Physics Commons^™

On The True Interstellar Anisotropy Of Tev Cosmic Rays And Its Implications For The Local Interstellar Medium, Noufel D. Maalal

Theses and Dissertations

Several ground-based cosmic ray (CR) air shower experiments have produced sky maps of intensity anisotropy in the energy range from 1 TeV to a few hundred TeVs with very high statistics and angular resolution. These measurements provide opportunities to study CR sources and propagation in the interstellar medium (ISM). Such studies present two major difficulties. Firstly, CRs are deflected by the heliospheric magnetic field on the last stretch of their journey to Earth. Secondly, measurements at different latitudes are difficult to compare, leading to uncertainties in latitudinal variations on the order of the observed anisotropy. Experiments usually assume latitudinal variations …

Design And Simulation Of Anti-Resonant Hollow-Core Fiber For Sensing Applications, Pravallika Kante

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design and simulation of an 8-tube single-ring anti-resonant hollow-core fiber for sensing applications, with particular emphasis on methane gas detection at the fundamental absorption wavelength of 3.3 µm. Conventional solid-core silica optical fibers exhibit strong multi-phonon material absorption beyond 2.5 µm, rendering them fundamentally unsuitable for efficient light guidance and direct gas sensing at mid-infrared wavelengths. Anti-resonant hollow-core fibers overcome this limitation by guiding light predominantly through an air-filled hollow core via the anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide mechanism, in which the thin silica glass walls of the cladding tubes act as Fabry-Pérot etalons that confine the …

The True Interstellar Anisotropy Of 13 Tev Cosmic Rays, Matthew Conde

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Student Publications

Cosmic rays (CRs) are high-energy particles; bare atomic nuclei, with varying origins and energy levels. Research in this field is focused on identifying potential origins, understanding transport mechanisms faced on their journey to Earth, and interpreting the angular structure of incident CRs. One obstacle of this research is the trajectory modulation induced by the heliosphere during the CRs’ journey. In this work we employ a method to reconstruct the properties of CRs as they were at the local interstellar medium (LISM) by means of a nonlinear model fit to the map at Earth. Another obstacle is the time-averaging used to …

Gamma Ray Burst Afterglow Slopes, Brian Robbins

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Student Publications

The standard models for gamma ray bursts (GRBs) typically assume that shockaccelerated electrons follow a power law distribution of energies. However, this behavior is not what some gamma ray bursts show. In this project, it is suggested that the presence of thermal electrons causes temporal and spectral structure across the afterglow, which is significantly different from models assuming a pure power-law distribution of electrons. To model the afterglows, we decide on a large number of samples of GRBs from the Swift database and obtain the temporal and spectral indices at arbitrary times. By finding the temporal and spectral indices at …

Dual-Lev: A Dual-Axis Ultrasonic Acoustic Levitator, Trevor Hennington, Alyx Mason

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Student Publications

sound waves to create a standing wave, where regions of high and low pressure form stable nodes that can trap small objects. The upward acoustic radiation force at these nodes balances gravity, allowing the object to float in midair. This technology is applicable in various fields such as chemistry, biological engineering, and sub-gravity simulation. It can also be used for drop dynamics studies, crystallization, and

Quantum Entanglement As A Resource For Coordinating Navigation, Aamir Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

John Clauser, Michael Horne, Abner Shimony, and Richard Holt (CHSH) originally formulated the CHSH game as an experiment to establish entanglement as a quantum mechanical phenomenon that could not be predicted by classical theories. I will apply the quantum strategy used in the CHSH game to demonstrate that it also establishes a structure that employs entanglement as a resource to enable coordination without communication in the context of navigation.

Investigating Global Lightning Observed From Ground And Space, And Its Relationship To Solar Activity, Megan Diane Mark

Theses and Dissertations

The extremes of lightning, specifically lightning with long-lasting continuing currents and lightning with extremely high peak currents, are investigated from both ground- and space-based observations. Additionally, the potential solar influence on lightning is investigated on large spatial scales.

