Physics Commons^™

Utilizing Computer Modeling To Optimize Electric Fields Within Xenon Time Projection Chambers, Miles Meloni

Honors Theses

XENONnT is a physics experiment designed with the goal of detecting dark matter particles. The detector is a time projection chamber; a series of charged electrodes creates an electric field, surrounding a central body filled with liquid and gaseous xenon. Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), positioned on either end of the chamber, serve to detect light signals. We seek to minimize the root mean square of the electric field norms experienced by the PMTs. This quantity corresponds to the variance in the electric field observed by the PMTs. Establishing a consistent electric field is important to maintaining these sensitive components. The electric …

Ai-Enabled Digital Twins And Optimization Workflows For Accelerator Control, M. Yadav, A. Seryi, B. Terzic, J. Bird, J. Delayen, K. Makino, K. Ahmed, L. Van Riesen-Haupt, Q. Su, S. De Silva, S. Hossain, T. Griffin, T. Satogata

Physics Faculty Publications

We propose to develop advanced ML models, such as physics informed neural network (PINN) based surrogate models, to accurately represent accelerator phase space transport. These surrogate models will enable precise diagnosis and prediction of beam phase space evolution along the beamline, facilitating real-time control and optimization. The developed models will be tested using the Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab), providing a pathway toward ML-driven enhanced diagnostics and beamline control in operational accelerator environments. The primary aim will be to facilitate this by developing machine learning models that outperform traditional simulations in speed and …

Design Of Silicon Grating Metasurfaces For Beam Deflecting In Solid-State Light Detecting And Ranging (Lidar), Matthew Baker

Honors Program Theses and Projects

My thesis begins with an overview of LiDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) and theory for electromagnetic wave propagation. We establish problems that arise from the use of external beam steering components in LiDAR systems. As a possible solution, we introduce the concept of a metasurface with sub-wavelength dimensions. Grating metasurfaces utilize periodicity to change the phase gradient along a surface. Using a row of posts on a substrate, we can confine light towards one side of a structure, deflecting at angles towards a maximum angle determined by the structure’s geometry. These metasurfaces are small enough to be directly incorporated onto …

Divergence-Free Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics In A Stream Digital Twin, Austin Hartley

All Theses

Digital Twins (DT) are being explored by the South Carolina (SC) water community to simulate how SC streams will flow at various water levels. Currently, a DT called Gilligan simulates these streams utilizing weakly-incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). This method does not strictly enforce incompressibility, which leads to unrealistic water flows and unwanted visual artifacts that require post-processing effects to hide. To address these problems and simulate more realistic water flows, the Gilligan stream logic is updated and a state-of-the-art SPH method that enforces incompressibility—Divergence-Free SPH (DFSPH)—is implemented within the Gilligan framework. DFSPH is able to make use of two …

Collision-Induced Absorption Spectra Of N₂ And Ch₄, Ryan M. Johnson, Peter F. Bernath, Brant Billinghurst, Jianbao Zhao

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Collision-induced spectra are essential for radiative transfer modeling of Titan's atmosphere. We present experimental spectra of nitrogen–methane mixtures with an accompanying fit of N₂-CH₄ collision-induced absorption in the 30–400 cm⁻¹ region at about 130 K. We found a peak absorption of 2.30 × 10⁻⁵ cm⁻¹ amagat⁻² at 75 cm⁻¹ and a secondary peak of 1.35 × 10⁻⁵ c⁻¹ amagat⁻² at 206.5 cm⁻¹, which agrees with previous studies. Our work does not support the suggestion that N₂-CH₄ CIA in the far-infrared should be increased by about 50%, as suggested by spectroscopic modeling of Titan using data from A. Borysow & C. …

Linking Empirical Data And Numerical Simulation To Characterize Dynamic Fire Behavior Associated With Interacting Firelines, Marta Sergeevna Jerebets

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding fuel pattern-fire process relationships is key for predicting fire behavior and effects with follow-on benefits to proactive fire management and model validation. To characterize dynamic fire behavior, this thesis leverages empirical data and numerical simulation through two complementary studies.

