Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dissolution-Enlarged Fractures Imaging Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (Ert), Elnaz Siami-Irdemoosa

Doctoral Dissertations

"In recent years the electrical imaging techniques have been largely applied to geotechnical and environmental investigations. These techniques have proven to be the best geophysical methods for site investigations in karst terrain, particularly when the overburden soil is clay-dominated. Karst is terrain with a special landscape and distinctive hydrological system developed by dissolution of rocks, particularly carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite, made by enlarging fractures into underground conduits that can enlarge into caverns, and in some cases collapse to form sinkholes.

Bedding planes, joints, and faults are the principal structural guides for underground flow and dissolution in almost …

Application Of Quantum Monte Carlo Methods To Molecular Potential Energy Surfaces, Andrew Douglas Powell

Doctoral Dissertations

"Various computational methods have been used to generate potential energy surfaces, which can help us simulate and interpret how atoms or molecules behave during a chemical reaction. For accurate work, ab initio wavefunction methods have traditionally been used, which have some disadvantages. For example, highly accurate methods scale poorly with system size (n⁷ or higher) and are mostly not well parallelized for calculations with multiple processors. One alternative method that has more favorable scaling with system size and is well parallelized is a computational technique called quantum Monte Carlo (QMC). QMC methods scale with the number of electrons as …

Bootstrap-Based Confidence Intervals In Partially Accelerated Life Testing, Ahmed Mohamed Eshebli

Doctoral Dissertations

"Accelerated life testing (ALT) is utilized to estimate the underlying failure distribution and related parameters of interest in situations where the components under study are designed for long life and therefore will not yield failure data within a reasonable test period. In ALT, life testing is carried out under two or more higher than normal stress levels, with the resulting acceleration of the failure process yielding a sufficient amount of un-censored life-span data within a practical test duration. Usually one (or more) parameters of the life distribution is linked to the stress level through a suitably selected model based on …

Receiver Function Imaging Of Mantle Transition Zone Discontinuities Beneath Alaska, Haider Hassan Faraj Dahm

Doctoral Dissertations

"Subduction of tectonic plates is one of the most important tectonic processes, yet many aspects of subduction zone geodynamics remain unsolved and poorly understood, such as the depth extent of the subducted slab and its geometry. The Alaska subduction zone, which is associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North America plate, has a complex tectonic setting and carries a series of subduction episodes, and represents an excellent target to study such plate tectonic processes. Previous seismological studies in Alaska have proposed different depth estimations and geometry for the subducted slab. The Mantle transition zone discontinuities of …

Phytoforensics: Applications In Vapor Intrusion Assessment, Jordan Lee Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations

"Vapor intrusion (VI) occurs when contaminants in the vapor phase migrate in the shallow subsurface and enter buildings through cracks, seams, and gaps and has been recognized as a serious human-health threat as occupants are exposed to potentially harmful concentrations over long periods of time. The VI pathway has recently (2017) been identified as a primary exposure pathway and implemented into the Hazard Ranking System for inclusion on the Nation Priorities List. However, assessing VI and human exposure is not simple and current methods are time-, cost-, and labor-intensive; intrusive; and temporally and spatially variability. Trees are ideal candidates for …

Depositional Systems, Sequence Architecture, And Controlling Factors Of An Eocene Stratigraphic Sequence At Minfeng Steep Margin Of Dongying Depression, Eastern China, Zhixin Li

Doctoral Dissertations

“This study is carried out in Minfeng area, the steep margin of Dongying half graben, eastern China, by integrating 3-D seismic, wireline log, and core data, and aims to interpret the depositional systems, reconstruct sequence stratigraphic architecture, and understand the controlling processes and factors at the steep margin of a rift basin. In the first part of this work, an Eocene stratigraphic sequence is divided into three systems tracts, corresponding to different stages of lake evolution, as early expansion (EEST), late expansion-early contraction (LEECST), and late contraction (LCST). EEST is the thickest and diagnostic by the best-developed marginal and basinal …

Designing High Performance Overall Water Splitting Electrocatalysts From Non-Precious Metal Selenides, Abdurazag T. Swesi

Doctoral Dissertations

“The energy production has been depending mostly on fossil fuel which will be depleted someday in the near future. Aspects such as the loss of energy resources and destruction of the environment have motivated researchers for pursuing transition away from fossil fuels to renewable solar-fuels. Therefore, in order to meet the continuous increasing demand for energy, the hydrogen, with the largest energy density stored in it, can then efficiently be used in fuel cells without concern of contaminants. Water splitting reaction to generate H₂ and O₂ is one promising method of converting solar energy into fuels. The major …

Improvement Of Crystallization Behavior Of Polylactide Using Modified Chitin Whisker As Nucleating Agent, Nichaphat Passornraprasit