Continuing currents may occur following the impulsive flow of current during a cloud-to-ground (CG) return stroke and are usually low amplitude (from a few amperes to a few kiloamperes) and long duration (several to hundreds of milliseconds). Remotely estimating their duration from the electromagnetic fields measured by existing ground-based lightning locating systems (LLSs) is not possible, but some space-based lightning detection systems …

Advancing Real-World Implementation Of The Well Optimized Linear Finder (Wolf) High-Speed Atmospheric Turbulence Compensation Method, Timothy Evan Coon

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advances the real-world implementation of the Well Optimized Linear Finder (WOLF) method for high-speed Atmospheric Turbulence Compensation (ATC). Atmospheric turbulence introduces phase aberrations into optical wavefronts and degrades image quality in terrestrial imaging systems. Traditional phase diversity methods are computationally intensive and poorly suited to real-time operation. The WOLF method addresses these limitations through a novel, point-wise formulation of the optical transfer function (OTF) as a structured autocorrelation of the generalized pupil function (GPF). This formulation enables the estimation of phase aberrations at individual spatial coordinates with distributed computational complexity.

The research begins by developing a MATLAB-based simulation …

Advancing Biofabrication Methodologies To Develop Biomimetic Tissue Scaffolds For Musculoskeletal Applications, Nashaita Yezdi Patrawalla

Theses and Dissertations

Musculoskeletal injuries impose a significant global burden, affecting millions and generating an economic toll exceeding $14 billion. Tissue engineering has gained traction as a promising strategy offering potential for functional restoration of damaged musculoskeletal tissues. This research aims to advance biofabrication techniques for generation of biomimetic tissue scaffolds, by optimizing scaffold design and modulating fabrication process parameters to generate scaffolds for musculoskeletal regeneration with application-specific tailored properties. In this realm, collagen-based biomaterials have been extensively investigated for tendon and ligamentous applications, and in combination with bioceramics incorporated into the collagen framework to produce composite scaffolds that better recapitulate the native …

On The Nature Of Low-Frequency Power Spectra In Solar Wind Turbulence, Mason Alden Dorseth

Theses and Dissertations

An important challenge in the accurate estimation of power spectra of plasma fluctuations in the solar wind at very low frequencies is that it requires extremely long signals, which will necessarily contain a mixture of qualitatively different solar wind streams. This unavoidably affects the structure of the power spectra by conflating all these different properties into a single power spectrum. This work develops a conditional statistical analysis to accurately estimate the power spectrum at arbitrarily low frequencies for ``pure'' slow solar wind stream, based on estimated autocorrelation functions of signals excluding portions that do not satisfy the required conditions. The …

Improving Static Cold Storage Life Of The Human Heart Before Transplant, Juan Sebastian Rodriguez Paez

Theses and Dissertations

Organ storage and transportation are critical steps for the success of organ transplantation. Static cold storage (SCS) of hearts for heart transplantation (HTx) remains the standard approach. However, SCS may involve damage to the tissue resulting from extended hypothermic preservation, potentially affecting organ viability. More over, the temperature distribution on and within the heart is unknown during heart transplantation. Therefore, there is an interest to study different stages of the heart transplantation process towards determining the 3D temperature distribution on and within the heart. There could be a possibility of having a hypothermic injury in different parts of the heart …

Novel Technique Using Cherenkov Radiation For Nuclear Terrorism Prevention, Matthew Mark Romano

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Student Publications

I present a novel approach for detecting rogue nuclear material at country borders, addressing the current lack of reliable and economical mechanisms for this purpose. My proposed methodology utilizes Cherenkov radiation emitted by cosmic muons to reconstruct the particle's trajectory using a single detector. By analyzing the eccentricity of the projected ellipse formed when the Cherenkov cone intersects the detector plane, one can determine the angle a muon makes with the detector. This innovative technique effectively doubles the efficiency of the detection system by halving the number of required detectors while simultaneously increasing the resolution of the measurements taken.

Implementation Of Python Based High Voltage Tests For Gem Detectors, John Paul Hernandez

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Student Publications

The Compact Muon Solenoid, CMS, and other detectors at LHC are in the process of being upgraded for the HL-LHC (High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider) which will produce more than 5 times the particle interactions than of the current LHC. One upgrade to CMS is the introduction of new GEM detectors (Gaseous Electron Multiplier), GE2/1 and ME0 shown at right are new detectors to CMS and therefore must be tested thoroughly prior to being installed.

