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On The Evidence For The Violation Of The Equivalence Principle In Disk Galaxies, Corey Sargent, William Clark, Antonia Seifert, Alicia Mand, Emerson Rogers, Adam Lane, Alexandre Deur, Balša Terzić

Physics Faculty Publications

We examine the claimed observations of a gravitational external field effect (EFE) reported by Chae et al. We show that observations suggestive of the EFE can be interpreted without violating Einstein’s equivalence principle, namely from known correlations between the morphology, the environment, and dynamics of galaxies. While Chae et al.’s analysis provides a valuable attempt at a clear test of modified Newtonian dynamics, an evidently important topic, a re-analysis of the observational data does not permit us to confidently assess the presence of an EFE or to distinguish this interpretation from that proposed in this article.

Sensitivity Analysis Of The 197 Mhz Prototype Crab Cavity For Eic, Subashini De Silva, Jean R. Delayen, B. Xiao, E. Drachuk, I. H. Senevirathne, A. Castilla, N. Huque, Z. Li

Physics Faculty Publications

The Electron-Ion Collider at BNL requires several crabbing systems that will be operating at 197 MHz and 394 MHz to compensate for the loss of luminosity due to the large crossing angle of the colliding beams. Two 197 MHz crab cavity cryomodules containing two cavities each will be installed in the Hadron Storage Ring (HSR) at the IP6 interaction region. Due to its large size compared to previously developed crabbing cavities, the 197 MHz crabbing cavity system was identified as one of the critical rf systems in the EIC. Therefore, a cavity has been designed including the ancillaries, and is …

Eic 197 Mhz Crab Cavity Hom Damping And Tolerence Analysis, Z. Li, B. Xiao, S. U. De Silva, Q. Wu, J. R. Delayen, R. Rimmer

Physics Faculty Publications

Crab cavities, operating at 197 MHz and 394 MHz respectively, will be used to compensate the loss of luminosity due to a 25 mrad crossing angle at the interaction point in the Electron Ion Collider (EIC). Both cavities are of the RF Dipole (RFD) type. To meet the stringent impedance requirements for beam stability and quality, the cavity design must incorporate strong Higher Order Mode (HOM) damping. A special type of HOM coupler has been developed (for both horizontal and vertical HOMs), which consisting of a waveguide stub that couples to the cavity and a waveguide-to-coaxial transition that extracts the …

Hybrid Quantum Simulations With Qubits And Qumodes On Trapped-Ion Platforms, Jack Y. Araz, Matt Grau, Jake Montgomery, Felix Ringer

Physics Faculty Publications

We explore the feasibility of gate-based hybrid quantum computing using both discrete (qubit) and continuous (qumode) variables on trapped-ion platforms. Trapped-ion systems have demonstrated record one- and two-qubit gate fidelities and long qubit coherence times, while qumodes, which can be represented by the collective vibrational modes of the ion chain, have remained relatively unexplored for their use in computing. Using numerical simulations, we show that high-fidelity hybrid gates and measurement operations can be achieved for existing trapped-ion quantum platforms. As an exemplary application, we consider quantum simulations of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model, which is given by a one-dimensional chain of interacting …

Factorization For Jet Production In Heavy-Ion Collisions, Yacine Mehtar-Tani, Felix Ringer, Balbeer Singh, Varun Vaidya

Physics Faculty Publications

We develop an Effective Field Theory approach for jet observables in heavy-ion collisions, where the jet is treated as an open quantum system interacting with a hot and dense QCD medium. Within this framework, we derive a novel factorization formula for inclusive jet production, expressed as a series expansion with an increasing number of radiating subjet functions that encode forward scattering with the Quark-Gluon Plasma, convolved with perturbative matching coefficients. This work provides a systematic framework for computing jet observables at higher order and understanding their non-perturbative aspects, paving the way for future applications in heavy-ion phenomenology.

