Digital Commons Network^™

Streamline-Based Simulation Of Nanoparticle Transport In Field-Scale Heterogeneous Subsurface Systems, Bin Wang, Yin Feng, John Blears, Karsten Thompson, Richard Hughes

Faculty Publications

Nanoparticle (NP) transport is increasingly relevant to subsurface engineering applications such as aquifer characterization and enhanced oil recovery. An efficient field-scale simulation framework is critical for predicting NP performance and designing subsurface applications. In this work, for the first time, a streamline-based model is presented to simulate NP transport in field-scale subsurface systems with heterogeneous permeability. It considers a series of smart behaviors exhibited by engineered nanoparticles (NPs), including time-triggered encapsulation, retention, formation damage effects and variable nanofluid viscosity. The key methods employed by the algorithm are streamline-based simulation (SLS) and an operator-splitting (OS) technique for modeling NP transport. The …

T2k Measurements Of Muon Neutrino And Antineutrino Disappearance Using 3.13×1021 Protons On Target, K. Abe, N. Akhlaq, R. Akutsu, A. Ali, C. Alt, C. Andreopoulos, M. Antonova, S. Aoki, T. Arihara, Y. Asada, Y. Ashida, E. T. Atkin, Y. Awataguchi, G. J. Barker, G. Barr, D. Barrow, M. Batkiewicz-Kwasniak, A. Beloshapkin, F. Bench, V. Berardi, L. Berns, S. Bhadra, A. Blondel, S. Bolognesi, T. Bonus, B. Bourguille, S. B. Boyd, A. Bravar

Faculty Publications

We report measurements by the T2K experiment of the parameters θ23 and Δm322, which govern the disappearance of muon neutrinos and antineutrinos in the three-flavor PMNS neutrino oscillation model at T2K's neutrino energy and propagation distance. Utilizing the ability of the experiment to run with either a mainly neutrino or a mainly antineutrino beam, muon-like events from each beam mode are used to measure these parameters separately for neutrino and antineutrino oscillations. Data taken from 1.49×1021 protons on target (POT) in neutrino mode and 1.64×1021 POT in antineutrino mode are used. The best-fit values obtained by T2K were sin2(θ23)=0.51-0.07+0.06(0.43-0.05+0.21) and …

Parameter Estimation And Optimization For Biological Mathematical Models Using Bayesian Statistics, Renee Dale

LSU Master's Theses

In the field of biology, mathematical models are increasingly used to address biological questions and the large data sets generated in experimental studies. Mathematical models traditionally are simplified and structured to be analytically tractable, but computing power allows for more complex, larger models. Bayesian statistics lends itself naturally to address parameter estimation problems in these large models. Bayesian statistical inference is utilized in this thesis to obtain parameter estimates from a sparse data set on populations in the HIV epidemic. Current estimates of the HIV epidemic indicate a decrease in the incidence of the disease in the undiagnosed subpopulation over …

Covariance Of The Extended Holonomy, Rodolfo Gambini, Jorge Pullin, Aureliano Skirzewski

Faculty Publications

It has been pointed out that the holonomy of generic extended loops is not gauge covariant. We show how to define a family of extended loops for which previous criticism does not apply. We also give sufficient conditions that extended loops must satisfy in order to yield covariant holonomies. This makes a quantum representation for Yang-Mills theories and gravity based on extended loops viable.

Development Of Engineered Soil Surrogates For Modeling Natural Soil Sorption Behavior, Ghada Yehia Abdalla

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The land produces more than 95% of the global food supply, and with a continuously growing population, we need to optimize the use of the available agricultural land. Soil organic matter (SOM) is an essential component of soils, especially concerning their fertility and sorption behavior. The chemical composition of the SOM consists of lipids, lignin, and cellulose. However, the heterogeneous and complex nature of SOM, and real soils, makes their study challenging and introduces uncontrollable factors.

