Physics Commons^™

Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter (Fall 2015), Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Infographics And Mathematics: A Mechanism For Effective Learning In The Classroom, Ivan Sudakov, Thomas Bellsky, Svetlana Usenyuk, Victoria V. Polyakova

Physics Faculty Publications

This work discusses the creation and use of infographies in an undergraduate mathematics course. Infographies are a visualization of information combining data, formulas, and images. This article discusses how to form an infographic and uses infographics on topics within mathematics and climate as examples. It concludes with survey data from undergraduate students on both the general use of infographics and on the specific infographics designed by the authors.

Formation Of Three-Dimensional Surface Waves On Deep-Water Using Elliptic Solutions Of Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation, Shahrdad G. Sajjadi, S.C. Mancas, Frederique Drullion

Publications

A review of three-dimensional waves on deep-water is presented. Three forms of three-dimensionality, namely oblique, forced and spontaneous types, are identified. An alternative formulation for these three-dimensional waves is given through cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The periodic solutions of the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation are found using Weierstrass elliptic ℘ functions. It is shown that the classification of solutions depends on the boundary conditions, wavenumber and frequency. For certain parameters, Weierstrass ℘ functions are reduced to periodic, hyperbolic or Jacobi elliptic functions. It is demonstrated that some of these solutions do not have any physical significance. An analytical solution of …

Spacetime Algebra As A Powerful Tool For Electromagnetism, Justin Dressel, Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Franco Nori

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We present a comprehensive introduction to spacetime algebra that emphasizes its practicality and power as a tool for the study of electromagnetism. We carefully develop this natural (Clifford) algebra of the Minkowski spacetime geometry, with a particular focus on its intrinsic (and often overlooked) complex structure. Notably, the scalar imaginary that appears throughout the electromagnetic theory properly corresponds to the unit 4-volume of spacetime itself, and thus has physical meaning. The electric and magnetic fields are combined into a single complex and frame-independent bivector field, which generalizes the Riemann-Silberstein complex vector that has recently resurfaced in studies of the single …

Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter (Summer 2015), Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Manipulating The Mass Distribution Of A Golf Putter, Paul J. Hessler Jr.

Senior Honors Projects

Putting may appear to be the easiest but is actually the most technically challenging part of the game of golf. The ideal putting stroke will remain parallel to its desired trajectory both in the reverse and forward direction when the putter head is within six inches of the ball. Deviation from this concept will cause a cut or sidespin on the ball that will affect the path the ball will travel.

Club design plays a large part in how well a player will be able to achieve a straight back and straight through club head path near impact; specifically the …

Multivariate Statistical Methodologies Applied In Biomedical Raman Spectroscopy: Assessing The Validity Of Partial Least Squares Regression Using Simulated Model Datasets., Mark Keating

Articles

Raman spectroscopy is fast becoming a valuable analytical tool in a number of biomedical scenarios, most notably disease diagnostics. Importantly, the technique has also shown increasing promise in the assessment of drug interactions on a cellular and subcellular level, particularly when coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. However, an important consideration, both with Raman spectroscopy and the associated statistical methodologies, is the accuracy of these techniques and more specifically the sensitivities which can be achieved and ultimately the limits of detection of the various methods. The purpose of this study is thus the construction of a model simulated data set with …

Analysis Of Random Metric Spaces Explains Emergence Phenomenon And Suggests Discreteness Of Physical Space, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many practical situations, systems follow the pattern set by the second law of thermodynamics: they evolve from an organized inhomogeneous state into a homogeneous structure-free state. In many other practical situations, however, we observe the opposite emergence phenomenon: in an originally homogeneous structure-free state, an inhomogeneous structure spontaneously appears. In this paper, we show that the analysis of random metric spaces provides a possible explanation for this phenomenon. We also show that a similar analysis supports space-time models in which proper space is discrete.

