Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy Commons^™

Density And Magnetic Field Asymmetric Kelvin‐Helmholtz Instability, Xuanye Ma, Peter Delamere, Katariina Nykyri, Antonius Otto, Stefan Eriksson, Lihui Chai, Brandon Burkholder, Andrew Dimmock, Yu-Lun Liou, Shiva Kavosi

Publications

The Kelvin‐Helmholtz (KH) instability can transport mass, momentum, magnetic flux, and energy between the magnetosheath and magnetosphere, which plays an important role in the solar‐wind‐ magnetosphere coupling process for different planets. Meanwhile, strong density and magnetic field asymmetry are often present between the magnetosheath (MSH) and magnetosphere (MSP), which could affect the transport processes driven by the KH instability. Our magnetohydrodynamics simulation shows that the KH growth rate is insensitive to the density ratio between the MSP and the MSH in the compressible regime, which is different than the prediction from linear incompressible theory. When the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) …

Godel, Escherian Staircase And Possibility Of Quantum Wormhole With Liquid Crystalline Phase Of Iced-Water - Part Ii: Experiment Description, Victor Christianto, T. Daniel Chandra, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The present article was partly inspired by G. Pollack’s book, and also Dadoloff, Saxena & Jensen (2010). As a senior physicist colleague and our friend, Robert N. Boyd, wrote in a journal (JCFA, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2022), for example, things and Beings can travel between Universes, intentionally or unintentionally [4]. In this short remark, we revisit and offer short remark to Neil Boyd’s ideas and trying to connect them with geometry of musical chords as presented by D. Tymoczko and others, then to Escherian staircase and then to Jacob’s ladder which seems to pointto possibility to interpret Jacob’s vision …

Godel, Escherian Staircase And Possibility Of Quantum Wormhole With Liquid Crystalline Phase Of Iced-Water - Part I: Theoretical Underpinning, Victor Christianto, T. Daniel Chandra, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

As a senior physicist colleague and our friend, Robert N. Boyd, wrote in a journal (JCFA, Vol. 1,. 2, 2022), Our universe is but one page in a large book [4]. For example, things and Beings can travel between Universes, intentionally or unintentionally. In this short remark, we revisit and offer short remark to Neil’s ideas and trying to connect them with geometrization of musical chords as presented by D. Tymoczko and others, then to Escher staircase and then to Jacob’s ladder which seems to point to possibility to interpret Jacob’s vision as described in the ancient book of Genesis …

Cosmic Diffuse Neutrino And Gamma-Ray Backgrounds In The Mev Regime, Ilukpitiye Samalka Anandagoda

All Dissertations

Cosmic Multi-Messenger backgrounds include relic diffuse components created in the early Universe and contributions from individual sources. In this dissertation, I present the work done in Anandagoda (2019); Anandagoda et al. (2020, 2023) where type Ia (SNe Ia) and core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) contributions to the diffuse neutrino and gamma-ray backgrounds in the MeV regime are studied. These backgrounds are referred to as DSNB and DSGB respectively. Based on this work, the diffuse SN Ia background is ~10⁶ times lower (for electron antineutrinos) than the CCSN background making it negligible. The predicted DSNB electron antineutrino flux at earth in the …

Orbital Mapping Of Seasonal And Yearly Changes In Co2 And Water Ice On The Southern Polar Cap Of Mars, Victoria Michell Ann Karnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research exhibits a new foundation for the rates of change in CO2 and water ice on the southern polar cap of Mars, where the annual precipitation cycles are known to fluctuate seasonally between the north and south pole, based on observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM). The conventional belief is that both CO2 ice and water ice on the southern polar cap condenses and evaporates over the course of a Martian year (MY), condensing during the Martian spring and summer and evaporating during the Martian fall and winter. With this theory in mind, CO2 and water ice …

Deciphering Surfaces Of Trans-Neptunian And Kuiper Belt Objects Using Radiative Scattering Models, Machine Learning, And Laboratory Experiments, Al Emran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Decoding surface-atmospheric interactions and volatile transport mechanisms on trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) involves an in-depth understanding of physical and thermal properties and spatial distribution of surface constituents – nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and water (H2O) ices. This thesis implements a combination of radiative scattering models, machine learning techniques, and laboratory experiments to investigate the uncertainties in grain size estimation of ices, the spatial distribution of surface compositions on Pluto, and the thermal properties of volatiles found on TNOs and KBOs. Radiative scattering models (Mie theory and Hapke approximations) were used to compare single …

The Meaning Of Dark, Light And Shadows: Inferences In Art, Materiality And Cultural Practices, Frank Prendergast