Therefore, structural mimics of natural soils with increasing complexity representing the real soil functionality were synthesized and evaluated for bulk properties related to their …

Electrospray Deposition Of Zno Nanostructures For Nanoscale Electronic Applications, David Hooks

LSU Master's Theses

Modern technology is ever-evolving and as more emphasis is placed on faster, more sensitive electronic devices, advancements in the field of electronics are as important now as they ever have been. To meet the need for more sensitive devices, it is important to study new semiconducting materials and the applications in which they pose a potential advantage.

The field of electronic materials research falls at the intersection of physics, chemistry, materials science, and electrical engineering. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is of particular interest in modern electronic devices for its uses in sensing applications, high-powered transistors, and LED technology. ZnO has been …

Trends In Growth Modeling In Fisheries Science, Shane A. Flinn, Stephen R. Midway

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Asymptotic Security Of Discrete-Modulation Protocols For Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution, Eneet Kaur, Saikat Guha, Mark M. Wilde

Faculty Publications

We consider discrete-modulation protocols for continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) that employ a modulation constellation consisting of a finite number of coherent states and that use a homodyne- or a heterodyne-detection receiver. We establish a security proof for collective attacks in the asymptotic regime, and we provide a formula for an achievable secret-key rate. Previous works established security proofs for discrete-modulation CV-QKD protocols that use two or three coherent states. The main constituents of our approach include approximating a complex, isotropic Gaussian probability distribution by a finite-size Gauss-Hermite constellation, applying entropic continuity bounds, and leveraging previous security proofs for Gaussian-modulation …

Fracture Diodes: Directional Asymmetry Of Fracture Toughness, N. R. Brodnik, S. Brach, C. M. Long, G. Ravichandran, B. Bourdin, K. T. Faber, K. Bhattacharya

Faculty Publications

Toughness describes the ability of a material to resist fracture or crack propagation. It is demonstrated here that fracture toughness of a material can be asymmetric, i.e., the resistance of amedium to a crack propagating from right to left can be significantly different from that to a crack propagating from left to right. Such asymmetry is unknown in natural materials, but we show that it can be built into artificial materials through the proper control of microstructure. This paves the way for control of crack paths and direction, where fracture - when unavoidable - can be guidedthrough predesigned paths to …

A Conjecture On The Irregularity Function For Local Geometric Langlands Parameters And The Formal Frenkel-Gross Connection, Andrew Alaniz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For a simple complex algebraic group $G$, M. Kamgarpour and D. Sage have shown that the adjoint irregularity of an irregular singular flat $G$-bundle on the formal punctured disc is bounded from below by the rank of $G$, moreover the rank is realized by the formal Frenkel-Gross connection. This is a geometric analog of a conjecture of Gross and Reeder on the swan conductor of arithmetic local Langlands parameters. In this work, we explore an interesting combinatorial problem which arises when trying to consider the minimal value of the irregularity function with respect to an arbitrary representation of $G$.

The Tensile Root Strength Of Spartina Patens Declines With Exposure To Multiple Stressors, R. Eugene Turner, Lauris O. Hollis

Faculty Publications

Coastal wetlands may be subjected to numerous biotic and abiotic stressors from natural and anthropogenic forces in the landscape. The influx of nutrients, inorganic compounds and xenobiotics are suspected of degrading the belowground biomass of coastal macrophytes. Spartina patens acts as an ecosystem engineer for lower salinity coastal marshes and its biomechanical properties are vital to the stability and resilience of coastal wetlands. S.patens was exposed to one natural (flooding) and two anthropogenic stressors (atrazine and nutrient addition) in a greenhouse experiment to test the hypothesis that these three stressors reduce the tensile root strength of S. patens. A one-way …

Marginal Warming Associated With A Covid-19 Quarantine And The Implications For Disease Transmission, P. W. Miller, C. Reesman, M. K. Grossman, S. A. Nelson, V. Liu, P. Wang