In the first study, longwave thermal sensors aboard unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were used to capture fine-scale fire behavior in two experimental grass burns. A novel paired design was used to quantify the effects of fuel arrangement on fire behavior with 3.66 m diameter treatments cut to a height of 0.15 m. The treatments ephemerally reduced fire rate of spread …

A Self Consistent 2d Simulation Of Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Effects On Beam Dynamics, Dallan Duffin

Physics Theses & Dissertations

An increasing interest in high quality and high current electron beams necessitates a thorough understanding and prediction of coherent synchrotron radiation effects. The self-interaction of charged particles in a beam undergoing synchrotron motion is a physically significant process that is all too often computationally intensive with very little analytical results to rely on for the general case. The coherent spectrum of this interaction is of utmost importance to the design of free electron lasers (FELs) and an accurate assessment is imperative for their design. This work presents a novel implementation to the numerical simulation of charged particle beams. The simulation …

Using Cache Files To Improve The Efficiency Of The Ucgretina Simulation Code, Blake Mcnulty

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

UCGretina is a program that is used to simulate the Gretina gamma-ray tracking array used in experiments at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) to collect gamma rays produced in reactions such as proton scattering. This is done by generating a simulation of the beam particles used and sending them into a simulated recreation that mimics the experimental environment. My job this summer was to tackle a major issue that the program had which is the speed or efficiency at which it ran. The main issue was that it would take days for certain simulation sets to run which …

Simulation Of Polymerization On Surfaces: Implications For Abiogenesis, Sylvia Greene

Macalester Journal of Physics and Astronomy

How did life arise from the prebiotic conditions of the early earth? This problem has vexed scientists for decades with no consensus on its solution. Significant spontaneous formation of biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids in the aqueous phase appears to be improbable due to thermodynamic constraints. It has been proposed that mineral surfaces could have served as a catalyst for the initial formation of biopolymers. However, the feasibility of this mechanism has not been thoroughly studied. In this study, a particle simulation of polypeptide formation on surfaces is developed to assess the feasibility of this mechanism. Elementary processes …

The Analysis Of Mechanical Exfoliation Of Graphene For Various Fabrication And Automation Techniques, Lance Yarbrough

Physics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mechanical Exfoliation

Proof-Of-Concept For Converging Beam Small Animal Irradiator, Benjamin Insley

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The Monte Carlo particle simulator TOPAS, the multiphysics solver COMSOL., and

several analytical radiation transport methods were employed to perform an in-depth proof-ofconcept

for a high dose rate, high precision converging beam small animal irradiation platform.

In the first aim of this work, a novel carbon nanotube-based compact X-ray tube optimized for

high output and high directionality was designed and characterized. In the second aim, an

optimization algorithm was developed to customize a collimator geometry for this unique Xray

source to simultaneously maximize the irradiator’s intensity and precision. Then, a full

converging beam irradiator apparatus was fit with a multitude …

The Analysis Of Mechanical Exfoliation Of Graphene For Various Fabrication And Automation Techniques, Lance Yarbrough

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mechanical Exfoliation of Graphene is an often-overlooked portion of the fabrication of quantum devices, and to create more devices quickly, optimizing this process to generate better flakes is critical. In addition, it would be valuable to simulate test pulls quickly, to gain insight on flake quality of various materials and exfoliation conditions. Physical pulls of graphene at various temperatures, pull forces, and pull repetitions were analyzed and compared to the results of ANSYS simulations, solved for similar results. Using ANSYS’ ability to predict trends in exfoliations, flake thickness and coverage using stress and deflection analyses were investigated. Generally, both strongly …

Deterministic Global 3d Fractal Cloud Model For Synthetic Scene Generation, Aaron M. Schinder, Shannon R. Young, Bryan J. Steward, Michael L. Dexter, Andrew Kondrath, Stephen Hinton, Ricardo Davila

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the creation of a fast, deterministic, 3D fractal cloud renderer for the AFIT Sensor and Scene Emulation Tool (ASSET). The renderer generates 3D clouds by ray marching through a volume and sampling the level-set of a fractal function. The fractal function is distorted by a displacement map, which is generated using horizontal wind data from a Global Forecast System (GFS) weather file. The vertical windspeed and relative humidity are used to mask the creation of clouds to match realistic large-scale weather patterns over the Earth. Small-scale detail is provided by the fractal functions which are tuned to …

Simulating Ice Particle Properties Under Varying Electric Fields, Joseph Thomas Cooney

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In this study, the interactions between atmospheric water molecules and an electrically charged dust particle were simulated in python to determine the role of electric charge and electric fields in atmospheric ice formation. Multiple levels of electric charge were tested, corresponding to different strengths of atmospheric electric fields. The TIP4P-2005 model for water was used to simulate these molecules under the influence of a central electric potential to represent the charged dust particle. These included a control group with no electric field (0 C), a group under a fair-weather strength of electric field (1.6*10-14 C), a foul-weather electric field (1.6*10-12 …