Book/Book Chapter

Our visual awareness relies on light acting on the eye to perceive materiality and colour. Medieval thought wrestled to articulate and comprehend its nature. The notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, for example, included his descriptions to define light and make comparisons so as to differentiate between light and shadow. His focus was on the illumination of surfaces from the perspective of a painter, seeing shadows as ‘the diminution of light by the intervention of an opaque body’ and ‘the counterpart of luminous rays’. In his mind, a shadow ‘stood between light and darkness’, with darkness being ‘the absence of light’. …

Global 3d Radiation Hydrodynamic Simulations Of Proto-Jupiter’S Convective Envelope, Zhaohuan Zhu, Yan-Fei Jiang, Hans Baehr, Andrew N. Youdin, Philip J. Armitage, Rebecca G. Martin

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

The core accretion model of giant planet formation has been challenged by the discovery of recycling flows between the planetary envelope and the disc that can slow or stall envelope accretion. We carry out 3D radiation hydrodynamic simulations with an updated opacity compilation to model the proto-Jupiter’s envelope. To isolate the 3D effects of convection and recycling, we simulate both isolated spherical envelopes and envelopes embedded in discs. The envelopes are heated at given rates to achieve steady states, enabling comparisons with 1D models. We vary envelope properties to obtain both radiative and convective solutions. Using a passive scalar, we …

Gw Ori: Circumtriple Rings And Planets, Jeremy L. Smallwood, Rebecca Nealon, Cheng Chen, Rebecca G. Martin, Jiaqing Bi, Ruobing Dong, Christophe Pinte

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

GW Ori is a hierarchical triple star system with a misaligned circumtriple protoplanetary disc. Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations have identified three dust rings with a prominent gap at 100 au and misalignments between each of the rings. A break in the gas disc may be driven by the torque from either the triple star system or a planet that is massive enough to carve a gap in the disc. Once the disc is broken, the rings nodally precess on different time-scales and become misaligned. We investigate the origins of the dust rings by means of N-body integrations and …

Terrestrial Planet Formation In A Circumbinary Disc Around A Coplanar Binary, Anna C. Childs, Rebecca G. Martin

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

With N-body simulations, we model terrestrial circumbinary planet (CBP) formation with an initial surface density profile motivated by hydrodynamic circumbinary gas disc simulations. The binary plays an important role in shaping the initial distribution of bodies. After the gas disc has dissipated, the torque from the binary speeds up the planet formation process by promoting body-body interactions but also drives the ejection of planet building material from the system at an early time. Fewer but more massive planets form around a close binary compared to a single star system. A sufficiently wide or eccentric binary can prohibit terrestrial planet formation. …

Towards Gross-Pitaevskiian Description Of Solar System & Galaxies, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto, Yunita Umniyati

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we argue that Gross-Pitaevskii model can be a more complete description of both solar system and spiral galaxies, especially taking into account the nature of chirality and vortices in galaxies. We also hope to bring out some correspondence among existing models, e.g., the topological vortex approach, Burgers equation in the light of KAM theory, and the Cantorian Navier-Stokes approach. We hope further investigation can be done around this line of approach.

Automated Spectroscopic Detection And Mapping Using Alma And Machine Learningtechniques, Steven Cocke, Andrew Wilkins, Josephine Mcdaniel, John Santerre, Conor Nixon

SMU Data Science Review

In this paper we present a methodology for automating theclassification of spectrally resolved observations of multiple emissionlines with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).Molecules in planetary atmospheres emit or absorb different wavelengthsof light thereby providing a unique signature for each species. ALMAdata were taken from interferometric observations of Titan made be-tween UT 2012 July 03 23:22:14 and 2012 July 04 01:06:18 as part ofALMA project 2011.0.00319.S. We first employed a greedy set cover algorithm to identify the most probable molecules that would reproducethe set of frequencies with respective flux greater than 3σaway from themean. We then selected a subset of …

Response To Pitkanen’S Solar System Model: Towards Gross-Pitaevskiian Description Of Solar System And Galaxies And More Evidence Of Chiral Superfluid Vortices, Victor Christianto, Florentin Smarandache, Yunita Umniyati

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In a new paper in recent issue of this journal (PSTJ), Prof. M. Pitkanen describes a solar system model inspired by spiral galaxies. While we appreciate his new approach, we find it lacks substantial discussion on the nature of vortices and chirality in galaxy. Therefore we submit a viewpoint that Gross-Pitaevskii model can be a more complete description of both solar system and also spiral galaxies, especially taking into account the nature of chirality and vortices in galaxies. In this article, we also hope to bring out some correspondence among existing models, so we discuss shortly: the topological vortice approach, …