Volume 07, Rachel C. Lombardi, Ben Osterhout, Lindsay Graybill, Rebecca E. Dey, Skyler T. Carpenter, Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, Mollie Andrews, James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, Maria Wheaton, Dallas Price, Laura Kahler, Sarah Charlton, Anna Bultrowicz, Emily Spittle, Erin Godwin, Eamon Brokenbrough

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Interim Dean Dr. Jennifer Apperson

Spatial Analysis of Potential Risk Factors Associated with Addition of Atlantic Coast Pipeline Through Virginia by Rachel C. Lombardi

"Delicate Matters with No Speaking," "Hope and Nothing," "Mono Duality" by Ben Osterhout

"Connect" Graphic Design Senior Project by Lindsay Graybill

Phenolic Acids in Brassicaceae Plants: Ovipositional Stimulants or Deterrents for Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris Rapae? by Rebecca E. Dey And Skyler T. Carpenter

"Abecedarian Cards" by Emma Beckett, Jason Ware, And Mollie Andrews

Helvetica: A Type Specimen Book by James Bates, Landon Cooper, Tiffani Jeffries, And Maria Wheaton

“Things Left Behind” by Dallas …

Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter (Spring 2015), Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Geometrization Conditions For Perfect Fluids, Scalar Fields, And Electromagnetic Fields, Charles G. Torre, Dionisios Krongos

Presentations and Publications

Rainich-type conditions giving a spacetime “geometrization” of matter fields in general relativity are reviewed and extended. Three types of matter are considered: perfect fluids, scalar fields, and elec- tromagnetic fields. Necessary and sufficient conditions on a spacetime metric for it to be part of a perfect fluid solution of the Einstein equa- tions are given. Formulas for constructing the fluid from the metric are obtained. All fluid results hold for any spacetime dimension. Ge- ometric conditions on a metric which are necessary and sufficient for it to define a solution of the Einstein-scalar field equations and for- mulas for constructing …

A Unified And Preserved Dirichlet Boundary Treatment For The Cell-Centered Finite Volume Discrete Boltzmann Method, Leitao Chen, Laura A. Schaefer

Publications

A new boundary treatment is proposed for the finite volume discrete Boltzmann method (FVDBM) that can be used for accurate simulations of curved boundaries and complicated flow conditions. First, a brief review of different boundary treatments for the general Boltzmann simulations is made in order to primarily explain what type of boundary treatment will be developed in this paper for the cell-centered FVDBM. After that, the new boundary treatment along with the cell-centered FVDBM model is developed in detail. Next, the proposed boundary treatment is applied to a series of numerical tests with a detailed discussion of its qualitative and …

Four Tails Problems For Dynamical Collapse Theories, Kelvin J. Mcqueen

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

The primary quantum mechanical equation of motion entails that measurements typically do not have determinate outcomes, but result in superpositions of all possible outcomes. Dynamical collapse theories (e.g. GRW) supplement this equation with a stochastic Gaussian collapse function, intended to collapse the superposition of outcomes into one outcome. But the Gaussian collapses are imperfect in a way that leaves the superpositions intact. This is the tails problem. There are several ways of making this problem more precise. But many authors dismiss the problem without considering the more severe formulations. Here I distinguish four distinct tails problems. The first (bare tails …

Quantum And Post-Newtonian Effects In The Anomalistic Period And The Mean Motion Of Celestial Bodies, Ioannis Haranas, Omiros Ragos, Ioannis Gkigkitzis, Ilias S. Kotsireas

Physics and Computer Science Faculty Publications

We study the motion of a secondary celestial body under the influence of the corrected gravitational force of a primary. We study the effect of quantum and relativistic corrections to the gravitational potential of a primary body acting on the orbiting body. More specifically, two equations are derived to approximate the perigee/perihelion/periastron time rate of change and its total variation over one revolution (i.e., the difference between the anomalistic period and the Keplerian period) under the influence of the quantum as well as post-Newtonian accelerations. Numerical results have been obtained for the artificial Earth satellite Molnya, Mercury, and, finally, the …

Vacuum Polarization On The Brane, Cormac Breen, Matthew Hewitt,, Elizabeth Winstanley, Adrian Ottewill

Articles

We compute the renormalized expectation value of the square of a massless, conformally coupled, quantum scalar field on the brane of a higher-dimensional black hole. Working in the AADD braneworld scenario, the extra dimensions are flat and we assume that the compactification radius is large compared with the size of the black hole. The four-dimensional on-brane metric corresponds to a slice through a higher-dimensional Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole geometry and depends on the number of bulk space-time dimensions. The quantum scalar field is in a thermal state at the Hawking temperature. An exact, closed-form expression is derived for the renormalized expectation …

Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter (Winter 2015), Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Robust Fast Direct Integral Equation Solver For Quasi-Periodic Scattering Problems With A Large Number Of Layers, Min Hyung Cho, Alex H. Barnett

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present a new boundary integral formulation for time-harmonic wave diffraction from two-dimensional structures with many layers of arbitrary periodic shape, such as multilayer dielectric gratings in TM polarization. Our scheme is robust at all scattering parameters, unlike the conventional quasi-periodic Green’s function method which fails whenever any of the layers approaches a Wood anomaly. We achieve this by a decomposition into near- and far-field contributions. The former uses the free-space Green’s function in a second-kind integral equation on one period of the material interfaces and their immediate left and right neighbors; the latter uses proxy point sources and small …

Analytic Structure Of The S-Matrix For Singular Quantum Mechanics, Horacio E. Camblong, Luis N. Epele, Huner Fanchiotti, Carlos A. García Canal

Physics and Astronomy

The analytic structure of the S-matrix of singular quantum mechanics is examined within a multichannel framework, with primary focus on its dependence with respect to a parameter (Ω) that determines the boundary conditions. Specifically, a characterization is given in terms of salient mathematical and physical properties governing its behavior. These properties involve unitarity and associated current-conserving Wronskian relations, time-reversal invariance, and Blaschke factorization. The approach leads to an interpretation of effective nonunitary solutions in singular quantum mechanics and their determination from the unitary family.

Differentiability Of Correlations In Realistic Quantum Mechanics, Alejandro Cabrera, Edson De Faria, Enrique Pujals, Charles Tresser

Publications and Research

We prove a version of Bell’s theorem in which the locality assumption is weakened. We start by assuming theoretical quantum mechanics and weak forms of relativistic causality and of realism (essentially the fact that observable values are well defined independently of whether or not they are measured). Under these hypotheses, we show that only one of the correlation functions that can be formulated in the framework of the usual Bell theorem is unknown. We prove that this unknown function must be differentiable at certain angular configuration points that include the origin. We also prove that, if this correlation is assumed …

Hamiltonian Approach To Internal Wave-Current Interactions In A Two-Media Fluid With A Rigid Lid, Alan Compelli, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

We examine a two-media 2-dimensional fluid system consisting of a lower medium bounded underneath by a flatbed and an upper medium with a free surface with wind generated surface waves but considered bounded above by a lid by an assumption that surface waves have negligible amplitude. An internal wave driven by gravity which propagates in the positive x-direction acts as a free common interface between the media. The current is such that it is zero at the flatbed but a negative constant, due to an assumption that surface winds blow in the negative x-direction, at the lid. We are concerned …

Fundamental Mathematics Of Consciousness, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We explore a mathematical formalism that ties together the observer with the observed in the view that Consciousness is primary, operating through three principles which apply at all levels, the essence of qualia of experience. The formalism is a simplified version of Hilbert space mathematics encountered in quantum mechanics. It does, however, go beyond specific interpretations of quantum mechanics and has strong philosophical foundations in Western philosophy as well as monistic systems of the East. The implications are explored and steps for the full development of this axiomatic mathematical approach to Consciousness are discussed.

Existence, Stability And Dynamics Of Discrete Solitary Waves In A Binary Waveguide Array, Y. Shen, Panayotis G. Kevrekidis, G. Srinivasan, A. B. Aceves

Mathematics and Statistics Department Faculty Publication Series

Recent work has explored binary waveguide arrays in the long-wavelength, near-continuum limit, here we examine the opposite limit, namely the vicinity of the so-called anti-continuum limit. We provide a systematic discussion of states involving one, two and three excited waveguides, and provide comparisons that illustrate how the stability of these states differ from the monoatomic limit of a single type of waveguide. We do so by developing a general theory which systematically tracks down the key eigenvalues of the linearized system. When we find the states to be unstable, we explore their dynamical evolution through direct numerical simulations. The latter …