Faculty Publications

During January-February 2020, parts of China faced restricted mobility under COVID-19 quarantines, which have been associated with improved air quality. Because particulate pollutants scatter, diffuse, and absorb incoming solar radiation, a net negative radiative forcing, decreased air pollution can yield surface warming. As such, this study (1) documents the evolution of China's January-February 2020 air temperature and concurrent particulate changes; (2) determines the temperature response related to reduced particulates during the COVID-19 quarantine (C19Q); and (3) discusses the conceptual implications for temperature-dependent disease transmission. C19Q particulate evolution is monitored using satellite analyses, and concurrent temperature anomalies are diagnosed using surface …

Early Diagenesis In The Hypoxic And Acidified Zone Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Is Organic Matter Recycling In Sediments Disconnected From The Water Column?, C. Rabouille, B. Lansard, S.M. Owings, N.N. Rabalais, B. Bombled, E. Metzger, J. Richirt, E.M. Eitel, A.D. Boever, J.S. Beckler, M. Taillefert

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Astronomical Tide And Storm Surge Signals Observed In An Isolated Inland Maar Lake Near The Coast, Mingming Li, Chunyan Li, Lingling Xie, Wei Huang, Quanan Zheng, Keyi Tan, Yingbin Hong

Faculty Publications

Aimed at the explanation of clear tidal signal and storm surge signals in a closed inland lake near the coast (the Huguangyan Lake), this work uses a combined approach with observations and model experiments. Huguangyan Lake is a closed inland freshwater coneless volcanic crater lake near the coast in tropical southern China, less than 5 km from an estuary. It has a diameter of about 1.5 km and relatively deep water of up to 20 m. Bottom pressure was measured from an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) for 10 days in September 2018 and 10 days in January 2019. The …

Lsu General Catalog 2021-2022, Louisiana State University And Agricultural And Mechanical College

LSU General Catalog

The LSU General Catalog describes all undergraduate and graduate departments and programs with degree requirements and courses offered for each one. The LSU General Catalog includes information on registration and financial aid as well as academic services offered to all students.

Second Law Of Entanglement Dynamics For The Non-Asymptotic Regime, Mark M. Wilde

Faculty Publications

The distillable entanglement of a bipartite quantum state does not exceed its entanglement cost. This well known inequality can be understood as a second law of entanglement dynamics in the asymptotic regime of entanglement manipulation, excluding the possibility of perpetual entanglement extraction machines that generate boundless entanglement from a finite reserve. In this paper, I establish a refined second law of entanglement dynamics that holds for the non-asymptotic regime of entanglement manipulation.

Clinical Commissioning Of Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy Systems: Report Of Aapm Task Group 185, Jonathan B. Farr, Michael F. Moyers, Chris E. Allgower, Martin Bues, Wen Chien Hsi, Hosang Jin, Dimitris N. Mihailidis, Hsiao Ming Lu, Wayne D. Newhauser, Narayan Sahoo, Roelf Slopsema, Daniel Yeung, X. Ronald Zhu

Faculty Publications

Proton therapy is an expanding radiotherapy modality in the United States and worldwide. With the number of proton therapy centers treating patients increasing, so does the need for consistent, high-quality clinical commissioning practices. Clinical commissioning encompasses the entire proton therapy system's multiple components, including the treatment delivery system, the patient positioning system, and the image-guided radiotherapy components. Also included in the commissioning process are the x-ray computed tomography scanner calibration for proton stopping power, the radiotherapy treatment planning system, and corresponding portions of the treatment management system. This commissioning report focuses exclusively on intensity-modulated scanning systems, presenting details of how …

Nuclear Dynamics And Reactions In The Ab Initio Symmetry-Adapted Framework, Kristina D. Launey, Alexis Mercenne, Tomas Dytrych