Sun-Like Stars Shed Light On Solar Climate Forcing, Philip G. Judge, Ricky Egeland, Gregory W. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Recently published precise stellar photometry of 72 Sun-like stars obtained at the Fairborn Observatory between 1993 and 2017 is used to set limits on the solar forcing of Earth's atmosphere of ±4.5 W m−2 since 1750. This compares with the +2.2 ± 1.1 W m−2 IPCC estimate for anthropogenic forcing. Three critical assumptions are made. In decreasing order of importance they are: (a) most of the brightness variations occur within the average time series length of ≈17 yr; (b) the Sun seen from the ecliptic behaves as an ensemble of middle-aged solar-like stars; and (c) narrowband photometry in the Strömgren …

On Possibility Of Binary Companion Of The Sun: A Serendipity Finding And Comparison With Uvs Model Of Solar System, Victor Christianto, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

While we completely understood that a binary dwarf companion of the Sun has not been accepted by majority of astronomers, allow us to present some new arguments, along with our own serendipitous encounter with such a binary companion of the Sun. We hope that the present note will be found useful for further investigations, in relation to Planet Nine and such a dwarf star companion of the Sun (sometimes dubbed as Nemesis). Nonetheless, this article is not an exhaustive review of such dwarf companion star theories.

New Foundation In The Sciences: Physics Without Sweeping Infinities Under The Rug, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto, Robert Neil Boyd

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

It is widely known among the Frontiers of physics, that “sweeping under the rug” practice has been quite the norm rather than exception. In other words, the leading paradigms have strong tendency to be hailed as the only game in town. For example, renormalization group theory was hailed as cure in order to solve infinity problem in QED theory. For instance, a quote from Richard Feynman goes as follows: “What the three Nobel Prize winners did, in the words of Feynman, was "to get rid of the infinities in the calculations. The infinities are still there, but now they can …

Galactic Preservation And Beyond: A Framework For Protecting Cultural, Natural, And Scientific Heritage In Space, Matthew Rosendahl

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

In July 2017, Moon Express, a private spaceflight company, announced plans to build an outpost on the South Pole of the Moon by 2020. The goal? To mine the Moon for minerals and water that could then be sold for profit. Indeed, the Moon has been found to possess resources with lucrative uses, both in space and here on Earth. The potential for huge rewards has incentivized several private and governmental actors to launch planned expeditions to the Moon, with China becoming the third nation to land a spacecraft there in 2013. Both China and India have since announced plans …

Astronomy For Educators, Daniel E. Barth

Open Educational Resources

Astronomy for Educators provides new and accomplished K-12 instructors with concepts and projects for low-cost, high-impact STEM classroom instruction that is built around the National Academies National Research Council's K-12 Framework for Science Education.

Electron Model Based On Helmholtz’S Electron Vortex Theory & Kolmogorov’S Theory Of Turbulence, Florentin Smarandache, Victor Christianto, Robert Neil Boyd

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we explore a new electron model based on Helmholtz’s electron vortex and Kolmogorov theory of turbulence. We also discuss a new model of origination of charge and matter.

An Investigation Into The Suitability Of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria As Models For Martian Forward Contamination, Maxwell M. W. Silver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The NASA Planetary Protection policy requires interplanetary space missions do not compromise the target body for a current or future scientific investigation and do not pose an unacceptable risk to Earth, including biologic materials. Robotic missions to Mars pose a risk to planetary protection in the forms of forward and reverse contamination. To reduce these risks, a firm understanding of microbial response to Mars conditions is required. Sulfate-reducing bacteria are prime candidates for potential forward contamination on Mars. Understanding the potential for forward-contamination of sulfate-reducers on Mars calls for the characterization of sulfate-reducers under Mars atmosphere, temperature, and sulfate-brines. This …

Thinking Out Loud On Early Creation Through The Lens Of Hermeneutics Of Sherlock Holmes (Towards A Model Of Universe Based On Turbulence-Generated Sound Theory), Victor Christianto, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In recent years, apparently the Big Bang as described by the Lambda CDM-Standard Model Cosmology has become widely accepted by majority of physics and cosmology communities. Even some people have concluded that it has no serious alternative in horizon. Is that true? First, as we argued elsewhere, Big Bang story relies on singularity. In other words, when we are able to describe the observed data without invoking singularity, then Big Bang model is no longer required. Therefore, here we explore a few alternative stories other than Big Bang story, which most cosmologists believe it is the nearest to Biblical account …

Have We Found Our Neighbors? The Search For Habitable Planets Outside Our Solar System, Madeline Galbraith

D.U.Quark

No abstract provided.