Analyzing The Effects Of Ultrafast Laser Processing On Mechanical Properties Of 3d-Printed Pla Parts, Darshan Pramodbhai Yadav

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in additive manufacturing technologies have already led to wide-scale adoption of 3D-printed parts in various industries. The expansion in choice of materials that can be processed, particularly using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), and the steady advancements in dimensional accuracy control have extended the range of applications far beyond rapid prototyping. However, additive manufacturing still has considerable limitations compared to traditional and subtractive manufacturing processes. This work addresses limitations associated with the as-deposited surface roughness of 3D-printed parts. The effects of roughness-induced stress concentrations were studied on ultimate tensile strength and fatigue life. The samples were manufactured using a …

Unified Model Of Lightning & Electrostatic Discharges Across The Solar System, Annelisa Blackwell Esparza

Theses and Dissertations

As we increase the number of probes on other objects within our solar system, it becomes all the timelier to understand the physics of electrostatic discharges (ESDs). Since these probes will have sensitive instruments on-board, we will need to apply our existing knowledge of ESDs to extraterrestrial environments to protect these investments from deterioration. On Earth, even small-scale ESDs can permanently destroy critical components within electronics, while large-scale ESDs (e.g., lightning strikes) are capable of debilitating entire power grids. The characteristic timescale of an ESD is small compared to the timescales of cloud charging and storm evolution. This lets us …

Construction And Testing Of Large-Area Gem Detectors For The Forward Muon Endcap Upgrade Of The Cms Experiment And Vector-Portal Search For Dark Matter Particles With Dimuon Pairs At √S = 13 Tev, Mehdi Rahmani

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I present my contributions to the second major upgrade of the Compact Muon Solenoid at the Large Hadron Collider and the analysis that I performed on the data collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid during the 2018 and 2017 era. Alongside my team, I assembled and tested ten Gaseous Electron Multipliers to upgrade the forward region at the Compact Muon Solenoid, all of which are now installed at the dedicated stations. The campaign for producing these detectors succeeded in a twoyear-long prototyping endeavor, where I examined the procedural steps for production to optimize the production and testing …

Design, Assembly, And Testing Of A Small 3d-Printed Thick-Gem, Jerry Lamar Collins Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Thick GEMs are a type of gas electron multiplier, a micropattern gaseous detector, with many applications in research. The subject of this study is whether or not a small 3D printed thick GEM board can be used to form a well-functioning detector. A Thick GEM having three separate board sectors, each having different sized clearance rim annuli around their holes, was designed, printed, and assembled. Several studies to quantify its behavior over both short and long time intervals were conducted, and the results calculated. The THGEM sector with 0.1 mm annulus rims was able to achieve primarily 102 gain, whereas …

Characterization And Modeling Of Upward Lightning At The Gaisberg Tower, Naomi Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of cloud-to-ground lightning is downward. Upward lightning rarely occurs; less than 1% of cloud-to-ground lightning is upward. Upward lightning differs from its downward counterpart in how it is initiated. Upward lightning is initiated by an upward moving leader from a tall (> 100 m) object on ground that reaches into the charge regions of an overhead thundercloud resulting in a relatively-long-duration (tens to hundreds of milliseconds), low-level (tens to hundreds of amperes) current called the initial continuous current. It is of significant importance to understand in detail the processes associated with upward lightning as it affects ground-based infrastructure …

Measurement Of The Top Quark Mass Using Leptonic Observables In Tt Events Produced In Pp Collisions At Sqrt S = 13 Tev With The Cms Experiment At The Lhc, Mark Douglas Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

A novel method is presented for the measurement of the top-quark mass using only leptonic observables in tt events produced in pp collisions at SQRT(s)= 13 TeV.Data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1, were collected with the CMS detector during LHC Run II in 2016. The measurement uses the top-quark mass dependence of multiple kinematic distributions comprised from the dilepton eμ final state of tt events. The top-quark mass dependence of each kinematic distribution is calibrated using events generated with a NLO Monte Carlo simulation, and for the first time, with a second simulation that includes the exact …

Weak Turbulence Closures In Incompressible Magnetohydrodynamics, Augustus Antanas Azelis