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This work focuses on the enhancement of crystallization behavior of polylactide (PLA). The small crystalline of polymer was used to induce nuclei for crystallization. The small crystalline of chitin whisker (CW) was prepared by acid hydrolysis. In order to enhance the compatibility between CW and PLA matrix, CW was grafted with acid terminated poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) by coupling reaction to obtain PLA-g-CW. Then, the CW and PLA-g-CW were used as nucleating agents by compounding with PLA pellets at various contents from 0.1-0.3 phr by cast film extrusion. The SEM images of nanocomposites showed more agglomeration of whiskers with the increasing …

Separation Of Silver And Gold Ions/Nanoparticles In Water Using Chemically Modified-Silica For Spectrometric Detection, Pimpimon Anekthirakun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The separation of gold and silver ions/nanoparticles in water using chemically-modified silica and unmodified silica was investigated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by the determination via inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). 1-Carboxymethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquid [MimCM]Cl and humic acid (HA) immobilized onto aminopropyl silica (SiAP) sorbents were successfully prepared for the separation of metal species. Ionic liquid modified-SiAP (SiAP-IL) sorbent was chosen for the separation of gold ions/nanoparticles, while humic acids modified-SiAP (SiAP-HA) sorbent was selected for silver ions/nanoparticles. Based on this proposed method, the metal ions were preferentially adsorbed onto the solid sorbent over the metal nanoparticles, thus …

Is A Time Symmetric Interpretation Of Quantum Theory Possible Without Retrocausality?, Matthew S. Leifer, Matthew F. Pusey

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Huw Price has proposed an argument that suggests a time-symmetric ontology for quantum theory must necessarily be retrocausal, i.e. it must involve influences that travel backwards in time. One of Price's assumptions is that the quantum state is a state of reality. However, one of the reasons for exploring retrocausality is that it offers the potential for evading the consequences of no-go theorems, including recent proofs of the reality of the quantum state. Here, we show that this assumption can be replaced by a different assumption, called λ-mediation, that plausibly holds independently of the status of the quantum state. We …

Review Of Qbism: The Future Of Quantum Physics, Matthew S. Leifer

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A review of QBism: The Future of Quantum Physics by Hans Christian von Baeyer.

A Continuous Time Model Of Centrally Controlled Motion With Random Switching Terms, J. C. Dallon, L C. Despain, E J. Evans, C P. Grant, Willaim V. Smith

Faculty Publications

This paper considers differential problems with random switching, with specific applications to the motion of cells and centrally coordinated motion. Starting with a differential-equation model of cell motion that was proposed previously, we set the relaxation time to zero and consider the simpler model that results. We prove that this model is well-posed, in the sense that it corresponds to a pure jump-type continuous time Markov process (without explosion). We then describe the model's long-time behavior, first by specifying an attracting steady-state distribution for a projection of the model, then by examining the expected location of the cell center when …

Effects Of Post Eviction Resettlement On Land-Use And Cover Change In Uganda’S Oil Exploration Areas, Joseph Ssekandi, John Mburu, Oliver Wasonga, Laban Macopiyo, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Evaluation of the changes in land use and land cover change (LULCC) in respect to oil exploration across the Albertine region in Uganda has been focused around the exploration areas and protected areas, with no attention to the potential impacts of evictees’ activities on resettled areas. This study used LANDSAT images to analyze the land use and land cover changes (LULCC) among the period before eviction (2002 and 2005) at the climax of eviction and resettlements (2005-2011), and during the post-resettlement period (2011-2015) to quantify the impacts of resettlements on the environment. LANDSAT images were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE software …

Saving The Physics Ii: Who Needs To Be Saved? It Depends On Your Metaphysics, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Physics does not need to be saved. If anything, physics was rescued in the early twentieth century with the advancement of both the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. What needs to be saved is our world outlook or metaphysics because how a society acts and develops depends on what its belief systems are. Here we explore how a new metaphysics where consciousness is fundamental might just be what modern societies need.

On A Class Of Quaternionic Positive Definite Functions And Their Derivatives, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, Irene Sabadini

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper, we start the study of stochastic processes over the skew field of quaternions. We discuss the relation between positive definite functions and the covariance of centered Gaussian processes and the construction of stochastic processes and their derivatives. The use of perfect spaces and strong algebras and the notion of Fock space are crucial in this framework.

Adaptive Orthonormal Systems For Matrix-Valued Functions, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, Tao Qian, Irene Sabadini, Tao Qian

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper we consider functions in the Hardy space Hp×q2 defined in the unit disc of matrix-valued. We show that it is possible, as in the scalar case, to decompose those functions as linear combinations of suitably modified matrix-valued Blaschke product, in an adaptive way. The procedure is based on a generalization to the matrix-valued case of the maximum selection principle which involves not only selections of suitable points in the unit disc but also suitable orthogonal projections. We show that the maximum selection principle gives rise to a convergent algorithm. Finally, we discuss the case of real-valued signals.

