Digital Commons Network^™

Circumstellar Sio Masers In The Bulge Asymmetries And Dynamical Evolution Survey, Michael Cullen Stroh

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

The Bulge Asymmetries and Dynamical Evolution (BAaDE) project aims to explore the complex structure of the inner Galaxy and Galactic Bulge, by using the 43 GHz receivers at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the 86 GHz receivers at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe SiO maser lines in red giant stars. The SiO maser transitions occur at radio frequencies, where extinction is negligible, thus allowing a dense sampling of line-of-sight velocities in the most crowded regions of the Milky Way.

The overall goal of this thesis is to characterize the SiO masers in the …

New Constraints On Early-Type Galaxy Assembly From Spectroscopic Metallicities Of Globular Clusters In M87, Alexa Villaume, Aaron Romanowsky, Jean Brodie, Jay Strader

Faculty Publications

The observed characteristics of globular cluster (GC) systems, such as metallicity distributions, are commonly used to place constraints on galaxy formation models. However, obtaining reliable metallicity values is particularly difficult because of our limited means to obtain high quality spectroscopy of extragalactic GCs. Often, "color–metallicity relations" are invoked to convert easier-to-obtain photometric measurements into metallicities, but there is no consensus on what form these relations should take. In this paper we make use of multiple photometric data sets and iron metallicity values derived from applying full-spectrum stellar population synthesis models to deep Keck/LRIS spectra of 177 GCs centrally located around …

The Photoelectric Effect: Project-Based Undergraduate Teaching And Learning Optics Through A Modern Physics Experiment Redesign, Corneliu Rablau, Uma Ramabadran, Brendan Book, Robert Cunningham

Physics Presentations And Conference Materials

The photoelectric effect is a cornerstone textbook experiment in any Modern Physics or Advanced Laboratory course, designed to verify Einstein’s theory of the photoelectric effect, with the implicit determination of an experimental value for Planck’s constant and the demonstration of the particle nature of light. The standard approach to the experiment is to illuminate the light-sensitive cathode of a vacuum-tube photocell with monochromatic light of known wavelengths; a reversed-voltage is then applied to the photocell and adjusted to bring the photoelectric current to zero. The stopping voltage is then plotted as a function of the inverse wavelength or frequency of …

Electromagnetic Sum Rules And Response Functions From The Symmetry-Adapted No-Core Shell Model, Robert Byron Baker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent developments in ab initio nuclear structure have provided us with a variety of many-body methods capable of describing nuclei into the medium-mass region of the chart of nuclides. One of these, the symmetry-adapted no-core shell model (SA-NCSM), capitalizes on inherent symmetries of the nucleus and is uniquely suited to examine the underlying physics of dynamical quantities, such as the response function.

We examine the applicability of the SA-NCSM to calculations of these quantities and assess the quality of its inputs by calculating electromagnetic sum rules and response functions with the Lanczos sum rule method and Lanczos response function method, …

Bridging The Gaps: How Students Seek Disciplinary Coherence In Introductory Physics For Life Science, Benjamin D. Geller , '01, J. Gouvea, B. W. Dreyfus, V. Sawtelle, C. Turpen, E. F. Redish

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Students in one discipline often receive their scientific training from faculty in other disciplines. As a result of tacit disciplinary differences, especially as implemented in courses at the introductory college level, such students can have difficulty in understanding the nature of the knowledge they are learning in a discipline that they do not identify as their own. We developed a course in introductory physics for life science (IPLS) students that attempts to help them cross disciplinary boundaries. By analyzing student reasoning during recitation sections and interviews, we identified three broad ways in which students in our course meaningfully crossed boundaries: …

Reduction Of Order: Analytical Solution Of Film Formation In The Electrostatic Rotary Bell Sprayer, Mark Doerre, Nelson Akafuah

Institute of Research for Technology Development Faculty Publications

This brief paper explains the slight differences in governing equations for a fluid film in a spinning cone, and the mechanism that reduces the order of a solution. Spinning cones with a centrally supplied fluid that spreads over its inner surface as a thin film have been the subject of interest for many years. Though often cast as a mathematical analysis, understanding this process is important, especially in the application of automotive painting. The analysis consists of a system of equations obtained from the Navier–Stokes equations along with simple boundary conditions that describe radial and tangential momentum conservation. Solutions to …

