Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Toward Understanding Multi-Agent Decision Making In Complex Societies, Jonathan Skaggs

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates Multi Agent Decision Making (MADM) within Complex Societies (CS), systems of interdependent agents whose collective behaviors emerge from local interactions. Such emergent dynamics are nonlinear and difficult to predict, posing significant challenges towards understanding how individual decisions scale to societal outcomes. Existing approaches often fall short of capturing the combined attributes of CS, including asymmetry, decentralization, and adaptivity. To address this gap, we introduce new models and analyses of agent strategies that explain how cooperation and stability can arise in CS. Structured around three interrelated projects, this dissertation enhances our comprehension of MADM in CS. The research …

Gets: Greenhouse Environment Time Series, Scott Grimshaw, Natalie J. Blades, Grant R. Mcqueen

ScholarsArchive Data

This dataset contains high-frequency environmental measurements from a single greenhouse used to study multivariate statistical process control under strong autocorrelation. The data consist of a continuous Phase 1 monitoring period of approximately four weeks, during which environmental sensors recorded conditions inside the greenhouse once per minute.

The primary variables included in the archived dataset are:

• date – Date-time stamp at one-minute resolution (local greenhouse time).

• co2_ppm – Carbon dioxide concentration in parts per million (ppm).

• humidity_pct – Relative humidity (%).

• soil_temp_F – Soil temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

When Scripts Diverge: Strengthening Low-Resource Neural Machine Translation Through Phonetic Cross-Lingual Transfer, Ammon Shurtz

Theses and Dissertations

Multilingual Neural Machine Translation (MNMT) models enhance translation quality for low-resource languages by exploiting cross-lingual similarities during training--a process known as knowledge transfer. This transfer is particularly effective between languages that share lexical or structural features, often enabled by a common orthography. However, languages with strong phonetic and lexical similarities but distinct writing systems experience limited benefits, as the absence of a shared orthography hinders knowledge transfer. To address this limitation, we propose an approach based on phonetic information that enhances token-level alignment across scripts by leveraging transliterations. We systematically evaluate several phonetic transcription techniques and strategies for incorporating phonetic …

Chronosort: Revealing Hidden Dynamics In Alphafold3 Structure Predictions, Matthew J. Argyle, William P. Heaps, Corbyn Kubalek, Spencer Gardiner, Bradley C. Bundy, Dennis Della Corte

Faculty Publications

Protein function emerges from dynamic conformational changes, yet structure prediction methods provide only static snapshots. While AlphaFold3 (AF3) predicts protein structures, the potential for extracting dynamic information from its ensemble predictions has remained underexplored. Here, we demonstrate that AF3 structural ensembles contain substantial dynamic information that correlates remarkably well with molecular dynamics simulations (MD). We developed ChronoSort, a novel algorithm that organizes static structure predictions into temporally coherent trajectories by minimizing structural differences between neighboring frames. Through systematic analysis of four diverse protein targets, we show that root-mean-square fluctuations derived from AF3 ensembles can correlate strongly with those from MD …

Contextual Bandits For Non-Stationary Multi-Agent Environments Using Assumptions-Alignment Tracking, Ethan Pedersen

Theses and Dissertations

A common challenge in AI is that of an agent possessing N distinct behaviors, each of which works effectively in certain tasks and circumstances, to choose from at any particular time. A popular approach to learn optimal selections in such contexts is found in bandit algorithms. However, traditional bandits often (1) assume the environment is stationary, (2) focus on asymptotic performance, and (3) do not incorporate available external information about the environment. While contextual bandits that do consider external information are designed to combat one of these challenges, the others remain problematic in realistic domains. This is especially true of …

An Analysis Of Large Language Model Hallucination And Creativity: Linear Representations And Causal Roles, Mckay Bowcut

Theses and Dissertations

Large language models (LLMs) show remarkable abilities in both factual and creative tasks, yet the problem of hallucination persists despite advances in training and post-training methods. Recent progress in model interpretability suggests that model behavior can be predicted and influenced by analyzing and manipulating internal activations. In this thesis, we address three questions: (1) Can we identify linear representations of hallucination and creativity in the model’s latent space? (2) Do these representations play a causal role in model behavior when manipulated? (3) Are creativity and hallucination causally intertwined? To answer these, we construct a novel dataset of factual, hallucinated, and …