Functions Of The Infinitesimal Generator Of A Strongly Continuous Quaternionic Group, Daniel Alpay, Fabrizio Colombo, Jonathan Gantner, David P. Kimsey

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The analogue of the Riesz-Dunford functional calculus has been introduced and studied recently as well as the theory of semigroups and groups of linear quaternionic operators. In this paper we suppose that T is the infinitesimal generator of a strongly continuous group of operators (ZT (t))t2R and we show how we can define bounded operators f(T ), where f belongs to a class of functions which is larger than the class of slice regular functions, using the quaternionic Laplace-Stieltjes transform. This class will include functions that are slice regular on the S-spectrum of T but not necessarily at infinity. Moreover, …

Janus Sequences Of Quantum Measurements And The Arrow Of Time, Andrew N. Jordan, Areeya Chantasri, Kater Murch, Justin Dressel, Alexander N. Korotkov

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We examine the time reversal symmetry of quantum measurement sequences by introducing a forward and backward Janus sequence of measurements. If the forward sequence of measurements creates a sequence of quantum states in time, starting from an initial state and ending in a final state, then the backward sequence begins with the time-reversed final state, exactly retraces the intermediate states, and ends with the time-reversed initial state. We prove that such a sequence can always be constructed, showing that unless the measurements are ideal projections, it is impossible to tell if a given sequence of measurements is progressing forward or …

Integration Of Anaerobic Digester With Oxidation Ditch-Membrane Bioreactor As A Zero Organic Waste System For Building Application, Arpapan Satayavibul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objective of this study is to study the efficiency of organic substance removing in anaerobic digestion system and oxidation ditch membrane bioreactor (OD-MBR) for managing liquid digestate and wastewater sludge to completely zero organic waste. The process can be done by digesting food waste from the canteen with sludge from OD-MBR with the proportion of 10:1 by weight and liquid digestate from anaerobic digestion process will be further treated by OD-MBR to study the productivity of methane and efficiency of waste treatment. This study is a semi-continuous experiment by adjusting the experimental conditions for six conditions, as follows ; …

Group Divisible Designs With Two Groups And Three Associate Classes, Ladamas Saiphet

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of China’S Regional Emissions Trading System: Challenges And Lessons, Ronghui (Kevin) Zhou

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

China, the largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, has faced environmental pressures both internationally and domestically over the last ten years. In early 2011, the Chinese government approved a carbon emissions trading program in seven cities and provinces, and started planning a national emissions trading framework. This thesis reviews these pilot programs and examines the issues that underlie them. Drawing lessons from the U.S. Acid Rain Program, the European Union’s ETS, and California’s CAT, the three largest emissions trading frameworks in the world, I find that: (1) lack of trades in China’s pilot programs is a consequence of permit …

Public Perception Of Environmental Programs In The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Landa De Matamoros, Queretaro, Mexico, Danielle Marie Salisbury

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Biological or ecological corridors have recently been sought out as a solution to biodiversity loss due to habitat fragmentation. In eastern Mexico, the Mexican and German governments are collaborating to connect fragmented landscapes and Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) over five states across a Madrean Pine-Oak biodiversity hotspot through the implementation of the Ecological Corridor of the Sierra Madre Oriental (CESMO). One of the ways the CESMO is accomplishing its conservation goals is by extending environmental programs that are currently in place within NPAs to other areas within the corridor, but outside of NPA borders. However, the success of the corridor …

Two Long-Term Intermittent Pulsars Discovered In The Palfa Survey, A. G. Lyne, B. W. Stappers, P. C.C. Freire, J. W.T. Hessels, V. M. Kaspi, B. Allen, S. Bogdanov, A. Brazier, F. Camilo, Fredrick A. Jenet

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the discovery of two long-term intermittent radio pulsars in the ongoing Pulsar Arecibo L-Band Feed Array survey. Following discovery with the Arecibo Telescope, extended observations of these pulsars over several years at Jodrell Bank Observatory have revealed the details of their rotation and radiation properties. PSRs J1910+0517 and J1929+1357 show long-term extreme bimodal intermittency, switching between active (ON) and inactive (OFF) emission states and indicating the presence of a large, hitherto unrecognized underlying population of such objects. For PSR J1929+1357, the initial duty cycle was f ON = 0.008, but two years later, this changed quite abruptly to …

Porphyrin-Based Catalysts For Electrochemical Reduction Of Carbon Dioxide, Piyawat Sangpittayatorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this work, synthesis and investigation on catalytic activities for the electrochemical reduction (ECR) of carbon dioxide (CO2) of aminophenyl-substituted metalloporphyrin and metallobenzoporphyrin containing Zn(II) or Co(II) as a metal center and their polymers were described. Electropolymerization of the amino-functionalized monomers were performed on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glasses and carbon papers by means of cyclic voltammetry in dimethylformamide (DMF) containing a 0.1 M nBu4NPF6 supporting electrolyte by using a Pt plate as a counter electrode and a Ag/AgCl quasi-reference electrode (QRE). Due to low solubility of the Co-metallated monomers, homogeneous electrochemical reduction was studied in DMF containing 0.5 mM …