Neutron Lifetime Puzzle And Nuclear Stability: A Possible Relation, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

It is known that a free neutron decays into a proton, an electron, and an anti-neutrino. Interesting, recent attempts to measure the neutron's lifetime has led to two slightly different estimates: namely, the number of decaying neutrons is somewhat larger than the number of newly created protons. This difference is known as the neutron lifetime puzzle. A natural explanation for this difference is that in some cases, a neutron decays not into a proton, but into some other particle. If this explanation is true, this implies that nuclei with a sufficiently large number of neutrons will be unstable. Based on …

Making Energy Relevant: The Role Of Free Energy In Introductory Physics, Benjamin D. Geller , '01, A. R. Daane

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Free energy is a non-conserved quantity that is of fundamental importance in biochemistry and sociopolitical discourse, but one that does not often get discussed in introductory physics classrooms. While many canonical representations of energy that are encountered in introductory physics (energy bar charts, energy pie charts, etc.) foster ideas about energy that are productive for learners in a wide range of contexts, they have limited utility in contexts where free energy is an important consideration. In this study, we describe how learners who encounter canonical representations of energy in introductory physics develop a deep conviction that energy is conserved, and …

Improving 3d Printed Prosthetics With Sensors And Motors, Rachel Zarin

Honors Projects

A 3D printed hand and arm prosthetic was created from the idea of adding bionic elements while keeping the cost low. It was designed based on existing models, desired functions, and materials available. A tilt sensor keeps the hand level, two motors move the wrist in two different directions, a limit switch signals the fingers to open and close, and another motor helps open and close the fingers. All sensors and motors were built on a circuit board, programmed using an Arduino, and powered by a battery. Other supporting materials include metal brackets, screws, guitar strings, elastic bands, small clamps, …

Investigation Of Fundamental Principles Of Rigid Body Impact Mechanics, Khalid Alluhydan

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

In impact mechanics, the collision between two or more bodies is a common, yet a very challenging problem. Producing analytical solutions that can predict the post-collision motion of the colliding bodies require consistent modeling of the dynamics of the colliding bodies. This dissertation presents a new method for solving the two and multibody impact problems that can be used to predict the post-collision motion of the colliding bodies. Also, we solve the rigid body collision problem of planar kinematic chains with multiple contacts with external surfaces.

In the first part of this dissertation, we study planar collisions of Balls and …

Searching For Dark Matter Sub-Structure With Hawc, A. U. Abeysekara, A. Albert, R. Alfaro, C. Alvarez, R. Arceo, J. C. Arteaga-Valazquez, Chad Brisbois, H. Fleischhack, Binita Hona, P. Huntemeyer, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Numerical simulations show that the dark matter halos surrounding galaxies are expected to contain many over-densities or sub-halos. The most massive of these sub-halos can be optically observed in the form of dwarf galaxies. However, most lower mass sub-halos are predicted to exist as dark dwarf galaxies: sub-halos like dwarf galaxies with no luminous counterpart. It may be possible to detect these unseen sub-halos from gamma-ray signals originating from dark matter annihilation. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) is a very high energy (500 GeV to >100 TeV) gamma ray detector with a wide field-of-view and near continuous duty …

Merging Parallel-Plate And Levitation Actuators To Enable Linearity And Tunability In Electrostatic Mems, Mark Pallay, Ronald N. Miles, Shahrzad Towfighian

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship

In this study, a linear electrostatic MEMS actuator is introduced. The system consists of a MEMS cantilever beam with combined parallel-plate and electrostatic levitation forces. By using these two forcing methods simultaneously, the static response and natural frequency can be made to vary linearly with the voltage. The static response shows a linear increase of 90 nm/V and is maintained for more than 12μm of the tip displacement. The natural frequency shows a linear increase of 16 Hz/V and is maintained throughout a 2.9 kHz shift in the natural frequency. This wide range of linear displacement and frequency tunability is …

