Physics Commons^™

Smartlabs Provides Hands-On Physics Experience, Erin Heldstab

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Hopping Versus Bulk Conductivity In Transparent Oxides: 12cao - 7al₂O₃, Julia E. Medvedeva, Arthur J. Freeman

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

First-principles calculations of the mayenite-based oxide, [Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₂]²⁺(2e-), reveal the mechanism responsible for its high conductivity. A detailed comparison of the electronic and optical properties of this material with those of the recently discovered transparent conducting oxide, H-doped UV-activated Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃, allowed us to conclude that the enhanced conductivity in [Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₂]²⁺(2e-) is achieved by elimination of the Coulomb blockade of the charge carriers. This results in a transition from variable range-hopping behavior with a Coulomb gap in H-doped UV-irradiated Ca …

Erratum: Test Of The Pluvinage Wave Function For The Helium Ground State (Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, And Optical Physics (2004) 70 (012712)), Darryl B. Jones, Joseph H. Macek, Don H. Madison

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Test Of The Pluvinage Wave Function For The Helium Ground State, S. Jones, Joseph H. Macek, Don H. Madison

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The accuracy of the Pluvinage wave function for the ground state of helium is investigated by considering a number of different physical processes including double ionization by photoabsorption, Compton scattering, and electron impact. In the high-energy limit of these processes, the accuracy of the initial ground state can be ascertained without reference to the final double-continuum state. In this limit, we find that a Hylleraas description is superior to the Pluvinage one. For intermediate energies, final-state correlation becomes important, so we employ a 3C description of the final state (the 3C wave function is the double-continuum analog of the Pluvinage …

Lorentz-Violating Electromagnetostatics, Quentin G. Bailey

Publications

In this talk, the stationary limit of Lorentz-violating electrodynamics is discussed. As illustrated by some simple examples, the general solution includes unconventional mixing of electrostatic and magnetostatic effects. I discuss a high-sensitivity null-type measurement, exploiting Lorentz-violating electromagnetostatic effects, that could improve existing limits on parity-odd coefficients for Lorentz violation in the photon sector.

Instantons In Quantum Mechanics And Resurgent Expansions, Ulrich D. Jentschura, Jean Zinn-Justin

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Certain quantum mechanical potentials give rise to a vanishing perturbation series for at least one energy level (which as we here assume is the ground state), but the true ground-state energy is positive. We show here that in a typical case, the eigenvalue may be expressed in terms of a generalized perturbative expansion (resurgent expansion). Modified Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization conditions lead to generalized perturbative expansions which may be expressed in terms of nonanalytic factors of the form exp(-a/g), where a>0 is the instanton action, and power series in the coupling g, as well as logarithmic factors. The ground-state energy, for …

Approximately Self-Similar Critical Collapse In 2+1 Dimensions, Marco Cavaglia, Gerard Clement, Alessandro Fabbri

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Critical collapse of a self-gravitating scalar field in a (2+1)-dimensional spacetime with negative cosmological constant seems to be dominated by a continuously self-similar solution of the field equations without cosmological constant. However, previous studies of linear perturbations in this background were inconclusive. We extend the continuously self-similar solutions to solutions of the field equations with negative cosmological constant, and analyze their linear perturbations. The extended solutions are characterized by a continuous parameter. A suitable choice of this parameter seems to improve the agreement with the numerical results. We also study the dynamics of the apparent horizon in the extended background.

Phase Shifts That Accompany Total Internal Reflection At A Dielectric–Dielectric Interface, R. M.A. Azzam

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

The absolute, average, and differential phase shifts that p- and s-polarized light experience in total internal reflection (TIR) at the planar interface between two transparent media are considered as functions of the angle of incidence φ. Special angles at which quarter-wave phase shifts are achieved are determined as functions of the relative refractive index N. When the average phase shift equals π/2, the differential reflection phase shift Δ is maximum, and the reflection Jones matrix assumes a simple form. For N>√3, the average and differential phase shifts are equal (hence δ_p=3δ_s) at …

46th Rocky Mountain Conference On Analytical Chemistry

Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance

Final program, abstracts, and information about the 46th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference on Analytical Chemistry, co-endorsed by the Colorado Section of the American Chemical Society and the Rocky Mountain Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Held in Denver, Colorado, August 1-5, 2004.

