constraints on the thermal history are consistent with rapid exhumation and cooling. Twenty-one (U-Th)/He dates determined on two monazite crystals from a single …

Structural Basis For Α-Conotoxin Potency And Selectivity, Matthew Turner, Seth Eidemiller, Bryan Martin, Andrew Narver, Joshua Marshall, Kenneth A. Cornell, Owen M. Mcdougal

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Parkinson's disease is a debilitating movement disorder characterized by altered levels of α₆β₂* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) localized on presynaptic striatal catecholaminergic neurons. α-Conotoxin MII (α-CTx MII) is a highly useful ligand to probe α₆ß₂ nAChRs structure and function, but it does not discriminate among closely related α₆* nAChR subtypes. Modification of the α-CTx MII primary sequence led to the identification of α-CTx MII[E11A], an analog with 500-5300 fold discrimination between α₆* subtypes found in both human and non-human primates. α-CTx MII[E11A] binds most strongly (femtomolar dissociation constant) to …

Obtaining Parsimonious Hydraulic Conductivity Fields Using Head And Transport Observations: A Bayesian Geostatistical Parameter Estimation Approach, Michael Fienen, R. Hunt, D. Krabbenhoft, Tom Clemo

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Flow path delineation is a valuable tool for interpreting the subsurface hydrogeochemical environment. Different types of data, such as groundwater flow and transport, inform different aspects of hydrogeologic parameter values (hydraulic conductivity in this case) which, in turn, determine flow paths. This work combines flow and transport information to estimate a unified set of hydrogeologic parameters using the Bayesian geostatistical inverse approach. Parameter flexibility is allowed by using a highly parameterized approach with the level of complexity informed by the data. Despite the effort to adhere to the ideal of minimal a priori structure imposed on the problem, extreme contrasts …

Complex Dielectric Permittivity Measurements From Ground-Penetrating Radar Data To Estimate Snow Liquid Water Content In The Pendular Regime, John H. Bradford, Joel T. Harper, Joel Brown

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) is critical to effective management of water resources in many parts of the world that depend on the mountain snowpack for water storage. There are currently no methods to remotely sense SWE with accuracy over large lateral distances in the steep and often forested terrain of mountain basins. Previous studies have shown that measurements of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) velocity can provide accurate estimates of SWE in dry snow. Introduction of liquid water into the snowpack results in a three-phase system that cannot be accurately characterized with GPR velocity alone. We show that measuring the …

Impact Of Hillslope-Scale Organization Of Topography, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, And Vegetation On Modeling Surface Microwave Radiation Emission, Alejandro N. Flores, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Dara Entekhabi, Rafael L. Bras

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microwave radiometry will emerge as an important tool for global remote sensing of near-surface soil moisture in the coming decade. In this modeling study, we find that hillslopescale topography (tens of meters) influences microwave brightness temperatures in a way that produces bias at coarser scales (kilometers). The physics underlying soil moisture remote sensing suggests that the effects of topography on brightness temperature observations are twofold: 1) the spatial distribution of vegetation, moisture, and surface and canopy temperature depends on topography and 2) topography determines the incidence angle and polarization rotation that the observing sensor makes with the local land surface. …

Discrete Variable Methods For Delay-Differential Equations With Threshold-Type Delays, Z. Jackiewicz, Barbara Zubik-Kowal

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We study numerical solution of systems of delay-differential equations in which the delay function, which depends on the unknown solution, is defined implicitly by the threshold condition. We study discrete variable numerical methods for these problems and present error analysis. The global error is composed of the error of solving the differential systems, the error from the threshold conditions and the errors in delay arguments. Our theoretical analysis is confirmed by numerical experiments on threshold problems from the theory of epidemics and from population dynamics.