First Measurement Of Near-Threshold And Subthreshold J/Ѱ Photoproduction Off Nuclei, J. R. Pybus, L. Ehinger, T. Kolar, B. Devkota, P. Sharp, B. Yu, M. M. Dalton, D. Dutta, H. Gao, O. Hen, E. Piasetzky, S. N. Santiesteban, A. Schmidt, A. Somov, H. Szumila-Vance, S. Adhikari, A. Asaturyan, A. Austregesilo, C. Ayerbe Gayoso, J. Barlow, V. V. Berdnikov, H. D. Bhatt, D. Bhetuwal, T. Black, W. J. Briscoe, G. Chung, P. L. Cole, A. Deur, R. Dotel, H. Egiyan, P. Eugenio, C. Fanelli, L. Gan, A. Gasparian, J. Guo, K. Hernandez, D. W. Higinbotham, P. Hurck, I. Jaegle, R. T. Jones, V. Kakoyan, A. Karki, H. Li, W. B. Li, G. R. Linera, V. Lyubovitskij, H. Marukyan, M. D. Mccaughan, M. Mccracken, K. Mizutani, D. Nguyen, S. Oresic, A. I. Ostrovidov, Z. Papandreou, C. Paudel, K. Peters, J. Ritman, A. Schick, J. Schwiening, A. Smith, S. Somov, I. Strakovsky, K. Suresh, V. V. Tarasov, S. Taylor, T. Xiao, Z. Zhang, X. Zhou

Physics Faculty Publications

We report on the first measurement of J/ψ photoproduction from nuclei in the photon energy range of 7 to 10.8 GeV, extending above and below the photoproduction threshold in the free proton of ∼8.2 GeV. The experiment used a tagged photon beam incident on deuterium, helium, and carbon, and the GlueX detector at Jefferson Lab to measure the semi-inclusive A(γ,e⁺e^-p) reaction with a dilepton invariant mass M(e⁺e^-)∼m_J/ψ=3.1 GeV. The incoherent J/ψ photoproduction cross sections in the measured nuclei are extracted as a function of the incident photon energy, momentum transfer, …

Emc Effect Of Tritium And Helium-3 From The Jlab Marathon Experiment, D. Abrams, H. Albataineh, B. S. Aljawmeh, S. Alsalmi, D. Androic, K. Aniol, W. Armstrong, J. Arrington, H. Atac, T. Averett, C. Ayerbe Gayoso, X. Bai, J. Bane, S. Barcus, A. Beck, V. Bellini, H. Bhatt, D. Bhetuwal, D. Biswas, D. Blyth, W. Boeglin, D. Bulumulla, J. Butler, A. Camsonne, M. Carmignotto, J. Castellanos, J. -P. Chen, I. C. Cloët, E. O. Cohen, S. Covrig, K. Craycraft, R. Cruz-Torres, B. Dongwi, B. Duran, D. Dutta, N. Fomin, E. Fuchey, C. Gal, T. N. Gautam, S. Gilad, K. Gnanvo, T. Gogami, J. Gomez, C. Gu, A. Habarakada, T. Hague, J. -O. Hansen, M. Hattawy, F. Hauenstein, D. W. Higinbotham, R. J. Holt, E. W. Hughes, C. Hyde, H. Ibrahim, S. Jian, S. Joosten, A. Karki, B. Karki, A. T. Katramatou, C. Keith, C. Keppel, M. Khachatryan, A. Khanal, A. Kievsky, D. King, P. M. King, I. Korover, S. A. Kulagin, K. S. Kumar, T. Kutz, N. Lashley-Colthirst, S. Li, W. Li, H. Liu, S. Liuti, N. Liyanage, P. Markowitz, R. E. Mcclellan, D. Meekins, S. Mey-Tal Beck, Z. -E. Meziani, R. Michaels, M. Mihovilovic, V. Nelyubin, D. Nguyen, Nuruzzaman, M. Nycz, R. Obrecht, M. Olson, V. F. Owen, E. Pace, B. Pandey, V. Pandey, M. Paolone, A. Papadopoulou, S. Park, S. Paul, G. G. Petratos, R. Petti, E. Piasetzky, R. Pomatsalyuk, S. Premathilake, A. J. R. Puckett, V. Punjabi, R. D. Ransome, M. N. H. Rashad, P. E. Reimer, S. Riordan, J. Roche, G. Salmè, N. Santiesteban, B. Sawatzky, A. Schmidt, B. Schmookler, S. Scopetta, J. Segal, E. P. Segarra, A. Shahinyan, S. Širca, N. Sparveris, T. Su, R. Suleiman, H. Szumila-Vance, A. S. Tadepalli, L. Tang, W. Tireman, F. Tortorici, G. M. Urciuoli, B. Wojtsekhowski, S. Wood, Z. H. Ye, J. Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