Book Review: From The Realm Of The Nebulae To Populations Of Galaxies: Dialogues On A Century Of Research, Astrophysics And Space Science Library, 435, T. D. Oswalt

Publications

This document is Dr. Oswalt’s review of From the Realm of the Nebulae to Populations of Galaxies : Dialogues on a Century of Research, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, 435. by Mauro D'Onofrio, Roberto Rampazzo, and Simone Zaggia Springer, 2016 785p bibl index afp, 9783319310046 $279.00, 9783319310060 $219.00

A Luminous And Isolated Gamma-Ray Flare From The Blazar B2 1215+30, A. U. Abeysekara, S. Archambault, A. Archer, W. Benbow, R. Bird, M. Buchovecky, J H. Buckley, V. Bugaev, K. Byrum, P. T. Reynolds, Et Al

Physical Sciences Publications

B2 1215+30 is a BL-Lac-type blazar that was first detected at TeV energies by the MAGIC atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and subsequently confirmed by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) observatory with data collected between 2009 and 2012. In 2014 February 08, VERITAS detected a large-amplitude flare from B2 1215+30 during routine monitoring observations of the blazar 1ES 1218+304, located in the same field of view. The TeV flux reached 2.4 times the Crab Nebula flux with a variability timescale of . Multiwavelength observations with Fermi-LAT, Swift, and the Tuorla Observatory revealed a correlated high GeV …

Experimental Simulations Of Recurring Slope Lineae And Other Flow Formation Features On Mars, Julia Ann Heydenreich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Various flow formation features from gullies to recurring slope lineae (RSL) have been identified across the martian surface. The formation of these geologic features are still being determined. Recently, several aspects of these flow features indicate that salt water flows in the subsurface during the warmer months when the ice melts. This paper explores the formation of these processes using laboratory experimental simulations. Experiments were conducted in a wooden flume under varying martian conditions of temperature, slope angle, regolith simulant and a liquid subsurface flow. By adjusting the flume at specific heights, several slopes were obtained to mimic the slopes …

Back Half Of The Year, Ian R. Clarke

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Here we are in the back half of 2016, and the days are getting shorter. We have, as of today, lost 18 minutes since the solstice on June 20, and the speed of that change is quickening. You may wonder why it is that we have our hottest weather after our longest day is behind us. The simple answer is that it takes time for land and water masses to warm up. That’s the reason that Sept. 21 is likely to be a lot warmer than March 21, even though they have the same amount of daylight. [excerpt]

Living In The Milky Way, Ian R. Clarke

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

It’s finally here. Today, June 20 at 6:34 p.m., is the the summer solstice, also known as the first day of summer and, confusingly enough, midsummer’s eve. From a scientific perspective, it marks the moment the sun reaches its northernmost point in our sky. As a result of that position, it’s the shortest night and longest day if you live north of the equator. [excerpt]

Solar Modulation Of The Cosmic Ray Intensity And The Measurement Of The Cerenkov Reemission In Nova’S Liquid Scintillator, Philip James Mason

Doctoral Dissertations

The NOνA (NuMI Off-axis electron neutrino Appearance) experiment is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Its purpose is to observe the oscillation of ν_μ (muon neutrino) to ν_e (electron neutrino) and to investigate the neutrino mass hierarchy and CP violation in the neutrino sector. Two detectors have been built for this purpose, a Near Detector 300 feet underground at Fermilab, and a Far Detector, on the surface at Ash River, Minnesota.

The completion of NOνA’s Far Detector in October 2014 enabled not only the recent measurement of neutrino oscillations, but an array of …

Unmatter Plasma, Relativistic Oblique-Length Contraction Factor, Neutrosophic Diagram And Neutrosophic Degree Of Paradoxicity: Articles And Notes, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This book has four parts. In the first part, we collected five recent papers, published before in Progress in Physics, but reviewed. In the first paper, we approach a novel form of plasma, Unmatter Plasma. The electron-positron beam plasma was generated in the laboratory in the beginning of 2015. This experimental fact shows that unmatter, a new form of matter that is formed by matter and antimatter bind together (mathematically predicted a decade ago) really exists. That is the electron-positron plasma experiment of 2015 is the experimentum crucis verifying the mathematically predicted unmatter. In the second paper, we generalize the …

Measuring Noble Gases In Coma Samples From Comet Wild 2, Jacob Simones

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Since comets originated during the formation of the solar system, the processes of solar system formation can be better understood through compositional analysis of cometary material. A low density, silicon-based substance called aerogel was used by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft to collect coma samples from comet Wild 2. Aerogel not from the spacecraft (“non-flight”) was investigated to determine the possibility of measuring noble gases in Stardust samples. Gas evolved from heated, non-flight aerogel was measured initially using a residual gas analyzer, then a high-sensitivity massspectrometer. Levels of helium and neon isotopes observed from both instruments were sufficiently low that noble gases …