Neutron Multiplicity Measurements For The Afci Program Quarterly Progress Report June-August 2004, Denis Beller

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

The U.S. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) is a program to develop economic and environmental methods to reduce the impact of waste from commercial nuclear fuel cycles. One concept for near-complete destruction of waste isotopes from used nuclear fuel is acceleratordriven transmutation. High-power accelerators would be used to produce high-energy charged particles, which then collide with heavy metal targets to create a cascade of neutrons. These neutrons then cause a nuclear chain reaction in subcritical systems. Fission neutrons then transmute fissile waste isotopes as well as other problematic isotopes such as technetium-99 and iodine-129. To design these systems, complex reactor …

Spectroscopic And X-Ray Crystallographic Characterization Of Bestatin Bound To The Aminopeptidase From Aeromonas (Vibrio) Proteolytica, Carin C. Stamper, David L. Bienvenue, Brian Bennett, Dagmar Ringe, Gregory A. Petsko, Richard C. Holz

Physics Faculty Research and Publications

Binding of the competitive, slow-binding inhibitor bestatin ([(2S,3R)-3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoy]-leucine) to the aminopeptidase from Aeromonas proteolytica (AAP) was examined by both spectroscopic and crystallographic methods. Electronic absorption spectra of the catalytically competent [Co_(AAP)], [CoCo(AAP)], and [ZnCo(AAP)] enzymes recorded in the presence of bestatin revealed that both of the divalent metal ions in AAP are involved in binding bestatin. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of the [CoCo(AAP)]−bestatin complex exhibited no observable perpendicular- or parallel-mode signal. These data indicate that the two Co^II ions in AAP are antiferromagnetically coupled yielding an S = 0 ground state and suggest …

Measurement Of Charge Storage Decay Time And Resistivity Of Spacecraft Insulators, Prasanna V. Swaminathan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Insulators used in the construction of spacecraft are irradiated with high-energy electrons in the space environment and this sometimes causes the insulators to charge to very high voltages. Such charged insulators can generate spontaneous electric partial-discharge pulses of the order of mA to tens of A. These pulses sometimes last enough time to destroy the expensive micro-circuitry present in the spacecraft. In evaluating the threat to the spacecraft due to these discharges, calculation of the resistivity becomes a critical parameter since it determines how accumulated charge will distribute across the spacecraft and how rapidly charge imbalance will dissipate. So far, …

Circular Dichroism At Equal Energy Sharing In Photo-Double-Ionization Of He, Andrei Y. Istomin, N. L. Manakov, A. V. Meremianin, Anthony F. Starace

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Interference between dipole and quadrupole transition amplitudes in photo-double-ionization of He by an elliptically polarized vuv photon is shown to induce circular dichroism in the case of equal energy sharing. The magnitude of this retardation-induced dichroic effect is estimated and its impact on the nondipole asymmetries of the triply differential cross section is demonstrated.

Planetary Waves And Tides Found Using Lomb-Scargle Periodogram Analysis Of Rayleigh-Scatter Data Above Utah State University, Karen L. Nelson, Joshua P. Herron, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

Because of the significant gaps in nighttime-only data, traditional Fourier techniques are difficult to use to identify tides and short-period planetary waves (PWs). The Lomb-Scargle per- iodogram is a method that was developed by as- tronomers to identify oscillations in nighttime-only and otherwise incomplete data. For the same rea- sons, it is also a powerful tool for aeronomers. The Lomb-Scargle technique is described with particular emphasis on its application to nighttime- only lidar data. Because of the gaps in the data, attention is also placed on techniques used to identify aliasing in the Lomb-Scargle periodo- grams. The method is applied …

Qvd Sensors As Focal Plane Instruments For X-Ray Timing Applications, Kent S. Wood, Armen Gulian, Paul S. Ray

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

“QVD” detectors are based on thermoelectric heat‐to‐voltage (Q→V) conversion and digital (V→D) readout. For spectroscopic applications, the theoretical performance limits are competitive with superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) detectors and transition edge sensor (TES) devices. We discuss theoretical and demonstrated timing performance of QVD detectors with different design architectures. Detectors with lanthanum‐cerium hexaboride sensors can be very fast, up to 100 MHz/pixel counting rates. They can serve as focal plane detectors for X‐ray timing, in situations where very large apertures are used to gather X‐ray photons at high event rates. Practical implementation of thermoelectric (QVD) detectors requires cryogenic thermoelectric sensors with …

Reactor Physics Studies For The Afci Race Project: Reactor-Accelerator Coupling Experiments Project, Denis Beller

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

In the RACE Project of the U.S. Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), a series of accelerator driven subcritical systems (ADSS) experiments will be conducted at the Idaho State University’s Idaho Accelerator Center (ISU-IAC), at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, and at the Texas A&M University. In these experiments we will use electron accelerators to induce bremsstrahlung photon-neutron reactions in heavy-metal targets; this source of about 10¹² to 10¹³ n/s will then initiate fission reactions in the subcritical systems. These systems will include a compact, transportable assembly at ISU and TRIGA reactors at UT-Austin and Texas A&M. …

Training Of The Exchange-Bias Effect: A Simple Analytic Approach, Christian Binek