Measurements of the EMC effect in the tritium and helium-3 mirror nuclei are reported. The data were obtained by the MARATHON Jefferson Lab experiment, which performed deep inelastic electron scattering from deuterium and the three-body nuclei, using a cryogenic gas target system and the high resolution spectrometers of the Hall A Facility of the Lab. The data cover the Bjorken x range from 0.20 to 0.83, corresponding to a squared four-momentum transfer Q² range from 2.7 to 11.9  (GeV/c)², and to an invariant mass W of the final hadronic state greater than 1.84  GeV/c². The tritium EMC effect measurement is …

Polarization Spectroscopy Of The 5s ₁/₂-5d₅/₂ Two-Photon Transition In Rubidium, H. C. Busch, C. F. Busch, C. I. Sukenik

Physics Faculty Publications

We describe a one-color, two-photon polarization spectroscopy experiment on the 5S 1/2-5D5/2 transition in rubidium, suitable for implementation in an advanced undergraduate instructional laboratory. The proposed laboratory module synergistically combines polarization spectroscopy with established fluorescence detection at a wavelength different from the excitation wavelength. The curriculum provided in this paper allows students to compare experimental results with predicted theoretical lineshapes and to study the intensity dependence of the two-photon transition. The module also provides a springboard that enables instructors to expand the curriculum to incorporate additional measurements and theoretical analyses. These activities include collecting spectra on additional transitions, measuring the …

Suppression Of Neutral-Pion Production In Deep-Inelastic Scattering Off Nuclei With The Clas Detector, T. Mineeva, W. K. Brooks, A. El Alaoui, H. Hakobyan, K. Joo, J. A. López, O. Soto, P. Achenbach, Z. Akbar, J. S. Alvarado, W. R. Armstrong, M. Arratia, H. Atac, H. Avagyan, C. Ayerbe Gayoso, L. Baashen, L. Barion, M. Bashkanov, I. Bedlinsky, B. Benkel, F. Benmokhtar, A. Bianconi, A. S. Biselli, F. Bossù, S. Boiarinov, K. T. Brinkmann, W. J. Briscoe, V. D. Burkert, T. Cao, R. Capobianco, D. S. Carman, J. C. Carvajal, A. Celentano, P. Chatagnon, V. Chesnokov, T. Chetry, G. Ciullo, P. L. Cole, M. Contalbrigo, G. Costantini, A. D'Angelo, N. Dashyan, R. De Vita, M. Defurne, A. Deur, S. Diehl, C. Djalali, R. Dupre, H. Egiyan, L. El Fassi, P. Eugenio, S. Fegan, A. Filippi, G. Gavalian, G. P. Gilfoyle, F. X. Girod, A. A. Golubenko, G. Gosta, R. W. Gothe, K. A. Griffioen, L. Guo, K. Hafidi, M. Hattawy, F. Hauenstein, T. B. Hayward, D. Heddle, A. Hobart, M. Holtrop, Y. C. Hung, Y. Ilieva, D. G. Ireland, E. L. Isupov, H. S. Jo, D. Keller, A. Khanal, M. Khandaker, W. Kim, F. J. Klein, V. Klimenko, A. Kripko, V. Kubarovsky, S. E. Kuhn, L. Lanza, M. Leali, S. Lee, P. Lenisa, X. Li, I. J. D. Macgregor, D. Marchand, V. Mascagna, B. Mckinnon, S. Migliorati, R. G. Milner, M. Mirazita, V. Mokeev, P. Moran, C. Munoz Camacho, P. Nadel-Turonski, K. Neupane, D. Nguyen, S. Niccolai, G. Niculescu, M. Osipenko, A. I. Ostrovidov, M. Ouillon, P. Pandey, M. Paolone, L. L. Pappalardo, R. Paremuzyan, E. Pasyuk, S. J. Paul, W. Phelps, N. Pilleux, M. Pokhrel, J. Poudel, J. W. Price, Y. Prok, A. Radic, N. Ramasubramanian, T. Reed, J. Richards, M. Ripani, J. Ritman, G. Rosner, F. Sabatié, C. Salgado, S. Schadmand, A. Schmidt, R. A. Schumacher, M. Scott, E. V. Shirokov, U. Shrestha, D. Sokhan, N. Sparveris, M. Spreafico, S. Stepanyan, I. I. Strakovsky, S. Strauch, J. A. Tan, N. Trotta, R. Tyson, M. Ungaro, S. Vallarino, L. Venturelli, H. Voskanyan, E. Voutier, D. P. Watts, X. Wei, L. B. Weinstein, R. Williams, R. Wishart, M. H. Wood, M. Yurov, N. Zachariou, M. Zurek