Seismic Wave Attenuation In Carbonates, Ludmila Adam, M. Batzle, K. T. Lewallen, Kasper Van Wijk

CGISS Publications and Presentations

The effect of pore fluids on seismic wave attenuation in carbonate rocks is important for interpreting remote sensing observations of carbonate reservoirs undergoing enhanced oil recovery. Here we measure the elastic moduli and attenuation in the laboratory for five carbonate samples with 20% to 30% porosity and permeability between 0.03 and 58.1 mdarcy. Contrary to most observations in sandstones, bulk compressibility losses dominate over shear wave losses for dry samples and samples fully saturated with either liquid butane or brine. This observation holds for four out of five samples at seismic (10–1000 Hz) and ultrasonic frequencies (0.8 MHz) and reservoir …

Finite-Difference And Pseudo-Sprectral Methods For The Numerical Simulations Of In Vitro Human Tumor Cell Population Kinetics, Z. Jackiewicz, Barbara Zubik-Kowal, B. Basse

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Pseudo-spectral approximations are constructed for the model equations which describe the population kinetics of human tumor cells in vitro and their responses to radiotherapy or chemotherapy. These approximations are more efficient than finite-difference approximations. The spectral accuracy of the pseudo-spectral method allows us to resolve the model with a much smaller number of spatial grid-points than required for the finite-difference method to achieve comparable accuracy. This is demonstrated by numerical experiments which show a good agreement between predicted and experimental data.

Conceptual Development About Motion And Force In Elementary And Middle School Students, Dewey I. Dykstra, Dale R. Sweet

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Methods of physics education research were applied to find what kinds of changes in 4th, 6th, and 8th grade student understanding of motion can occur and at what age. Such findings are necessary for the physics community to effectively discharge its role in advising and assisting pre-college physics education. Prior to and after instruction the students were asked to carefully describe several demonstrated accelerated motions. Most pre-instruction descriptions were of the direction of motion only. After instruction, many more of the students gave descriptions of the motion as continuously changing. Student responses to the diagnostic and to the activity materials …

Observation And Modeling Of Source Effects In Coda Wave Interferometry At Pavlof Volcano, Matthew M. Haney, Kasper Van Wijk, Leiph A. Preston, David F. Aldridge

CGISS Publications and Presentations

We examine seismic records of repeating explosions from Pavlof volcano, Alaska, during its 2007 eruption. Repetitive explosions are typical of Strombolian-style eruptions and allow measurement of relative time shifts between similar late-arriving phases using the technique called coda wave interferometry (Snieder et al., 2002). The measurements enable the detection of small changes in the volcanic interior of Pavlof. We are able to resolve an increase in the relative traveltime change of late-arriving seismic waves on the order of 0.3% over the course of two weeks. Based on the spectra of the explosions, their location inside the magma conduit, previous studies …

Capacitive Conductivity Logging And Electrical Stratigraphy In A High-Resistivity Aquifer, Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, C. Jonathan Mwenifumbo, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll

CGISS Publications and Presentations

We tested a prototype capacitive-conductivity borehole tool in a shallow, unconfined aquifer with coarse, unconsolidated sediments and very-low-conductivity water at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site (BHRS). Examining such a high-resistivity system provides a good test for the capacitive- conductivity tool because the conventional induction- conductivity tool (known to have limited effectiveness in high-resistivity systems) did not generate expressive well logs at the BHRS. The capacitive-conductivity tool demonstrated highly repeatable, low-noise behavior but poor correlation with the induction tool in the lower-conductivity portions of the stratigraphy where the induction tool was relatively unresponsive. Singular spectrum analysis of capacitive- conductivity logs reveals …

The Virtual Refraction: Useful Spurious Energy In Seismic Interferometry, Dylan Mikesell, Kasper Van Wijk, Alexander Calvert, Matthew M. Haney

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Seismic interferometry is rapidly becoming an established technique to recover the Green’s function between receivers, but practical limitations in the source-energy distribution inevitably lead to spurious energy in the results. Instead of attempting to suppress all such energy, we use a spurious wave associated with the crosscorrelation of refracted energy at both receivers to infer estimates of subsurface parameters. We named this spurious event the virtual refraction. Illustrated by a numerical two-layer example, we found that the slope of the virtual refraction defines the velocity of the faster medium and that the stationary-phase point in the correlation gather provides the …

A Radial Basis Function Method For The Shallow Water Equations On A Sphere, Natasha Flyer, Grady Wright