Creativity In Large Language Models, Robert Kenneth Morain

Theses and Dissertations

As artificial intelligence systems approach human-level performance across a wide variety of domains, creative domains remain a critical yet underexplored area of research. Unlike traditional AI tasks with well-defined objectives, creative tasks rely on inherently subjective measures, making them particularly challenging for machines that lack human experiential context. This dissertation establishes the fundamental importance of creativity in AI systems and presents methods for improving and evaluating the creative capabilities of LLMs on the pathway toward AGI. This work addresses and examines key limitations in current LLM creativity through model innovations, development frameworks, and comparative studies. The dissertation develops novel architectural …

Progress Towards Confinement Of An Ultracold Neutral Plasma With Electric And Magnetic Fields, Ben Farley

Theses and Dissertations

Ultracold neutral plasmas represent a regime of plasmas that is not entirely described by theory, but is critical to our understanding of many phenomena. Though their low temperature makes observing them more manageable, even "confined" ultracold plasmas do not remain contained for more than a few hundred microseconds. No steady state or long-term confinement of an ultracold plasma created by pulse ionization has ever been demonstrated. In this thesis, the construction of a Penning trap for calcium ultracold neutral plasma is presented. The trap consists of a uniform magnetic field to trap the electrons radially and a quadrupole electric field …

Quantum Ai To Factor Intergers Midterm Presentation, Reu/Fri Program Physics And Astronomy, Kai Sandberg

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Quantum Error Correction: Studying Correlated Errors On Surface Codes, Reu/Fri Program Physics And Astronomy, Pritesh Thakur

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Tabletop Isotropic Source For Neutron Science Training Poster, Reu/Fri Program Physics And Astronomy, Jarom Peterson

Student Works

To develop affordable tabletop neutron sources for neutron science research and education, GS20 scintillator glass doped with Americium-241 is being evaluated inside the BYU Isotropic Fission Chamber (IFC). Our 1985 sample was assessed for radiation damage and found to be in good condition. Neutrons from Am-241 interactions were optically flagged and observed using the IFC in conjunction with the LGB-PVT Neutron Pseudo Spectrometer Detector. Data was recorded via a CAEN desktop digitizer. The analysis code continues to be developed, and the neutron detector will be calibrated using deuterium-deuterium (DD) interactions in the future.

The Atmospheric Characterization Of Abnormally Blue Early T-Dwarfs Midterm Presentation, Reu/Fri Program Physics And Astronomy, Madalyn Chapleski

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Using Novel Technology And Sensemaking In The Classroom, Reu/Fri Program Physics And Astronomy, Julio Escobedo

Student Works

This project looked into the usefulness of various new and unique technologies in a science classroom setting to allow for more sensemaking to occur among students. This was done through professional developments or training for multiple educators on how to use these devices in the classrooms. We found that each new technology had a unique set of useful capabilities and drawbacks. These findings suggest that implementation of these technologies can increase sensemaking if done properly and with proper training beforehand.

Engineering Protein Linkers For Optimized Telsam-Darpin Fusion And Crystallization With Electric Field-Based Polymer Orientation, Maria Jose Pedroza Romo

Theses and Dissertations

Fusing a variant of the sterile alpha motif domain of the human translocation ETS leukemia protein (TELSAM) to a protein of interest significantly enhances crystallization and diffraction quality. TELSAM is a pH-dependent, polymer-forming crystallization chaperone that, when covalently fused to a protein, forms a well-ordered crystal lattice. However, the success of this method depends on two factors: 1) the design of the linker connecting TELSAM to the target protein, which influences both crystal packing and target orientation, and 2) the prevention of TELSAM polymer flipping, a phenomenon that disrupts lattice periodicity and impairs structure determination. To address the first challenge, …

Acoustic Characterization And Modeling Of Heated Supersonic Tactical Jet Aircraft And Launched Rockets, Logan Troy Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and accurately modeling the acoustic sources and propagation of high-intensity tactical jet aircraft and rocket noise is essential for vehicle design, environmental impact assessment, and mitigation strategies. Despite progress in the understanding of these sources, significant challenges persist in both predictive modeling and noise mitigation. This dissertation advances both the characterization of full-scale supersonic tactical jet aircraft noise sources and the development of modern empirical prediction models for rocket launch noise. Across multiple measurement campaigns and modeling efforts, the work integrates advanced array signal processing, high-fidelity field measurements, and improved empirical methods to expand the physical understanding of source …

Magnetic Ordering And Dynamics In Assemblies Of Magnetite Nanoparticles Throughout The Superparamagnetic Transition, Johnathon Michael Rackham

Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic nanoparticles are used in nanotechnologies and biomedical applications, such as drug targeting, hyperthermia treatment, MRI contrasting agents, and bio-separation of compound solutions. Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles stand to be effective in these roles due to the non-toxic nature of magnetite and its strong magnetization. To this end, a greater understanding of the magnetic behavior of the individual magnetite nanoparticles is needed when a collection of them is used. This research seeks to discover the local magnetic ordering and dynamics of fluctuations of ensembles of magnetite nanoparticles at various stages of the magnetization process, throughout the superparamagnetic blocking transitions, and for …

Evaluating Nfl Quarterback Decision Making Through Tracking Data, Jesse N. Melville

Theses and Dissertations

Quarterback decision-making is one of the most critical determinants of success in the National Football League (NFL), yet traditional statistics fail to account for the spatial, temporal, and contextual factors influencing each play. This thesis proposes a data-driven methodology for evaluating quarterback decisions using NFL player tracking data from the 2022 season. We replicate and extend the DeepQB framework by training deep learning models to estimate expected completion probabilities and expected yards gained for each receiver at the moment of the throw. Our extension applies the approach to a newer dataset with additional contextual features, enabling a more detailed evaluation …

A Dendrite Equivalence Relation On Loop Spaces, Spencer Arnesen

Theses and Dissertations

In Definition 2.0.3 we define an equivalence relation on paths such that two paths into a space X are related if doing the first, then the second backwards factors as a loop through a dendrite. This equivalence relation induces a group structure L(X) on a large subset of the loop space of X, namely all loops that have a unique reduced representative. We show that certain continuous maps induce a homomorphism between dentropy groups and that projection from three-dimensional real space to two-dimensional real space does not induce a homomorphism on dentropy groups.. We show that dentropy groups are locally …

Computational Modeling Of Magnetic Field Interaction With Superconductors Under High-Field And High-Dissipation Conditions: A Tdgl Approach Applied To Nb And Nb3sn, Aiden Victor Harbick

Theses and Dissertations

Superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities are essential components in modern particle accelerators, enabling the efficient acceleration of charged particles for various applications in physics, medicine, materials science, and beyond. The performance of these cavities is significantly influenced by the properties of superconducting materials, such as niobium (Nb) and triniobium-tin (Nb3Sn), and the defects and surface features present within the material. This dissertation presents a computational study focused on understanding the behavior of SRF cavities, using a sample-specific time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) framework to simulate their performance under realistic material conditions. The research integrates experimental data and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to …

Mathematics Student Teachers' Curricular Reasoning During Planning, Erika Breann Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching is a complex practice, in part because of all the decisions teachers make daily. This is especially true for student teachers who have little to no prior teaching experience to inform them about the decisions that need to be made in the classroom and how to reason through all those decisions as they plan and enact the lessons. Secondary mathematics student teachers were introduced to the Instructional Pyramid (Dingman et al., 2021) which organizes and maps teacher’s mathematical reasoning onto four elements of a classroom—teacher, student, mathematics, and curriculum—to examine which curricular reasoning aspects they use while planning mathematics …

A Novel High-Order Absorbing Boundary Condition For Elastic Multiple Scattering Problems, Jordan Gregory Sheppard

Theses and Dissertations

Elastic waves are waves that propagate by causing deformations in an elastic medium such as metal, rock, or rubber. The main characteristic of elastic wave motion is the coexistence of multiple types of waves at once in the medium, including compressional and shear wave components. This type of motion can be used to study the impacts of physical phenomena such as earthquakes. In this paper, we discuss our research on the time-harmonic scattering of elastic waves in a medium by multiple circular cylindrical obstacles that the wave cannot penetrate. Using the Helmholtz decomposition, we break down the vector-valued physical system …

Topological Homotopy Groups, Tyler Evans

Theses and Dissertations

In general, the homotopy groups of topological spaces fail to be topological groups when endowed with the quotient topology. In this thesis, we show that for Peano continua with Abelian fundamental group, the fundamental group endowed with the quotient topology is indeed a topological group. However, this result does not extend to higher homotopy groups; that is, there exists a Peano continuum whose nth homotopy group, endowed with the quotient topology, is not a topological group. Additionally, a new characterization of the quotient topology in terms of a limit operator is introduced.