Physics Faculty Publications

We present the first threefold differential measurement for neutral-pion multiplicity ratios produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic electron scattering on carbon, iron, and lead nuclei normalized to deuterium from CLAS at Jefferson Lab. We found that the neutral-pion multiplicity ratio is maximally suppressed for the leading hadrons (energy fraction z → 1), suppression varying from 25% in carbon up to 75% in lead. An enhancement of the multiplicity ratio at low z and high p_T² is observed, suggesting an interconnection between these two variables. This behavior is qualitatively similar to the previous twofold differential measurement of charged pions by the …

New Measurements Of The Deuteron-To-Proton F₂ Structure-Function Ratio, D. Biswas, F. A. Gonzalez, W. Henry, A. Karki, C. Morean, A. Nadeeshani, A. Sun, Z. Ahmed, S. Alsalmi, W. Armstrong, A. Asaturyan, C. Ayerbe Gayoso, V. Berdnikov, H. Bhatt, D. Bhetuwal, P. Bosted, E. Brash, M. H. S. Bukhari, J. P. Chen, M. Chen, M. E. Christy, S. Covrig Dusa, K. Craycraft, S. Danagoulian, D. Day, M. Diefenthaler, M. Dlamini, J. Dunne, B. Duran, D. Dutta, R. Ent, H. Fenker, N. Fomin, E. Fuchey, D. Gaskell, T. N. Gautam, J. O. Hansen, F. Hauenstein, A. V. Hernandez, T. Horn, G. M. Huber, M. K. Jones, S. Joosten, M. L. Kabir, C. Keppel, A. Khanal, P. M. King, E. Kinney, M. Kohl, M. Lashley-Colthirst, S. Li, W. B. Li, A. H. Liyanage, D. Mack, S. Malace, P. Markowitz, J. Matter, D. Meekins, R. Michaels, A. Mkrtchyan, Z. Moore, S. J. Nazeer, S. Nanda, G. Niculescu, I. Niculescu, D. Nguyen, B. Pandey Nuruzzaman, S. Park, E. Pooser, A. J. R. Puckett, M. Rehfuss, J. Reinhold, B. Sawatzky, G. R. Smith, H. Szumila-Vance, A. S. Tadepalli, V. Tadevosyan, R. Trotta, S. A. Wood, C. Yero, J. Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

Nucleon structure functions, as measured in lepton-nucleon scattering, have historically provided a critical observable in the study of partonic dynamics within the nucleon. However, at very large parton momenta, it is both experimentally and theoretically challenging to extract parton distributions due to the probable onset of nonperturbative contributions and the unavailability of high-precision data at critical kinematics. Extraction of the neutron structure and the d quark distribution have been further challenging because of the necessity of applying nuclear corrections when utilizing scattering data from a deuteron target to extract the free neutron structure. However, a program of experiments has been …

Effect Of Activation Temperature On Quantum Efficiency And Lifetime Of Nea Truncated Nanocone Array Gaas Photocathode, Md. Aziz Arroyo Rahman, Md Abdullah Mamun, Shukui Zhang, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Physics Faculty Publications

This study investigates the quantum efficiency (QE) and operational lifetime of a negative electron affinity GaAs truncated nanocone array (TNCA) photocathode benchmarked against a conventional flat GaAs photocathode under varying activation temperatures. The TNCA structure demonstrated a QE of up to 13.6% at 590 nm with room temperature (RT) activation—approximately 1.5 times higher than its flat counterpart. This enhancement is due to Mie resonance effects within the nanostructure, as confirmed by finite-difference time-domain simulations. Moreover, the TNCA photocathode exhibits significantly extended charge lifetime, with enhancement factors of ∼6.1 and ∼19.8 under RT and 50 °C activations, respectively. These gains are …