Structure-Reactivity Relationship Of Bio-Inspired Copper Complexes Containing Polypyridylamine Derivatives, Pattira Suktanarak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this dissertation, bio-inspired copper complexes were designed to study the influence from ligands, nuclearity, solvents and secondary coordination on reactivity toward small-molecule activation. This structure-reactivity relationship was examined in oxygen reduction reac­tions (ORR), and applied in detection of ascorbic acid (AsH2). First, copper(II) complexes containing polypyridyl-derivative ligands (i.e., Cu(dpa), Cu(adpa) and Cu2(addpa)) were synthesized and fully characterized by X-ray crystallography. The Cu(I) complexes which are active species for ORR were generated using AsH2 as a reducing agent. Redox states of the metal were examined by UV-Vis, NMR and EPR. It was found that copper complexes with various ligand topologies …

Non-Hermiticity-Induced Flat Band, Hamidreza Ramezani

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We demonstrate the emergence of an entire flat band with no complex component embedded in dispersive bands at the exceptional point of a PT -symmetric photonic lattice. For this to occur, the gain and loss parameter effectively alters the size of the partial flat band windows and band gap of the photonic lattice simultaneously. The mode associated with the entire flat band is robust against changes in the system size and survives even at the edge of the lattice. Our proposal offers a route for controllable localization of light in non-Hermitian systems and a technique for measuring non-Hermiticity via localization.

First Test Of Verlinde’S Theory Of Emergent Gravity Using Weak Gravitational Lensing Measurements., Margot M. Brouwer, Manus R. Visser, Andrej Dvornik, Henk Hoekstra, Konrad Kuijken, Edwin A. Valentijn, Maciej Bilicki, Chris Blake, Sarah Brough, Hugo Buddelmeijer, Thomas Erben, Catherine Heymans, Hendrik Hildebrandt, Benne W. Holwerda, Andrew M. Hopkins, Dominik Klaes, Jochen Liske, Jon Loveday, John Mcfarland, Reiko Nakajima, Cristobal Sifon, Edward N. Taylor

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Verlinde proposed that the observed excess gravity in galaxies and clusters is the consequence of emergent gravity (EG). In this theory, the standard gravitational laws are modified on galactic and larger scales due to the displacement of dark energy by baryonic matter. EG gives an estimate of the excess gravity (described as an apparent dark matter density) in terms of the baryonic mass distribution and the Hubble parameter. In this work, we present the first test of EG using weak gravitational lensing, within the regime of validity of the current model. Although there is no direct description of lensing and …

An Introduction To Ricci Flow For Two-Dimensional Manifolds, Paul Bracken

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

The study of diferentiable manifolds is a deep an extensive area of mathematics. A technique such as the study of the Ricci flow turns out to be a very useful tool in this regard. This flow is an evolution of a Riemannian metric driven by a parabolic type of partial differential equation. It has attracted great interest recently due to its important achievements in geometry such as Perelman's proof of the geometrization conjecture and Brendle-Schoen's proof of the differentiable sphere theorem. It is the purpose here to give a comprehensive introduction to the Ricci flow on manifolds of dimension two …

Using Technology To Determine Factorability Or Non-Factorability Of Quadratic Algebraic Trinomials, John E. T. Bernard, Olga Ramirez, Cristina Villalobos

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper is aimed for mathematics educators who teach algebra, more specifically, the factoring of quadratic algebraic expressions, and who want to enhance student learning of this topic using technology in conjunction with the Middle Term Splitting Method (Donnell, 2010; MTSM 2016a; MTSM 2016b). We will use technology-based algebra and geometry connections to help determine factorability or nonfactorability of quadratic algebraic trinomials over the integers, over the real numbers, and over the complex numbers, both with clarity, certainty and with understanding by using two equations, one derived from the coefficients of the outer terms and the other from the middle …

Search For Post-Merger Gravitational Waves From The Remnant Of The Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, T. D. Abbott, F. Acernese, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Soma Mukherjee, Volker Quetschke, Malik Rakhmanov

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The first observation of a binary neutron star (NS) coalescence by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave (GW) detectors offers an unprecedented opportunity to study matter under the most extreme conditions. After such a merger, a compact remnant is left over whose nature depends primarily on the masses of the inspiraling objects and on the equation of state of nuclear matter. This could be either a black hole (BH) or an NS, with the latter being either long-lived or too massive for stability implying delayed collapse to a BH. Here, we present a search for GWs from the remnant …