Christian Binek Publications

raining of the exchange bias effect in antiferro-/ferromagnetic heterostructures is considered in the theoretical framework of spin configurational relaxation, which is activated through consecutively cycled hysteresis loops. The corresponding exchange bias fields, µ₀ H_EB(n), reveal relaxation from the initial state, n = 1, of high antiferromagnetic interface magnetization to the equilibrium state of reduced magnetization in the limit of large n. The evolution of µ₀H_EB vs n is calculated with the help of a discretized Landau-Khalatnikov equation, where the continuous time parameter is replaced by the loop index n. The result reveals the origin …

Hong-Ou-Mandel Cloning: Quantum Copying Without An Ancilla, Irfan Ali Khan, John C. Howell

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this paper we report an experimental realization of an ancilla-free 1→2 phase-covariant quantum cloner. The cloner is realized by interfering a linearly polarized photon, which we wish to clone with a circularly polarized photon at a beam splitter. The two-photon effect can be understood in light of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. The fidelity of the cloner was measured as 0.829±0.008 for the 0∕90 basis and 0.835±0.006 for the 45∕135 basis, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of 5∕6 fidelity. The experimental scheme is straightforward and has a high cloning success rate.

Search For BS0 Μ+Μ- And BD0 Μ+Μ- Decays In Pp̅ Collisions At √S =1.96 Tev, Darin Acosta, Kenneth A. Bloom, Collider Detector At Fermilab Collaboration

Kenneth Bloom Publications

We report on a search for B_s⁰→ µ⁺µ^- and B_d⁰→ µ⁺µ^- decays in p collisions at =1.96 TeV using 171 pb–1 of data collected by the CDF II experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The decay rates of these rare processes are sensitive to contributions from physics beyond the standard model. One event survives all our selection requirements, consistent with the background expectation. We derive branching ratio limits of Ɓ (B_s⁰→µ⁺µ^-)B_d⁰→µ+µ–)<1.5×10^-7 at 90% confidence level.

Mean-Field Theory Of Collective Transport With Phase Slips, Karl Saunders, J. M. Schwarz, M. Christina Marchetti, A. Alan Middleton

Physics

The driven transport of plastic systems in various disordered backgrounds is studied within mean field theory. Plasticity is modeled using nonconvex interparticle potentials that allow for phase slips. This theory most naturally describes sliding charge density waves; other applications include flow of colloidal particles or driven magnetic flux vortices in disordered backgrounds. The phase diagrams exhibit generic phases and phase boundaries, though the shapes of the phase boundaries depend on the shape of the disorder potential. The phases are distinguished by their velocity and coherence: the moving phase generically has finite coherence, while pinned states can be coherent or incoherent. …

On The Variability Of The Fine Structure Constant, Jason Lott Evans

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the issue of the time variability of the fine structure constant, alpha. Recent claims of a varying alpha are set against the established standards of quantum electrodynamical theory and experiments. A study of the feasibility of extracting data on the time dependence of alpha using particles in Penning traps is compared to the results obtained by existing methods, including those using astrophysical data and those obtained in atomic clock experiments. Suggestions are made on the nature of trapped particles and the trapping fields.

Search For Pair Production Of Light Scalar Top Quarks In Pp̅ Collisions At √S = 1.8 Tev, V. M. Abazov, Gregory R. Snow, D0 Collaboration

Gregory Snow Publications

Using 85.2 ± 3.6 pb¹ of pp̅ collisions collected at √s = 1.8 TeV with the D0 detector at Fermilab’s Tevatron Collider, we present the results of a search for direct pair production of scalar top quarks (t̃), the supersymmetric partners of the top quark. We examined events containing two or more jets and missing transverse energy, the signature of light scalar top quark decays to charm quarks and neutralinos. After selections, we observe 27 events while expecting 31.1 ± 6.4 events from known standard model processes. Comparing these results to next-to-leading-order production cross sections, we …

Comparisons Of Long-Term Trends And Variability In The Middle Atmosphere, Troy Wynn, Joshua P. Herron, Vincent B. Wickwar

Posters

Rayleigh Lidar is routinely used to measure temperatures in the middle atmosphere from 45 to 90 km. It is well adapted for nightly observation, provides excellent vertical temperature resolution, and does not need external calibration. The USU Rayleigh Lidar (41.74°N 111.81°W) dataset spans more than ten years from September 1993 to July 2003 with 62 monthly profiles (about 5 years of data) spread over that period.