Modeling Strain And Quantum Confinement In Gaas/GaXIn1-XP Superlattices For Spin-Polarized Electron Sources, A. Kachwala, G. Blume, S. Marsillac, J. Grames, M. Grau

Physics Faculty Publications

In this study, we systematically design and simulate a series of GaAs-based superlattice configurations aimed at enhancing heavy-hole–light-hole band splitting while simultaneously optimizing band alignment to reduce the conduction band barrier, thereby facilitating efficient electron transport. These combined effects are crucial for achieving high electron spin polarization and high quantum efficiency, the two key performance metrics of next-generation spin-polarized electron sources. We investigated three types of superlattice architectures: (1) compressively strained GaAs wells on GaInP barriers, yielding a maximum band splitting of 140 meV, (2) lattice-matched GaAs/GaInP structures, resulting in the maximum band splitting of 75 meV, and (3) tensile …

Multidimensional Measurements Of Beam Single-Spin Asymmetries In Semi-Inclusive Deep-Inelastic Charged-Kaon Electroproduction Off Protons In The Valence Region, Clas Collaboration, A. Kripko, S. Diehl, K. Joo, P. Achenbach, J. S. Alvarado, M. Amaryan, W. R. Armstrong, H. Atac, H. Avakian, L. Baashen, N. A. Baltzell, L. Barion, L. Bashkanov, F. Benmokhtar, A. Bianconi, A. S. Biselli, M. Bondi, F. Bossù, S. Boiarinov, K. -T. Brinkmann, W. J. Briscoe, W. K. Brooks, T. Cao, R. Capobianco, D. S. Carman, J. C. Carvajal, A. Celentano, P. Chatagnon, G. Ciullo, P. L. Cole, M. Contalbrigo, V. Crede, A. D'Angelo, N. Dashyan, R. De Vita, M. Defurne, A. Deur, C. Dilks, C. Djalali, R. Dupre, H. Egiyan, A. El Alaoui, L. El Fassi, L. Elouadrhiri, S. Fegan, I. P. Fernando, A. Filippi, G. Gavalian, G. P. Gilfoyle, D. I. Glazier, R. W. Gothe, Y. Gotra, K. Hafidi, H. Hakobyan, M. Hattawy, F. Hauenstein, T. B. Hayward, D. Heddle, A. Hobart, M. Holtrop, Y. Ilieva, D. G. Ireland, E. L. Isupov, H. Jiang, H. S. Jo, T. Kageya, A. Kim, W. Kim, V. Klimenko, V. Kubarovsky, S. E. Kuhn, L. Lanza, P. Lenisa, X. Li, Z. Lu, I. J. D. Macgregor, D. Marchand, D. Martiryan, V. Mascagna, D. Matamoros, M. Maynes, B. Mckinnon, R. G. Milner, T. Mineeva, M. Mirazita, V. Mokeev, C. Munoz Camacho, P. Nadel-Turonski, T. Nagorna, K. Neupane, D. Nguyen, S. Niccolai, G. Niculescu, M. Osipenko, M. Ouillon, P. Pandey, L. L. Pappalardo, R. Paremuzyan, E. Pasyuk, S. J. Paul, N. Pilleux, S. Polcher Rafael, J. Poudel, J. W. Price, Y. Prok, T. Reed, M. Ripani, J. Ritman, C. D. Roberts, P. Rossi, A. A. Rusova, S. Schadmand, A. Schmidt, Y. G. Sharabian, E. V. Shirokov, S. Shrestha, U. Shrestha, D. Sokhan, N. Sparveris, M. Spreafico, I. I. Strakovsky, S. Strauch, R. Tyson, M. Ungaro, S. Vallarino, L. Venturelli, T. Vittorini, H. Voskanyan, A. Vossen, E. Voutier, Y. Wang, D. P. Watts, U. Weerasinghe, X. Wei, M. H. Wood, L. Xu, S. -S. Xu, N. Zachariou, V. Ziegler, M. Zurek