Faculty Publications

We review the ab initio symmetry-adapted (SA) framework for determining the structure of stable and unstable nuclei, along with related electroweak, decay, and reaction processes. This framework utilizes the dominant symmetry of nuclear dynamics, the shape-related symplectic Sp(3, R) symmetry, which has been shown to emerge from first principles and to expose dominant degrees of freedom that are collective in nature, even in the lightest species or seemingly spherical states. This feature is illustrated for a broad scope of nuclei ranging from helium to titanium isotopes, enabled by recent developments of the ab initio SA no-core shell model expanded to …

Searches For Continuous Gravitational Waves From 15 Supernova Remnants And Fomalhaut B With Advanced Ligo (Vol 875, 122, 2019), B P. Abbott, R Abbott, T D. Abbott, S Abraham, K Ackley, C Adams, R X. Adhikari, V B. Adya, C Affeldt, M Agathos, K Agatsuma, N Aggarwal, O D. Aguiar, L Aiello, A Ain, P Ajith, G Allen, A Allocca, M A. Aloy, P A. Altin, A Amato, A Ananyeva, S B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S V. Angelova, S Antier, S Appert, K Arai, M C. Araya, J S. Areeda, M Arene, N Arnaud, K G. Arun, S. Ascenzi, G. Ashton, S. M. Aston, P. Astone, F. Aubin, P. Aufmuth, K. Aultoneal, C. Austin, V. Avendano, A. Avila-Alvarez, S. Babak, P. Bacon, F. Badaracco, M. K. M. Bader, S. Bae, P. T. Baker, F. Baldaccinni

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Anomalies In The Cosmic Microwave Background And Their Non-Gaussian Origin In Loop Quantum Cosmology, I Agullo, D Kranas, V Sreenath

Faculty Publications

Anomalies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) refer to features that have been observed, mostly at large angular scales, and which show some tension with the statistical predictions of the standard ?CDM model. In this work, we focus our attention on power suppression, dipolar modulation, a preference for odd parity, and the tension in the lensing parameter A ( L ). Though the statistical significance of each individual anomaly is inconclusive, collectively they are significant, and could indicate new physics beyond the ?CDM model. In this article, we present a brief, but pedagogical introduction to CMB anomalies and propose a …

Fast-Transient Searches In Real Time With Ztfrest: Identification Of Three Optically Discovered Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows And New Constraints On The Kilonova Rate, Igor Andreoni, Michael W. Coughlin2, Erik C. Kool, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Harsh Kumar, Varun Bhalerao, Ana Sagues Carracedo, Anna Y. Q. Ho, Peter T. Pang, Divita Saraogi, Kritti Sharma, Vedant Shenoy, Eric Burns, Tomas Ahumada, Shreya Anand, Leo P. Singer, Daniel A. Perley, Kishalay De, U. C. Fremling, Eric C. Bellm, Mattia Bulla, Arien Crellin-Quick, Tim Dietrich, Andrew Drake, Dmitry A. Duev, Ariel Goobar, Matthew J. Graham, David L. Kaplan, S. R. Kulkarni, Russ R. Laher, Ashish A. Mahabal, David L. Shupe, Jesper Sollerman, Richard Walters, Yuhan Yao

Faculty Publications

The most common way to discover extragalactic fast transients, which fade within a few nights in the optical, is via follow-up of gamma-ray burst and gravitational-wave triggers. However, wide-field surveys have the potential to identify rapidly fading transients independently of such external triggers. The volumetric survey speed of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) makes it sensitive to objects as faint and fast fading as kilonovae, the optical counterparts to binary neutron star mergers, out to almost 200 Mpc. We introduce an open-source software infrastructure, the ZTF REaltime Search and Triggering, ZTFReST, designed to identify kilonovae and fast transients in ZTF …