With many sources of variation in the atmosphere, all temperature effects cannot be detected. The largest source, and the easiest to measure, is the seasonal variation. In addition there are semiannual variation, secular trends, …

Mutually Unbiased Bases And Trinary Operator Sets For N Qutrits, Jay Lawrence

Dartmouth Scholarship

A complete orthonormal basis of N-qutrit unitary operators drawn from the Pauli Group consists of the identity and 9^N-1 traceless operators. The traceless ones partition into 3^N+1 maximally commuting subsets (MCS's) of 3^N-1 operators each, whose joint eigenbases are mutually unbiased. We prove that Pauli factor groups of order 3^N are isomorphic to all MCS's, and show how this result applies in specific cases. For two qutrits, the 80 traceless operators partition into 10 MCS's. We prove that 4 of the corresponding basis sets must be separable, while 6 must be totally entangled (and Bell-like). For three qutrits, 728 operators …

Thunderstorm And Lightning Characteristics Associated With Sprites In Brazil, O. Pinto Jr., M. M.F. Saba, I. R.C.A. Pinto, F. S.S. Tavares, K. P. Naccarato, N. N. Solorzano, Michael J. Taylor, P. D. Pautet, R. H. Holzworth

All Physics Faculty Publications

A study of the thunderstorm and cloud-ground lightning characteristics associated with sprite events observed in Brazil is presented. The study is based on ground and aircraft sprite observations with high sensitivity intensified CCD cameras of six different thunderstorms, GOES satellite infrared images, radar and lightning network data. A total of eighteen transient optical events were recorded at three different days in 2002 and 2003, sixteen of which exhibited vertical structures typically associated with sprites. Four thunderstorms were associated with two different cold fronts, one with a Mesoscale Convective System, and one was a local isolated thunderstorm. The sprites occurred during …

Optical Variability Of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies, Elizabeth S. Klimek, C. Martin Gaskell, Cecilia H. Hedrick

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

We present results of a broadband photometric study of the optical variability of six narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies observed at 172 epochs. We searched for microvariability on 33 nights. Strong evidence for microvariability was found only for our lowest luminosity object, NGC 4051, on one night. Weaker evidence suggests such variability on a few other nights for two other objects, but the data are not as convincing. Intranight variability in NLS1’s is thus concluded to be rare and of low amplitude. We give illustrations of how variable image quality can produce spurious variability. We find that for well-studied non-NLS1’s …

Focused Ion Beam Milled Copt Magnetic Force Microscopy Tips For High Resolution Domain Images, L. Gao, Lanping Yue, T. Yokota, Ralph Skomski, Sy-Hwang Liou, H. Takahoshi, Hitoshi Saito, S. Ishio

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications

Abstract—High-coercivity CoPt magnetic force microscope tips have been modified by focused ion beam milling to improve the resolution of magnetic domain images. The magnetic materials around the apex have been removed, leaving a 30-nm diameter magnetic particle at the tip end. Due to the smaller amount of magnetic material, the stray field from this new tip is significantly reduced, and the spatial resolution of the magnetic domain images is improved. The tip is used to obtain high-resolution domain images of a CoCrPt-SiO2/Ru perpendicular recording medium with linear recording densities from 800 to 1000 kfci. Magnetic patterns of 900 kfci, corresponding …

Micromagnetic Domain Structures In Cylindrical Nickel Dots, George D. Skidmore, Andrew Kunz, C. E. Campbell, E. Dan Dahlberg

Physics Faculty Research and Publications

The magnetic domain structures of cylindrical nickel dots (diameters from 40 nm to 1700 nm) with anisotropy parallel to the cylinder axis is predicted by the ratio of the dot diameter to the stripe period of unpatterned films with the same perpendicular anisotropy. The dominant domain structure for a given ratio increases in complexity as the ratio increases. We present evidence for the full micromagnetic domain structure for the simplest cases.

Excitation Energies From Time-Dependent Density-Functional Theory Beyond The Adiabatic Approximation, Carsten A. Ullrich, Kieron Burke

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The nonadiabatic effects for excitation energies from time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) were analyzed. a general analytic expression for nonadiabatic corrections to excitation energies of finite systems was derived and singlet s→s and s→p excitations of closed-shell atoms were calculated. It is observed that as the Vignale, Ullrich and Conti (VUC) functional is based on frequency-dependent xc kernel of homogeneous electron gas so it produces excitation energies with small but finite imaginary parts. the results show that the VUC approach determines excitation energies for atomic and molecular systems as well as for plasmon-like excitations in solids.

Charge Transfer In Slow Collisions Of O⁸⁺ And Ar⁸⁺ Ions With H(1s) Below 2 Kev/Amu, Teck-Ghee Lee, M. Hesse, Anh-Thu Le, C. D. Lin

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We calculated the charge-transfer cross sections for O⁸⁺ + H collisions for energies from 1eV/amu to 2keV/amu, using the recently developed hyperspherical close-coupling method. In particular, the discrepancy for electron capture to the n = 6 states of O⁷⁺ from the previous theoretical calculations is further analyzed. Our results indicate that at low energies (below 100eV∕amu) electron capture to the n=6 manifold of O7+ becomes dominant. The present results are used to resolve the long-standing discrepancies from the different elaborate semiclassical calculations near 100eV/amu. We have also performed the semiclassical atomic orbital close-coupling calculations with straight-line trajectories. We found the …