Physics Faculty Publications

Measurements of beam single-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic electron scattering (SIDIS) with positively charged kaons off protons have been performed with 10.6 and 10.2 GeV incident electron beams using the CLAS12 spectrometer at Jefferson Lab. We report an analysis of the electroproduction of positively charged kaons over a large kinematic range of fractional energy, Bjorken x, transverse momentum, and photon virtualities Q² ranging from 1 GeV² up to 6 GeV². This is the first published multidimensionally binned CLAS12 measurement of a kaon SIDIS single-spin asymmetry in the valence quark regime. The data provide constraints on the structure function ratio …

Investigating The Roles Of Intrinsic Point Defects And Transition Metal Doping In Monolayer And Bulk Tis2, Patrick J. Keeney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within this thesis, the magnetic and electronic properties of various 1T-TiS₂ systems are thoroughly examined using density functional theory (DFT) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Formation energies and electronic implications of intrinsic point defects in bulk TiS₂ and monolayer TiS₂ are analyzed by approximating a computational monolayer of TiS₂ as the surface layer of a bulk sample. This approximation is validated given that intralayer covalent bonding dominates interlayer van der Waals interactions. We conclude that the most energetically favorable intrinsic defects are Ti atoms settling above the outermost S plane and S vacancies. In addition, the …

Frustrated Quantum Magnetism: The Interplay Of Isotropic And Anisotropic Interactions With Application To Α-Rucl3, Evan M. Wilson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We investigate how anisotropic spin interactions, including Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya and Kitaev terms, manifest across quantum spin systems ranging from a single S = 1/2 dimer to molecular spin clusters and layered magnetic materials. Beginning with an exact analysis of the spin dimer, we demonstrate how singlet–triplet mixing induced by Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction directly influences both thermodynamic observables and inelastic neutron scattering spectra. These microscopic fingerprints are then extended to trimer, tetramer, and tetrahedron geometries, where field-induced phase transitions and heat capacity anomalies reveal the interplay between isotropic Heisenberg and anisotropic Kitaev exchanges. In the frustrated zigzag honeycomb lattice, we show that a …

Niobium Titanium Nitride Thin Film Deposition, Optimization, And Characterization, Hudson Horne

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Superconducting thin film devices such as Josephson junctions are a staple of cutting-edge quantum and classical computing architectures. Functional devices require optimized materials with properties suited to the device application; properties like superconducting critical temperature, critical current density, resistivity, and surface roughness are important depending on the intended device application. Niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN), a fcc transition metal nitride, is a promising material for these applications, with a superconducting critical temperature among the highest of the superconductors described by Bardeen, Cooper, and Schreiffer (BCS) theory. NbTiN has excellent mechanical and electrical characteristics and is easily deposited via reactive magnetron sputtering …

The Organization Of Serotonergic Fibers In The Pacific Angelshark Brain: Neuroanatomical And Supercomputing Analyses, Skirmantas Janušonis, Ralf Metzler, Thomas Vojta

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Serotonergic axons (fibers) are a universal feature of all vertebrate brains. They form meshworks, typically quantified with regional density measurements, and appear to support neuroplasticity. The self-organization of this system remains poorly understood, partly because of the strong stochasticity of individual fiber trajectories. In an extension to our previous analyses of the mouse brain, serotonergic fibers were investigated in the brain of the Pacific angel shark (Squatina californica), a representative of a unique (ray-like) lineage of the squalomorph sharks. First, the fundamental cytoarchitecture of the angel shark brain was examined, including the expression of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1, …

The Kinetics Of Shj Degradation: Time And Stressor Dependent Chemical Analysis And Simulation, Nicholas Moser-Mancewicz, Jorge Ochoa, Michael Martinez-Szewczyk, Thomas Bantle, Dana Kern, Dirk Jordan, Steve Johnston, Julia E. Medvedeva, Mariana Bertoni

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Despite record efficiencies, the wide adoption of silicon heterojunction is hampered by higher costs and uncertainties in long-term performance. Although recent publications report performance loss rates comparable to other field-deployed cSi technologies, the limited availability of field data and the dispersion in performance degradation results - particularly in open-circuit voltage - remain significant concerns. Various factors, including bulk and interfacial defects, charge carrier recombination dynamics, and environmental stressors such as temperature and humidity, contribute to this degradation. Understanding the mechanisms behind the open circuit voltage degradation as well as the kinetics involved is essential for developing mitigation strategies that enhance …