Reducing Scattered Light In Ligo's Third Observing Run, S. Soni, C. Austin, A. Effler, R. M.S. Schofield, G. González, V. V. Frolov, J. C. Driggers, A. Pele, A. L. Urban, G. Valdes, R. Abbott, C. Adams, R. X. Adhikari, A. Ananyeva, S. Appert, K. Arai, J. S. Areeda, Y. Asali, S. M. Aston, A. M. Baer, M. Ball, S. W. Ballmer, S. Banagiri, D. Barker, L. Barsotti, J. Bartlett, B. K. Berger, J. Betzwieser, D. Bhattacharjee, G. Billingsley, S. Biscans, C. D. Blair, R. M. Blair

Faculty Publications

Noise due to scattered light has been a frequent disturbance in the advanced LIGO gravitational wave detectors, hindering the detection of gravitational waves. The non stationary scatter noise caused by low frequency motion can be recognized as arches in the time-frequency plane of the gravitational wave channel. In this paper, we characterize the scattering noise for LIGO and Virgo's third observing run O3 from April, 2019 to March, 2020. We find at least two different populations of scattering noise and we investigate the multiple origins of one of them as well as its mitigation. We find that relative motion between …

Open Data From The First And Second Observing Runs Of Advanced Ligo And Advanced Virgo, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, S. Abraham, F. Acernese, K. Ackley, C. Adams, R. X. Adhikari, V. B. Adya, C. Affeldt, M. Agathos, K. Agatsuma, N. Aggarwal, O. D. Aguiar, A. Aich, L. Aiello, A. Ain, P. Ajith, G. Allen, A. Allocca, P. A. Altin, A. Amato, S. Anand, A. Ananyeva, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, S. V. Angelova, S. Ansoldi, S. Antier, S. Appert, K. Arai, M. C. Araya, J. S. Areeda, M. Arène

Faculty Publications

Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo are monitoring the sky and collecting gravitational-wave strain data with sufficient sensitivity to detect signals routinely. In this paper we describe the data recorded by these instruments during their first and second observing runs. The main data products are gravitational-wave strain time series sampled at 16384 Hz. The datasets that include this strain measurement can be freely accessed through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center at http://gw-openscience.org, together with data-quality information essential for the analysis of LIGO and Virgo data, documentation, tutorials, and supporting software.

Kepler K2 Campaign 9-I. Candidate Short-Duration Events From The First Space-Based Survey For Planetary Microlensing, I Mcdonald, E Kerins, R Poleski, M T. Penny, I Mcdonald, S Mao, P Fouque, W Zhu, W Zang

Faculty Publications

We present the first short-duration candidate microlensing events from the Kepler K2 mission. From late April to early July 2016, Campaign 9 of K2 obtained high temporal cadence observations over a 3.7 deg(2) region of the Galactic bulge. Its primary objectives were to look for evidence of a free-floating planet (FFP) population using microlensing, and demonstrate the feasibility of space-based planetary microlensing surveys. Though Kepler K2 is far from optimal for microlensing, the recently developed MCPM photometric pipeline enables us to identify and model microlensing events. We describe our blind event-selection pipeline in detail and use it to recover 22 …

Gaia Gral: Gaia Dr2 Gravitational Lens Systems. Vi. Spectroscopic Confirmation And Modeling Of Quadruply Imaged Lensed Quasars, D Stern, S G. Djorgovski, A Krone-Martins, D Sluse, D Stern, C Ducourant, R Teixeira, J Surdej, C Boehm, B R. Den, D O. J, D R. D, G A. A, G R. L, J A. Mj, K L. P, L L. J, J F. Campion, A Mahabal, F Mignard, T Murphy, A Nierenberg, S Scarano, J Simon, J Slezak, C Spindola-Duarte, J Wambsganss

Faculty Publications

Combining the exquisite angular resolution of Gaia with optical light curves and WISE photometry, the Gaia Gravitational Lenses group (GraL) uses machine-learning techniques to identify candidate strongly lensed quasars, and has confirmed over two dozen new strongly lensed quasars from the Gaia Data Release 2. This paper reports on the 12 quadruply imaged quasars identified by this effort to date, which is a similar to 20% increase in the total number of confirmed quadruply imaged quasars. We discuss the candidate selection, spectroscopic follow-up, and lens modeling. We also report our spectroscopic failures as an aid for future investigations.