Scaling Of An Atmospheric Model To Simulate Turbulence And Cloud Microphysics In The Pi Chamber, Subin Thomas, Mikhail Ovichinnikov, Fan Yang, Dennis Van Der Voort, Will Cantrell, Steven K. Krueger, Raymond Shaw

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Pi Cloud Chamber offers a unique opportunity to study aerosol-cloud microphysics interactions in a steady-state, turbulent environment. In this work, an atmospheric large-eddy simulation (LES) model with spectral bin microphysics is scaled down to simulate these interactions, allowing comparison with experimental results. A simple scalar flux budget model is developed and used to explore the effect of sidewalls on the bulk mixing temperature, water vapor mixing ratio, and supersaturation. The scaled simulation and the simple scalar flux budget model produce comparable bulk mixing scalar values. The LES dynamics results are compared with particle image velocimetry measurements of turbulent kinetic …

Multiwavelength Digital Holographic Imaging And Phase Unwrapping Of Protozoa Using Custom Fiji Plug-Ins, David Cohoe, Iulia Hanczarek, J. Kent Wallace, Jay Nadeau

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multiwavelength digital holographic microscopy (DHM) has been used to improve phase reconstructions of digital holograms by reducing 2p phase ambiguities. However, most samples used as test images have been solid or adhered to a surface, making it easy to determine focal planes and correct for chromatic aberration. In this study we apply 3-wavelength off-axis DHM to swimming protozoa containing distinct spectral features such as chlorophyll and carotenoids. We reconstruct the holograms into amplitude and phase images using the angular spectrum method. Methods for noise subtraction, chromatic aberration correction, and image registration are presented for both amplitude and phase. Approaches to …

M2 Factor Of A Vector Schell-Model Beam, Milo W. Hyde Iv, Mark F. Spencer

Faculty Publications

Extending existing scalar Schell-model source work, we derive the M² factor for a general electromagnetic or vector Schell-model source to assess beam quality. In particular, we compute the M² factors for two vector Schell-model sources found in the literature. We then describe how to synthesize vector Schell-model beams in terms of specified, desired M² and present Monte Carlo simulation results to validate our analysis.

Meshless Modeling Of Flow Dispersion And Progressive Piping In Poroelastic Levees, Anthony Khoury, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab, Sai Kakuturu, Lakshmi Reddi

Publications

Performance data on earth dams and levees continue to indicate that piping is one of the major causes of failure. Current criteria for prevention of piping in earth dams and levees have remained largely empirical. This paper aims at developing a mechanistic understanding of the conditions necessary to prevent piping and to enhance the likelihood of self-healing of cracks in levees subjected to hydrodynamic loading from astronomical and meteorological (including hurricane storm surge-induced) forces. Systematic experimental investigations are performed to evaluate erosion in finite-length cracks as a result of transient hydrodynamic loading. Here, a novel application of the localized collocation …

A Brief Review Of Modern Uses Of Scattering Techniques, Daniel M. Wade, Dereth J. Drake

Georgia Journal of Science

Thomson, Rayleigh, Mie, and Raman scattering are commonly used in several disciplines in science and engineering. The techniques involve the scattering of electromagnetic radiation or particles in a sample. This paper provides a brief history for each scattering method, describes the traditional laboratory approach for implementation, and discusses current uses and variations of these four techniques.

The Magnetic Activity Of Low-Mass Stars, Tholang Mota

DePaul Discoveries

The purpose of this research project is to study magnetically active low mass stars using data obtained with the Kepler space telescope. A sample of low mass stars was identified in the Kepler Objects of Interest (KOI) database by selecting stars with a temperature below 3,700 K. Data was obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes and analyzed using the MATLAB software. Light curves showing the stellar flux vs time were generated for approximately 20 stars, and features showing stellar flares, star spots and planetary transits were identified. We found a weak relationship between magnetic activity and stellar diameter.