Two-Component Droplet Phases And Their Spectral Stability In One Dimension, E. G. Charalampidis, S. I. Mistakidis

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We unravel the existence and stability properties of one-dimensional droplets arising in genuine two-component particle-imbalanced bosonic mixtures under the influence of a weak harmonic confinement. A plethora of miscible droplet phases is found with the majority component atoms in the vicinity of the minority ones assembling in a droplet configuration, while the remaining excess atoms are in the gas state. Our computations identify a transition from a bound to a trapped gas many-body state for increasing total atom number and fixed interactions, with the bound character being prolonged for stronger intercomponent attractions. The spectral stability of these two-component droplets is …

Spin Versus Position Conjugation In Quantum Simulations With Atoms: Application To Quantum Chemistry, N. A. Moroz, K. S. Tikhonov, L. V. Gerasimov, A. D. Manukhova, I. B. Bobrov, S. S. Straupe, D. V. Kupriyanov

Physics Faculty Publications

The permutation symmetry is a fundamental attribute of the collective wave function of indistinguishable particles. It makes a difference for the behavior of collective systems having different quantum statistics but existing in the same environment. Here we show that for some specific quantum conjugation between the spin and spatial degrees of freedom the indistinguishable particles can behave similarly for either quantum statistics. In particular, a mesoscopically scaled collection of atomic qubits, mediated by optical tweezers, can model the behavior of a valent electronic shell compounded with nuclear centers in molecules. This makes possible quantum simulations of mono- and divalent bonds …

Measuring Resistivity With Low-Cost 3-D Printed Four-Point Probe, Benjamin Siens

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Resistivity is an intrinsic property that determines how strongly electrical current is resisted. Measurement of the resistivity of materials is vital for many fields of science and engineering. This is easily accomplished with a four-point probe. However, commercial probes can be costly. Using 3-D printing and based on the design in Lu et al. (J. Chem. Educ. 2017), a functional four-point probe has been built at a much lower cost in materials. Additionally, the probe design has been simplified for easier construction and better compatibility with Belmont University’s 3- D printers. ITO glass was used to determine the accuracy of …

Fortifying Nuclear Security: Cultivating Vigilance Culture Among Personnel For Enhanced Prevention And Response, Sabariah Kader Ibrahim, Sonia Naz

International Journal of Nuclear Security

A vigorous nuclear security culture is crucial in preventing the theft and sabotage of nuclear material. It requires vigilance from all employees because relying solely on closed-circuit television systems and security personnel is insufficient to deter potential threats. Employee attentiveness plays a vital role in recognizing and preventing suspicious activities. However, achieving a strong security culture is challenging because of the lack of incidents in some facilities, leading to employee complacency.

This paper highlights the pivotal role of personnel in the success of nuclear security measures, emphasizing the need for a proactive and vigilant mindset among staff. Through the analysis …

Optimal Control And Structurally-Informed Gradient Optimization Of A Custom 4-Dof Rigid-Body, Brock Marcinczyk, Logan E. Beaver

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This work develops a control-centric framework for a custom 4-DOF rigid-body manipulator by coupling a reduced-order Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle (PMP) controller with a physics-informed Gradient Descent stage. The reduced PMP model provides a closed-form optimal control law for the joint accelerations, while the Gradient Descent module determines the corresponding time horizons by minimizing a cost functional built directly from the full Rigid-Body Dynamics. Structural-mechanics reaction analysis is used only to initialize feasible joint velocities—most critically the azimuthal component—ensuring that the optimizer begins in a physically admissible region. The resulting kinematic trajectories and dynamically consistent time horizons are then supplied to …

Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (Ace) Winds, Matthew Wyatt, Peter F. Bernath, Chris Boone, Léo Lavy, Ryan Johnson

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) uses limb geometry to measure transmittance spectra of Earth's atmosphere by solar occultation. Line-of-sight wind speeds can be derived via Doppler shifts of molecular lines in infrared spectra. The wind look direction angles relative to geodetic North are derived from geometry. We validate the new ACE version 5.3 (v.5.3) line-of-sight winds with MIGHTI and meteor radar vector wind observations and find a ±15 m/s sunrise/sunset shift above 80 km. We also compare line-of-sight winds from ACE-FTS v.5.2 and v.5.3 with vector winds from the MERRA-2, HWM14, and WACCM-X models. A ±15 m/s …