Theses and Dissertations

In this work we apply the weak turbulence closure to the governing equation of incompressible homogeneous magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). It was originally thought that the method lacked applicability to linearly dispersive waves however MHD presents a unique exception to this notion. A perturbative scheme is used in combination with multiple scale analysis to find a dynamic equation for the wavenumber energy spectrum corresponding to weakly non-linear shear Alfv´enic turbulence. We begin by deriving an equation describing the time evolution of the Fourier transformed Els¨asser fields associated with linear propagation and non-linear interactions between counter-propagating Alfv´en waves. A cumulant hierarchy is then …

Linear Theory Of Alfvén Wave Reflections At A Density Discontinuity, Shane Marcus

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important outstanding problems in solar physics is explaining why the corona is much hotter than the surrounding solar atmosphere, called the Coronal Heating Problem (CHP). There has been much work in trying to understand the origin of this issue, as it contradicts what one may think when it comes to basic thermodynamics. One such theory is Alfv´en wave turbulence. These waves are a form of low frequency electromagnetic waves that have been proposed as a suitable heating mechanism behind the CHP. There is a thin layer that separates the chromosphere and the corona, known as the …

Measurement Of The Cross Section Of Top Quark Pairs In Association With A Photon In Lepton+Jets Events At √S =13 Tev, Titas Roy

Theses and Dissertations

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is the world’s biggest and most powerful accelerator. Colliding protons at the highest centre of mass energy yet, data are being collected by the detectors at an unprecendented rate, making it possible to search for new particles as well as make precise measurements. With the increase in statistics and energy of the data collected, it is now possible to make precise measurements with events that have a relatively low probability of occuring. In this thesis, the production cross section of a top quark pair plus a radiated photon, tt¯+γ, is measured in proton-proton …

Measurement Of B Hadron Lifetimes In Pp Collisions At √S = 8 Tev, A. M. Sirunyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, Daniel Noonan, Tuhin S. Roy, Francisco Yumiceva, The Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Measurements are presented of the lifetimes of the B ⁰, Bs0, Λb0, and Bc+ hadrons using the decay channels B0→J/ψK∗(892)0, B0→J/ψKS0, Bs0→J/ψπ+π-, Bs0→J/ψϕ(1020), Λb0→J/ψΛ0, and Bc+→J/ψπ+. The data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7fb-1, was collected by the CMS detector at the LHC in proton–proton collisions at s=8TeV. The B 0 lifetime is measured to be 453.0±1.6(stat)±1.8(syst)μm in J / ψK ∗(892) 0and 457.8±2.7(stat)±2.8(syst)μm in J/ψKS0, which results in a combined measurement of cτB0=454.1±1.4(stat)±1.7(syst)μm. The effective lifetime of the Bs0 meson is measured in two decay modes, with contributions from different amounts of the heavy and light eigenstates. …

Synthesizing Broadband Propagation-Invariant Space-Time Wave Packets Using Transmissive Phase Plates, H. Esat Kondakci, Murat Yessenov, Monjurul Feeroz Meem, Danielle Reyes, Daniel J. Thui, Shermineh Rostami Fairchild, Martin C. Richardson, Rajesh Menon, Ayman F. Abouraddy

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

Space-time wave packets are a class of pulsed optical beams that are di raction-free and dispersion-free in free space by virtue of introducing a tight correlation between the spatial and temporal degrees of freedom of the field. Such wave packets have been recently synthesized in a novel configuration that makes use of a spatial light modulator to realize the required spatio-temporal correlations. This arrangement combines pulse-modulation and beam-shaping to assign one spatial frequency to each wavelength according to a prescribed correlation function. Relying on a spatial light modulator results in several limitations by virtue of their pixelation, small area, and …

Search For A Heavy Right-Handed W Boson And A Heavy Neutrino In Events With Two Same-Flavor Leptons And Two Jets At S√=13 Tev, The Cms Collaboration, A. M. Sirunyan, A. Tumasyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, Daniel Noonan, Tuhin Roy, Francisco Yumiceva