An Earth-Mass Planet In A Time Of Covid-19: Kmt-2020-Blg-0414lb, Leandro De Almeida, Andrew Gould, Cheongho Han, Iona Kondo, Chung-Uk Lee, Shude Mao, Yossi Shvartzvald, Jennifer C. Yee, Weicheng Zang, Xiangyu Zhang

Faculty Publications

We report the discovery of KMT-2020-BLG-0414Lb, with a planet-to-host mass ratio q (2) = 0.9-1.2 x 10(-5) = 3-4 circle plus at 1 sigma, which is the lowest mass-ratio microlensing planet to date. Together with two other recent discoveries (4 less than or similar to q/q (circle plus) less than or similar to 6), it fills out the previous empty sector at the bottom of the triangular (log s, log q) diagram, where s is the planet-host separation in units of the angular Einstein radius theta E. Hence, these discoveries call into question the existence, or at least the strength, …

Sugar Recovery Rates In Louisiana, Florida, And Australia (1901–2018): Sugarcane Varietal Development And Cultural Practices, P. Lynn Kennedy, Andrew Schmitz, Fangyi Zhang

Faculty Publications

Australia, Florida, and Louisiana are dominant sugar producers. We use piecewise regression to compare the growth in sugar recovery rates. To discuss sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) varietal development and cultural practices, we consider two scenarios: the entire period 1901 to 2018 and two subperiods using country-specific breakpoints. The overall annual increase in the sugar recovery rate for all three regions ranged between 0.0180% for Australia and 0.0525% for Florida. In the first subperiod, Florida (0.2380%, 1928–1941) and Australia (0.1233%, 1901–1927) have the greatest annual gains, but in the second subperiod, Louisiana experiences the greatest annual gains (0.0813%, 1969–2018), followed by …

Decay Of Information For The Kac Evolution, F. Bonetto, R. Han, M. Loss

Faculty Publications

We consider a system of M particles in contact with a heat reservoir of N≫ M particles. The evolution in the system and the reservoir, together with their interaction, is modeled via the Kac’s master equation. We chose the initial distribution with total energy N+ M and show that if the reservoir is initially in equilibrium, that is, if the initial distribution depends only on the energy of the particle in the reservoir, then the entropy of the system decays exponentially to a very small value. We base our proof on a similar property for the Information. A similar argument …

Weyl Sums And The Lyapunov Exponent For The Skew-Shift Schrödinger Cocycle, Rui Han, Marius Lemm, Wilhelm Schlag

Faculty Publications

We study the one-dimensional discrete Schrödinger operator with the skew-shift potential 2λ cos (2π((j/2)ω + jy C x)). This potential is long conjectured to behave like a random one, i.e., it is expected to produce Anderson localization for arbitrarily small coupling constants λ > 0. In this paper, we introduce a novel perturbative approach for studying the zero-energy Lyapunov exponent L(λ) at small λ. Our main results establish that, to second order in perturbation theory, a natural upper bound on L(λ) is fully consistent with L(λ) being positive and satisfying the usual Figotin–Pastur type asymptotics L.λ/ ~ C λ2 as λ …

On The Highly Connected Dyadic, Near-Regular, And Sixth-Root-Of-Unity Matroids, Ben Clark, Kevin Grace, James Oxley, Stefan H.M. Van Zwam

Faculty Publications

Subject to announced results by Geelen, Gerards, and Whittle [Towards a structure theory for matrices and matroids, in Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians, Vol. III, 2006, pp. 827-842], we completely characterize the highly connected members of the classes of dyadic, near-regular, and sixth-root-of-unity matroids.