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Full-Text Articles in Physical Processes
Characterization Of An Ambe Tagged Neutron Source For A 30-Ton Wbls Detector, Rylee Grover
Characterization Of An Ambe Tagged Neutron Source For A 30-Ton Wbls Detector, Rylee Grover
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Understanding the detection capabilities of water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) is critical for its deployment in next-generation neutrino detectors such as THEIA and Phase II of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). This study focuses on the characterization and alignment testing of an Americium-Beryllium (AmBe) radioactive neutron source. We plan to dope the 30-ton WbLS detector at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) with Gadolinium (Gd) to improve neutron detection capabilities. This will be tested by the implementation of an AmBe source as a calibration metric. The AmBe source emits neutrons coincident with a 4.4 MeV gamma ray, making it possible to perform …
Estimating The Effects Of Dark Matter Capture On The Sun Using Asteria And Analytic Stellar Scaling, Skylar G. Butler
Estimating The Effects Of Dark Matter Capture On The Sun Using Asteria And Analytic Stellar Scaling, Skylar G. Butler
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
We investigate how the internal structure of the Sun would change if dark matter particles were present at densities predicted by Galactic halo models. Dark matter capture rates were computed using the Python code Asteria, which implements the multi-element capture formalism of Gould (1987) to determine the rate at which dark matter particles scatter and become gravitationally bound inside the Sun. Because Asteria calculates only the capture rate, we developed a post-processing Python-based analysis to estimate the resulting physical effects using analytic scaling relations from previous solar dark matter studies. These relations were used to compute the effective dark matter …
Measuring Lyman Continuum Photon Luminosity In H Ii Regions, Brianna Johnshon
Measuring Lyman Continuum Photon Luminosity In H Ii Regions, Brianna Johnshon
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
This project focuses on measuring the Lyman continuum photon luminosity (Lc) of diffuse H II regions using multi-line observations from the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM). Previous work by Sahan & Haffner (2016) analyzed the λ Ori region in Hα, [S II], and [N II], which I build on by refining assumptions about distance, extinction, and background emission, as well as extending the analysis to additional regions such as Perseus. To define the extent of each H II region, I identify the brightest Hα beam and select surrounding beams within 0.25σ of that peak. I then applied two different approaches to …
The Mystery Of Ngc2264-196'S Pulsation, Matthew Hernandez, Jadia Renee Ewing, Leila Alamos, Jacob R. Romeo, Kaelyn Weddle, Divyeshwari Vansadia, Thomas Matney, Marcus Flesher, Desiree Robinson, Alexandra Beianu
The Mystery Of Ngc2264-196'S Pulsation, Matthew Hernandez, Jadia Renee Ewing, Leila Alamos, Jacob R. Romeo, Kaelyn Weddle, Divyeshwari Vansadia, Thomas Matney, Marcus Flesher, Desiree Robinson, Alexandra Beianu
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Matthew Hernandez, Jadia R. Ewing, Leila Alamos, Jacob Romeo, Kaelyn Weddle, Vansadia, TJ Matney, Maybelline A. Flesher, Desiree Robinson, Alexandra Beianu Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stephen D. Gillam Department of Physical Sciences Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL USA. March 2026 This study investigates the pulsation characteristics of NGC 2264-196, a chemically peculiar star within the young open cluster NGC 2264. Classification as a suspected Rapidly Oscillating Ap (roAp) star is supported by its spectral type (F5/7) and the recurring detection of a pulsation frequency near 3.01~ mHz. Photometric data was obtained over eight recorded oscillations: 121520UT, 111923UT, 070124UT, 080124UT, 012525UT, …
Quantifying The Effect Of Metallicity On Stellar Properties And Evolutionary Timescales, Jacob Becker
Quantifying The Effect Of Metallicity On Stellar Properties And Evolutionary Timescales, Jacob Becker
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Stellar age estimations derived from asteroseismology depend on stellar models that are sensitive to metallicity (Z). Variations in this parameter could alter the agreement between gyrochronological and asteroseismic ages, as well as main sequence lifetimes and observational properties such as effective temperature and luminosity. We test how much typical metallicity differences (±0.2 dex) affect main-sequence models of solar-type stars. Using MESA, evolutionary tracks are created for 1 M☉ stars at three metallicities (Z = 0.009, 0.014, 0.022), and it is measured how these changes shift the positions of the zero-age main sequence and the corresponding main sequence lifetimes. This work …
Broad Emission-Line Limits On Stellar Winds From Small-Aperture Dslr Spectroscopy, Benjamin Katz, David Cardona
Broad Emission-Line Limits On Stellar Winds From Small-Aperture Dslr Spectroscopy, Benjamin Katz, David Cardona
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Broad Emission-Line Limits on Stellar Winds from Small-Aperture DSLR Spectroscopy Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars have very strong stellar winds, with speeds of thousands of km/s, usually measured using high-resolution spectroscopy on large telescopes. Here, we test how well those speeds can be recovered using small-aperture, low-resolution DSLR spectroscopy. We used an 8-inch Celestron 8SE with an SA-100 grating and a Nikon D750 DSLR, giving a dispersion of about 4.1 Å per pixel. A key limitation is the instrumental resolution of the system, with an FWHM of about 30 Å, which is not small compared to the emission line widths being measured. …