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A search for a heavy right-handed W boson (WR) decaying to a heavy right-handed neutrino and a charged lepton in events with two same-flavor leptons (e or μ) and two jets, is presented. The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data, collected by the CMS Collaboration at the LHC in 2016 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. No significant excess above the standard model expectation is seen in the invariant mass distribution of the dilepton plus dijet system. Assuming that couplings are identical to those of the standard model, and that only one heavy neutrino flavor NR …

Measurement Of Associated Z + Charm Production In Proton–Proton Collisions At √S=8tev, A. M. Sirunyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, Daniel Noonan, Tuhin Roy, Francisco Yumiceva, The Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A study of the associated production of a Z boson and a charm quark jet (Z + c), and a comparison to production with a b quark jet (Z + b), in p p collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8TeV are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7fb-1, collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The Z boson candidates are identified through their decays into pairs of electrons or muons. Jets originating from heavy flavour quarks are identified using semileptonic decays of c or b flavoured hadrons and hadronic decays …

A Novel Application Of Fiber Bragg Grating (Fbg) Sensors In Mpgd, Duccio Abbaneo, Vallary Bhopatkar, Marcus Hohlmann, Ajit K. Mohapatra, Aiwu Zhang

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We present a novel application of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors in the construction and characterisation of Micro Pattern Gaseous Detector (MPGD), with particular attention to the realisation of the largest triple (Gas electron Multiplier) GEM chambers so far operated, the GE1/1 chambers of the CMS experiment at LHC. The GE1/1 CMS project consists of 144 GEM chambers of about 0.5 m² active area each, employing three GEM foils per chamber, to be installed in the forward region of the CMS endcap during the long shutdown of LHC in 2108-2019. The large active area of each GE1/1 chamber consists of …

Search For Standard Model Production Of Four Top Quarks With Same-Sign And Multilepton Final States In Proton–Proton Collisions At √S=13tev, A. M. Sirunyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, Daniel Noonan, Tuhin S. Roy, F. Yumiceva, The Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

A search for standard model production of four top quarks (t t ¯ t t ¯) is reported using events containing at least three leptons (e , μ) or a same-sign lepton pair. The events are produced in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV at the LHC, and the data sample, recorded in 2016, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb-1. Jet multiplicity and flavor are used to enhance signal sensitivity, and dedicated control regions are used to constrain the dominant backgrounds. The observed and expected signal significances are, respectively, 1.6 and 1.0 standard deviations, and the t …

Erratum 2: Search For Dark Matter And Unparticles In Events With A Z Boson And Missing Transverse Momentum In Proton-Proton Collisions At S√=13 Tev, The Cms Collaboration, A. M. Sirunyan, A. Tumasyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, Daniel Noonan, T. Roy, Francisco Yumiceva

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

In the original paper, figure 10 was incorrect. The correct figgure is shown below. Additionally, the unparticle entries in table 3, as well as figure 4 and 5 were labelled with incorrect values of AU. The entries correctly correspond to AU = 1TeV.

Measurement Of Prompt And Nonprompt Charmonium Suppression In Pbpb Collisions At 5.02 Tev, A. M. Sirunyan, Marc M. Baarmand, Vallary Bhopatkar, Stefano Colafranceschi, Marcus Hohlmann, Daniel Noonan, Tuhin S. Roy, F. Yumiceva, The Cms Collaboration

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

The nuclear modification factors of J / ψ and ψ(2S) mesons are measured in PbPb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of sNN=5.02TeV. The analysis is based on PbPb and p p data samples collected by CMS at the LHC in 2015, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 464μb-1 and 28pb-1, respectively. The measurements are performed in the dimuon rapidity range of | y| < 2.4 as a function of centrality, rapidity, and transverse momentum (pT) from pT= 3 GeV/c in the most forward region and up to 50GeV/c. Both prompt and nonprompt (coming from b hadron decays) J / ψ mesons are observed to be increasingly suppressed with centrality, with a magnitude similar to the one observed at sNN=2.76TeV for the two J / ψ meson components. No dependence on rapidity is observed for either prompt or nonprompt J / ψ mesons. An indication of a lower prompt J / ψ meson suppression at pT> 25 GeV/c is seen with respect to that observed at intermediate pT. The prompt ψ(2S) meson yield is found to be more suppressed than that of the prompt J / ψ mesons in the entire …