Spatially Resolved Stellar Populations And Kinematics With Kcwi: Probing The Assembly History Of The Massive Early-Type Galaxy Ngc 1407, Anna Ferré-Mateu, Duncan Forbes, Richard Mcdermid, Aaron Romanowsky, Jean Brodie

Faculty Publications

Using the newly commissioned Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) instrument on the Keck II telescope, we analyze the stellar kinematics and stellar populations of the well-studied massive early-type galaxy (ETG) NGC 1407. We obtained high signal-to-noise integral field spectra for a central and an outer (around one effective radius toward the southeast direction) pointing with integration times of just 600 s and 2400 s, respectively. We confirm the presence of a kinematically distinct core also revealed by VLT/MUSE data of the central regions. While NGC 1407 was previously found to have stellar populations characteristic of massive ETGs (with radially constant …

Transverse Momentum Dependent Production Cross Sections Of Chargedpions, Kaons And Protons Produced In Inclusive E+ E− Annihilation At √S = 10.58 Gev, R. Seidl, I. Adachi, J. K. Ahn, H. Aihara, D. M. Asner, V. Aulchenko, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, A. M. Bakich, V. Bansal, P. Behera, C. Beleño, M. Berger, V. Bhardwaj, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, A. Bobrov, A. Bozek, M. Bračko, L. Cao, Milind Purohit, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

We report measurements of the production cross sections of charged pions, kaons, and protons as a function of fractional energy, the event-shape variable called thrust, and the transverse momentum with respect to the thrust axis. These measurements access the transverse momenta created in the fragmentation process, which are of critical importance to the understanding of any transverse-momentum-dependent distribution and fragmentation functions. The low transverse-momentum part of the cross sections can be well described by Gaussians in transverse momentum as is generally assumed but the fractional-energy dependence is nontrivial and different hadron types have varying Gaussian widths. The width of these …

Sensors And Portable Instruments For Postharvest Agriculture, Ryan M. Lerud

Dissertations and Theses

The sensing needs for the fresh produce industry can be split into two primary stages: during maturation in the field, also referred to as Precision Farming, and during storage and transport of the produce, or Postharvest Storage. This work seeks to improve the accuracy and reliability of commercially available electrochemical and spectroscopic sensors tailored to the sensing needs of the fresh produce industry. For electrochemical sensing, this study proposes the use of an inline filter to remove polar organic compounds, which can interfere with the readings of a platinum-based electrochemical sensor. A 50% improvement in measurement accuracy was achieved when …

Early Dark Energy Can Resolve The Hubble Tension, V. Poulin, Tristan L. Smith, T. Karwal, M. Kamionkowski

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Works

Early dark energy (EDE) that behaves like a cosmological constant at early times (redshifts z≳3000) and then dilutes away like radiation or faster at later times can solve the Hubble tension. In these models, the sound horizon at decoupling is reduced resulting in a larger value of the Hubble parameter H0 inferred from the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We consider two physical models for this EDE, one involving an oscillating scalar field and another a slowly rolling field. We perform a detailed calculation of the evolution of perturbations in these models. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo search of the parameter …

Dressed States From Gauge Invariance, Hayato Hirai, Sotaro Sugishita

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The dressed state formalism enables us to define the infrared finite S-matrix for QED. In the formalism, asymptotic charged states are dressed by clouds of photons. The dressed asymptotic states are originally obtained by solving the dynamics of the asymptotic Hamiltonian in the far past or future region. However, there was an argument that the obtained dressed states are not gauge invariant. We resolve the problem by imposing a correct gauge invariant condition. We show that the dressed states can be obtained just by requiring the gauge invariance of asymptotic states. In other words, Gauss’s law naturally leads to …

Classical Theory Of Laser-Assisted Spontaneous Bremsstrahlung, H. B. Ambalampitiya, Ilya I. Fabrikant

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We study the process of laser-assisted spontaneous electron bremsstrahlung by running classical trajectories in a combined Coulomb and laser (ac) fields. Due to chaotic scattering in the combined Coulomb and ac fields, the radiation probability as a function of the impact parameter and the constant phase of the laser field exhibits fractal structures. However, these structures are smeared out when the cross section is integrated over the impact parameter and averaged over the phase. We analyze the role of different types of orbits, including the trapped orbits, and the dependence of the radiation probability on the impact parameter and the …