Tidal Love Numbers For A Non-Rotating Two-Fluid Neutron Star: Interior Solution, Gregory G Jaurequi

Dissertations and Theses

We investigate the tidal Love numbers for a non-rotating dark matter admixed neutron star (NS). Tidal Love numbers, which quantify a star's response to the tidal field of a companion object, are an important feature in the gravitational wave (GW) signal and vary depending on the star’s equation of state and dark matter profiles. By determining how the internal properties of the NS affect the GW signal, we hope that improvements in gravitational wave detection will help constrain these parameters by providing additional data from neutron star mergers with other compact objects. To this end, we focus on solving the …

Co₂ Isotopologues From The Ace Satellite, D. English, P. Bernath, C. Boone

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Carbon dioxide isotopologues have been studied thoroughly in the troposphere. In the stratosphere, the minor oxygen CO₂ isotopologues have anomalous abundances due to their exchange reactions with isotopically fractionated ozone, differentiating them from tropospheric CO₂. Previously a model predicted that this anomalous isotopic abundance continues into the mesosphere but lacked verification from experimental observations. Here we use the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer which records infrared transmittance spectra of the Earth's limb from low Earth orbit using solar occultation. These infrared spectra provide measurements of global CO₂ isotopologue volume mixing ratios (VMRs) from the upper troposphere to the lower …

Formation Of Pyramidal Palladium Enhanced By B(C₆F₅)₃ Additive Enabling Selective Alkene Monoisomerization, Paul D. Miller, Trandon A. Bender

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The addition of a strong Lewis acid, tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, facilitates the reduction of Pd(cod)Cl₂ with Et₃SiH to form palladium nanoparticles in organic solvents. It was found that these palladium nanoparticles are capable of selective monoisomerization of linear alkenes. This heterogeneous palladium catalyst is tolerant of a wide variety of functional groups, confirmed by substrate and robustness screenings. It is also possible to utilize poly(methylhydro)siloxane, an industrial waste byproduct, as the reductant to enable similar isomerization chemistry.

The Requirements Of A Nuclear Propulsion System For The Human Exploration Of Mars, Scotia Rollins

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the propulsion requirements for a crewed mission to Mars, focusing on how mission architecture, particularly the choice between opposition- and conjunction-class trajectories, influences the selection between nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP). By applying the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation, the Delta-V (∆V) needed for efficient interplanetary transfers is shown to exceed the performance limits of chemical propulsion, motivating the need for nuclear alternatives. An engineering comparison of NTP and NEP systems evaluates key parameters including specific impulse, thrust, propellant mass fraction, system mass, and power-to-mass ratios. NTP provides high thrust but moderate efficiency, making it …

A Distorted-Wave Approach To The Elastic Scattering Of Twisted Electrons, Allison Harris, Stephan Fritzsche

Faculty publications – Physics

The elastic scattering of spinless vortex electrons on realistic target atoms has been investigated. In particular, expressions are derived in different approximations for the angular distribution of elastically scattered electrons. We develop a distorted wave formalism that includes the effect of the atomic potential on the impinging vortex electron and compare this to a plane-wave Born approximation (PWBA) without such a distortion. Detailed computations have been performed for elastic scattering of vortex electrons on helium, neon, and argon targets by varying the energy, topological charge, and opening angle. Our results show that the overall magnitude of the angular distribution of …

Developments On Quantum Phase Space Dynamics And Foundations, Gabriel Nowaskie

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This work explores the development and unification of quantum theory within phase space, with a particular focus on new mathematical structures and solution techniques that extend the standard quantum formalism. Building upon the Quantum Phase Space Representation (QPSR) introduced by Torres-Vega and Frederick, we present several advancements that address longstanding gaps in the formulation and solvability of quantum systems in this framework. We introduce the Half-Transform Ansatz, a novel method for solving the Time-Independent Schrodinger Equation by recasting it into a hypergeometric form, enabling the application of the Nikiforov-Uvarov method. This approach is demonstrated through the analysis of quarkonium systems …