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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Modeling High-Altitude Nuclear Detonations Using Existing Ionospheric Models, Sophia G. Schwalbe Mar 2019

Modeling High-Altitude Nuclear Detonations Using Existing Ionospheric Models, Sophia G. Schwalbe

Theses and Dissertations

One threat to the United States is a nuclear weapon being detonated at high altitude over the country. The resulting electromagnetic pulse (EMP) could devastate the nation. Despite its destructive nature, the response of the ionosphere to such an event is poorly understood. This study assesses if existing ionospheric models, which are used to nowcast and forecast ionospheric changes, can be used to model the response to a high-altitude nuclear detonation (HAND). After comparing five ionosphere models, the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM) was selected and modified to incorporate an array of F10.7 indices to serve as a proxy for …


Source Term Estimation Of Atmospheric Pollutants Using An Ensemble Of Hysplit Concentration Simulations, Casey L. Zoellick Mar 2019

Source Term Estimation Of Atmospheric Pollutants Using An Ensemble Of Hysplit Concentration Simulations, Casey L. Zoellick

Theses and Dissertations

In support of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) monitoring and nuclear event detection, this study works toward source term estimation (STE) of dispersive pollutants using a novel method|an ensemble of forward trajectory concentration simulations using a meteorology-coupled dispersion model. Traditionally a mathematically and physically rigorous problem, STE of a plume of atmospheric pollutants can be solved in a variety of ways depending on what is known regarding the emission, but little has been studied on the sensitivity between the horizontal resolution of the meteorology data in relation to the dispersion model and the results derived from known concentrations at multiple locations. …


Monitoring Software And Charged Particle Identification For The Clas12 Detector, William A. Oliver Jan 2019

Monitoring Software And Charged Particle Identification For The Clas12 Detector, William A. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations

The CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer for the 12 GeV era, known as CLAS12, uses the time of flight (TOF) system to identify charged particles from scattering events between the beam and target. The TOF system is divided into two parts: The Forward time of flight system, and the Central time of flight system. These two sub-systems subtend different polar angles of the detector geometry for wide acceptance of scattered particles. Reconstruction is the service used to identify particles from the interactions between the beam and target, called as a vertex or the point where the interaction occurs. The vertex position …