Dual Superconformal Symmetry Of N = 2 Chern-Simons Theory With Fundamental Matter At Large N, Karthik Inbasekar, Sachin Jain, Sucheta Majumdar, Pranjal Nayak, Turmoli Neogi, Ritam Sinha, Tarun Sharma, V. Umesh

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Dual conformal symmetry and Yangian symmetry are symmetries of amplitudes that have aided the study of scattering amplitudes in highly supersymmetric theories like N = 4 SYM and ABJM. However, in general such symmetries are absent from the theories with lesser or no supersymmetry. In this paper, we show that the tree level 2 → 2 scattering amplitude in the 3d N = 2 Chern-Simons theory coupled to a fundamental chiral multiplet is dual superconformal invariant. In the ’t Hooft large N limit, the 2 → 2 scattering amplitude in this theory has been shown to be tree-level exact in …

Ambient Conditions Disordered-Ordered Phase Transition Of Two-Dimensional Interfacial Water Molecules Dependent On Charge Dipole Moment, Chunlei Wang, Chonghai Qi, Yusong Tu, Xuechuan Nie, Shanshan Liang

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Phase transitions of water molecules are commonly expected to occur only under extreme conditions, such as nanoconfinement, high pressure, or low temperature. We herein report the disordered-ordered phase transition of two-dimensional interfacial water molecules under ambient conditions using molecular-dynamics simulations. This phase transition is greatly dependent on the charge dipole moment, production of both charge values, and the dipole length of the solid surface. The phase transition can be identified by a sharp change in water-water interaction energies and the order parameters of the two-dimensional interfacial water monolayer, under a tiny dipole moment change near the critical dipole moment. The …

Sensitivity Of The Theoretical Electron Capture Shape And Comparisons To Experiment, Katrina E. Koehler

Dissertations

The direct neutrino mass is a fundamental physics quantity with far-reaching implications for the physics community. Current experimental limits put the direct neutrino mass at less than 2 eV. The neutrino mass can be explored through an end-point measurement of tritium beta decay, which is currently underway in the KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN). KATRIN has a lower limit of 0.2 eV, at which point there will be either a mass measurement or another upper bound. In either case, an alternative experiment with different systematics is needed to verify the results and/or push the upper bound lower. The end point …

Two Dimensional Mathematical Study Of Flow Dynamics Through Emphysemic Lung, Jyoti Kori, Pratibha _

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

There are various lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, fibrosis, emphysema etc., occurred due to deposition of different shape and size particles. Among them we focused on flow dynamics of viscous air through an emphysemic lung. We considered lung as a porous medium and porosity is a function of tidal volume. Two dimensional generalized equation of momentum is used to study the flow of air and equation of motion is used to study the flow of nanoparticles of elongated shape. Darcy term for flow in porous media and shape factor for nonspherical nanoparticles are used in mathematical …

Proof Of Concept And Experimental Design For Remote Laser Evaporative Molecular Absorption Spectroscopy Sensor System (R-Lema), Amber Jessica Sucich

Physics

As the Earth’s resources are diminishing, it has become clear that the human race needs to find alternative resources and replenish the Earth’s natural reservoir. One way to do this is to consider interstellar objects. Interstellar objects, such as asteroids, offer mineral and other resources with great potential for mining. Before considering mining a rocky body, it is imperative to first know the complete composition of an object. Using the method of traveling to the objects, drilling into them, and bringing back samples is impractical, inefficient, and expensive. This method is also limiting, as only certain target areas of the …

Development Of The T0+ Detector For Alice, Austin E. Guard

Physics

The ALICE experiment at CERN is undergoing several major upgrades, one of which is a replacement of the trigger system, which will be composed of a suite of detectors known as the “Fast Interaction Trigger” or FIT. One part of the FIT collaboration team’s objective is the upgrade of the T0 detector, which provides the time stamp for events and acts as a trigger for the rest of the ALICE detectors. The T0+ will detect Cherenkov radiation from charged particles emitted in p-p and Pb-Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The photodetectors are micro-channel plate photomultiplier tubes that …