Precise Stellar Age Constraints And Habitable Zone Evolution In Exoplanet Systems, Grace Henry
Precise Stellar Age Constraints And Habitable Zone Evolution In Exoplanet Systems, Grace Henry
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Accurate stellar ages are fundamental to interpreting the evolutionary histories of habitable zone (HZ) planets. Because stellar luminosity evolves over time, HZ boundaries migrate outward, meaning that present-day HZ planets may have experienced very different irradiation environments earlier in their evolution. Accurate ages are therefore required to estimate HZ residence times and place planetary habitability in an evolutionary context. We use the Bayesian Analysis of Stellar Evolution with nine parameters (BASE-9) code to constrain ages and masses for exoplanet host stars with planets located in the HZ. Our sample includes single stars with effective temperatures of 4475–7200 K that host …
Tess Study Of Wolf-Rayet Stars In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Benjamin Katz, Kassidy Myers, Bailey Wolf, Anthony Fabrega, William Punches
Tess Study Of Wolf-Rayet Stars In The Large Magellanic Cloud, Benjamin Katz, Kassidy Myers, Bailey Wolf, Anthony Fabrega, William Punches
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
TESS Study of Wolf-Rayet Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are massive and rare stars whose evolution is mainly changed by stellar winds or binary interactions. In a lot of cases, WR stars are found in binary systems with a companion star, often an O-type star, which can help astronomers find the mass and other properties of the WR star. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), located about 50 kpc from the Milky Way, has a lower metallicity than the Milky Way which makes it a useful place to study Wolf-Rayet stars. For this project, we will study …
Unveiling Stellar Core Depletion In Ngc 4649 With Jwst Nircam, Sydney Krause
Unveiling Stellar Core Depletion In Ngc 4649 With Jwst Nircam, Sydney Krause
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Galaxies are considered to have depleted cores when the central region’s concentration of stars is lower than typical, a feature linked to supermassive black hole formation and vital in galaxy evolution studies. In this project, “Unveiling Stellar Core Depletion in NGC 4649 with JWST NIRCam”, Space-based archival data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) was utilized for several forms of analysis. Initial analysis involved accessing these images via SAO DS9, an astrophysics software for viewing and manipulating files. These images were analyzed using Photoutils, a Python based coding package, part of the Astropy extension. To …
Modeling Doppler-Shifted Solar Spectra From Simulated Asteroidal Dust Populations Using Orbital Evolution Codes, Skylar G. Butler, Jarrett Dieterle
Modeling Doppler-Shifted Solar Spectra From Simulated Asteroidal Dust Populations Using Orbital Evolution Codes, Skylar G. Butler, Jarrett Dieterle
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
We investigate how orbital properties of interplanetary dust particles produce Doppler-shifted solar absorption lines using synthetic spectra generated from particle outputs of a numerical orbital evolution code. The code is based on the Ipatov dynamical model, written in Fortran and using the SWIFT integration package to track the evolution of dust particles originating from asteroid and comet populations. The program reads input files containing particle orbital elements and heliocentric positions, along with planetary parameters and integration settings, and computes the time evolution of particle trajectories under gravitational perturbations. The resulting particle states are then used to generate synthetic spectra by …
Ngc 4374 With Jwst/Nircam: A Central Structural Analysis Revealing A Depleted Core And Agn, Elizabeth Crevinston
Ngc 4374 With Jwst/Nircam: A Central Structural Analysis Revealing A Depleted Core And Agn, Elizabeth Crevinston
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
We use James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) F150W imaging to study the central regions of massive elliptical galaxies, focusing on their partially depleted cores. These cores are thought to form when a binary supermassive black hole (SMBH) ejects stars from the central regions through dynamical three-body interactions. After the binary coalesces, gas accretion onto the newly formed SMBH can trigger a compact active galactic nucleus (AGN), which plays a key role in regulating star formation and shaping galaxy structure. With JWST NIRCam, we extracted the surface brightness profile of NGC 4374, a giant elliptical galaxy in …
Determining The Light Curve And 3d Shape Of Asteroid Eunomia And Egeria Using Relative Photometry, Skylar G. Butler, Jackson Ladd Sackrider
Determining The Light Curve And 3d Shape Of Asteroid Eunomia And Egeria Using Relative Photometry, Skylar G. Butler, Jackson Ladd Sackrider
Discovery Day - Daytona Beach
Asteroids are relics of our solar system’s early formation, preserving valuable information about planetary evolution. Understanding their rotational properties and surface features provides deeper insights into the dynamical and thermophysical processes that shape their evolution. This study aims to conduct photometric observations of two main-belt asteroids, Egeria and Eunomia, using the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 1-meter telescope. Observations will be conducted in the red band on February 28 and March 14, 2025, over five-hour sessions, capturing full rotational light curves for each asteroid. These data will be analyzed using MPO Canopus to generate 3D surface models through photometric inversion techniques. The …