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The paper derives the first known numerical shallow water model on the sphere using radial basis function (RBF) spatial discretisation, a novel numerical methodology that does not require any grid or mesh. In order to perform a study with regard to its spatial and temporal errors, two nonlinear test cases with known analytical solutions are considered. The first is global steady-state flow with a compactly supported velocity field while the second is unsteady flow where features in the flow must be kept intact without dis- persion. This behavior is achieved by introducing forcing terms in the shallow water equations. Error …

Ferroelectric Phase Transitions In Three-Component Short-Period Superlattices Studied By Ultraviolet Raman Spectroscopy, Dmitri Tenne, H. N. Lee, R. S. Katiyar, X. X. Xi

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Vibrational spectra of three-component BaTiO₃SrTiO₃CaTiO₃ short-period superlattices grown by pulsed laser deposition with atomic-layer control have been investigated by ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy. Monitoring the intensity of the first-order phonon peaks in Raman spectra as a function of temperature allowed determination of the ferroelectric phase transition temperature, T_c. Raman spectra indicate that all superlattices remain in the tetragonal ferroelectric phase with out-of-plane polarization in the entire temperature range below T_c. The dependence of T_c on the relative thicknesses of ferroelectric (BaTiO₃) to non-ferroelectric materials (SrTiO₃ and CaTiO_{3 …}

Assessment Of Methylthioadenosine/S-Adenosylhomocysteine Nucleosidases Of Borrelia Burgdorferi As Targets For Novel Antimicrobials Using A Novel High-Throughput Method, Kenneth Cornell, Shekerah Primus, Jorge A. Martinez, Nikhat Parveen

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the USA with the highest number of cases (27444 patients) reported by CDC in the year 2007, representing an unprecedented 37% increase from the previous year. The haematogenous spread of Borrelia burgdorferi to various tissues results in multisystemic disease affecting the heart, joints, skin, musculoskeletal and nervous system of the patients.

Objectives: Although Lyme disease can be effectively treated with doxycycline, amoxicillin and cefuroxime axetil, discovery of novel drugs will benefit the patients intolerant to these drugs and potentially those suffering from chronic Lyme disease that is refractory to these …

Estimating Porosity With Ground-Penetrating Radar Reflection Tomography: A Controlled 3-D Experiment At The Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, John H. Bradford, William P. Clement, Warren Barrash

CGISS Publications and Presentations

To evaluate the uncertainty of water-saturated sediment velocity and porosity estimates derived from surface-based, ground-penetrating radar reflection tomography, we conducted a controlled field experiment at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site (BHRS). The BHRS is an experimental well field located near Boise, Idaho. The experimental data set consisted of 3-D multioffset radar acquired on an orthogonal 20 × 30 m surface grid that encompassed a set of 13 boreholes. Experimental control included (1) 1-D vertical velocity functions determined from traveltime inversion of vertical radar profiles (VRP) and (2) neutron porosity logs. We estimated the porosity distribution in the saturated zone using …

Separation Of Topographic Features From Magnetic Force Images Using Capacitive Coupling Effect, Byung I. Kim

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Separation of topographic features from magnetic images has been an issue for the past two decades in magnetic force microscopy (MFM). The frequent pickups of the topographic features are interpreted as transitions of the tip between bistable states of the tip-sample assembly in the noncontact and tapping regions. MFM using electrostatic force modulation demonstrates the separation of the topographic features from the magnetic images by removing the tapping state from the bistable states through the introduction of a capacitive coupling.

First-Order Bias Correction For Fractionally Integrated Time Series, Jaechoul Lee, Kyungduk Ko

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Most of the long memory estimators for stationary fractionally integrated time series models are known to experience non-negligible bias in small and finite samples. Simple moment estimators are also vulnerable to such bias, but can easily be corrected. In this paper, we propose bias reduction methods for a lag-one sample autocorrelation-based moment estimator. In order to reduce the bias of the moment estimator, we explicitly obtain the exact bias of lag-one sample autocorrelation up to the order n−1. An example where the exact first-order bias can be noticeably more accurate than its asymptotic counterpart, even for large samples, is presented. …