Extracting Magnetic Exchange Interactions From Magnetic Pair Distribution Function Data Via Monte Carlo Simulations, Emma Zappala

Theses and Dissertations

The magnetic pair distribution function (mPDF) is a powerful tool used to analyze diffuse magnetic scattering data in real-space. Presently, mPDF is usually used to model real-space spin configurations of materials, offering important insights into the local magnetic structure, but not to directly probe the magnetic interactions giving rise to the magnetic structure in the first place. Using Monte Carlo simulations, a robust algorithm to simulate the magnetic structure of materials, we can connect the underlying magnetic exchange parameters to the spin configurations from experimental mPDF data. We prove this concept using a simple two-dimensional Ising model and then demonstrate …

Transcendental Formulas For The Coefficients Of Ramanujan's Mock Theta Functions, Gradin Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Ramanujan's 1920 last letter to Hardy contains seventeen examples of mock theta functions, including the famous third order function f(q), which resemble modular forms of weight 1/2. This list has since been expanded by individuals such as Gordon and McIntosh and the McKay--Thompson series arising in moonshine theory. In 1964, Andrews---improving on a result of Dragonette---gave an asymptotic formula for the coefficients of f(q) and conjectured an exact formula: a conditionally convergent series that closely resembles the Hardy--Ramanujan--Rademacher formula for the partition function. A key breakthrough came in 2001, when Zwegers wrote f(q) as the holomorphic component of a vector-valued …

Classification And Analysis Of Families Of Graphs With Focus On Nordhaus-Gaddum Bounds, Sibi Pranav Muthuprakash

Theses and Dissertations

Nordhaus-Gaddum type problems focus on bounding characteristics of graph and its complement. There are certain families of graphs which yield optimal upper bounds on various Nordhaus-Gaddum characteristics of graph. In this paper, we will talk about bounding combinatorial algebraic connectivity, normalized algebraic connectivity, the Cheeger constant, and the isoperimetric number of a graph and its complement. We will identify some optimal or near optimal families of graphs and conduct an analysis on these families that will help to bound these characteristics. We will also prove and conjecture some bounds that can help in formulating stronger bounds on these characteristics of …

Flowdb: A Complete Method For Extracting Queries From Functional Programs, Koby J. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Programmers working on database-backed applications frequently face trade-offs between designing maintainable software and efficient software due to the overhead of querying a database. We demonstrate FlowDB, an analysis for database-backed programs that can aid in program transformations that allow a program to be written in a maintainable style while still being performant. FlowDB employs demand-driven control flow analysis (DCFA) to produce a set of query sites that may be evaluated during the execution of a program. This set of query sites may then be used by a developer or compiler to cache needed results.

Fabrication, Calibration, And Deployment Of A Home-Made Radiometer, Callum Flowerday, Ryan Thalman, Jaron Hansen

ScholarsArchive Data

Subfolders and Contents:

Chamber Characterization: Contains emission spectrum measured from inside the chamber with converted spectra to power and photon flux.

LED Calibration: (Each calibration file contains folders of data from each LED used in calibration)

• Cone
• Cone 2
• Dome 2
• Flat Top
• Quartz Rod
• Uniform Dome

Outside:

• Cone 2 front porch
• Cone 2 roof
• Flat top

Math Information Retrieval From Images Via Formula Extraction, Vector Embedding, And Multimodal Llm-Based Question Answering, Angel Wheelwright Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

Math Information Retrieval (MIR) aims to revolutionize the retrieval of math information by addressing the challenges in representing, retrieving, and producing highly specialized math content. In order to develop a robust MIR system, designers must be able to process math equations (MEs) to a format that different systems can use, which is difficult due to various formats math information are stored in, including visual images and document texts. To improve the usage of math information in varied forms for people who are learning and utilizing math, we propose three different methods of handling ME data. The first method is a …

Source Characterization From Near-Field Acoustic Intensity On Moving Launch Vehicles, Carson F. Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

Rocket launches generate extremely high acoustic levels, particularly in the low-frequency range, posing risks to both launch vehicle integrity and surrounding infrastructure. This thesis investigates the use of near-field acoustic intensity measurements to localize sound sources on moving launch vehicles, with a focus on characterizing source behavior during the early phases of liftoff. Using data from the Antares 230 NG-19 mission, acoustic pressure was recorded at multiple stations surrounding the pad, and the Phase and Amplitude Gradient Estimator (PAGE) method was employed to compute intensity vectors as a function of frequency and time. Signal processing parameters were systematically evaluated, including …

Using Linear Programming And Game Theory To Optimize The Relation Between Us And China, Junhao Su

Student Works

This paper develops an optimization model to analyze U.S.–China bilateral trade dynamics and competition in artificial intelligence (AI). First, grounded in WTO tariff limits, we formulate a linear programming model to maximize the combined trade volume and conduct a comprehensive sensitivity analysis on tariff parameters. Second, we integrate zero‑sum and non‑zero‑sum game‑theoretic frameworks to identify the Nash equilibria governing both trade negotiations and technological rivalry. The model is implemented in Python using PuLP and is empirically validated with real‑world tariff data to highlight the policy relevance of the optimal solutions. Our results reveal a high concordance between the zero‑sum game …