Attochemistry Regulation Of Charge Migration, Aderonke Folorunso

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Charge migration (CM) is a coherent attosecond process that involves the movement of localized holes across a molecule. This phenomenon is potentially useful to understand the fundamental principles of photochemistry, such as light harvesting. The first part of this dissertation discusses the molecular modes of attosecond charge migration. In this work, we used first-principles calculations to investigate the modes of charge migration (CM) in halogenated hydrocarbon chains at attosecond timescales. We have simulated the creation of a localized hole on the halogen atom using constrained density functional theory (DFT) and then tracked its subsequent dynamics with time-dependent DFT (TDDFT). Our …

Weak-Strong Beam-Beam Simulation With Crab Cavity Noises For The Hadron Storage Ring Of The Electron-Ion Collider, Y. Luo, B. Gamage, C. Montag, D. Marx, D. Xu, F. Willeke, H. Huang, H. Lovelace Iii, J. Berg, M. Blaskiewicz, S. Peggs, T. Satogata, V. Ptitsyn, V. Morozov, Y. Hao

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

The Electron Ion Collider (EIC), to be constructed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, will collide polarized high-energy electron beams with hadron beams, achieving luminosities of up to 1 X 10³⁴cm⁻²s⁻¹ in the center-mass energy range of 20-140 GeV. Crab cavities are employed to compensate for the geometric luminosity loss caused by a large crossing angle of 25 mrad in the interaction region. The phase noise in crab cavities will induce a significant emittance growth for the hadron beams in the Hadron Storage Ring (HSR). Various models have been utilized to study the effects of crab cavity …

Beam Correction For Multi-Pass Arcs In Ffa@ Cebaf: Status Update, A. Coxe, J. F. Benesch, R.M. Bodenstein, K. E. Deitrick, K. Price, T. Satogata

Physics Faculty Publications

As design and simulation studies for the energy upgrade at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility progress, both static and dynamic errors must be addressed. The current upgrade design introduces a pair of Fixed-Field Alternating-Gradient (FFA) recirculating arcs: one in the East recirculating arc, and one in the West. In the present design, each FFA arc supports six concurrent beam energies in the same beam pipe; these must be concurrently corrected for both static and dynamic errors. This document discusses the present beam correction strategies applied in simulation.

The Time-Dependent Ionospheric Model Using A Tec-Driven Servo: An Investigation Of The Capabilities And Limitations, Jenny Rebecca Whiteley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere with a high density of electrons. These electrons affect the behavior of any electromagnetic wave that passes through the ionosphere. Communication and geolocation systems, such as traditional radio and Global Positioning Systems, depend on emitted electromagnetic signals being picked up by a receiver. The presence of the ionosphere affects the behavior of the signal and the quality of the service. Hence, the interactions between electromagnetic waves and the ionosphere provide a major motivation to understand, research, and successfully model and predict the ionosphere and its physical phenomena. This study focused on determining …

Numerical Design And Optimization Of Near-Infrared Band- Pass Filter, Hafiza Syeeda Faiza, Ghazi Aman Nowsherwan, Basem A. Abu Izneid, Muhammad Azhar, Saira Riaz, Syed Sajjad Hussain, Saira Ikram, Mohsin Khan, Shahzad Naseem, Mohammad Kanan, Ibrahim M. Mansour

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

Band-pass filters functioning in the near-infrared (IR) range are desired for laser technology, multi-photon fluorescence, and IR imaging applications. In this study, we have designed four band-pass filters in the near Infrared spectrum (900-1200 nm) by vertically stacking different high and low-index materials. The band-pass filters are modelled by Essential Macleod software with different thicknesses. The layer’s thicknesses were optimized in such a way to provide the negligible reflectance and maximum transmission on the front side. All the simulated band-pass filters exhibit high transmittance, but TiO2/Al2O3 and Ta2O5/Al2O3 outperforms other modelled structure in terms of performance due to the better …

Diffusion-Driven Aggregation Of Particles In Quasi-2d Membranes, Oscar Gullickson Rausis

Physics

Many biological membranes can be modeled as two-dimensional (2D) viscous fluid sheets surrounded by three-dimensional (3D) fluids of different viscosity. Such membranes are dubbed quasi-2D as they exhibit properties of both 2D and 3D fluids. The Saffman length is a parameter that describes the energy exchange between the membrane and bulk fluids and controls the cross-over from 2D to 3D hydrodynamics. We aim to model diffusion-driven aggregation of particles embedded in a quasi-2D membrane. It is known that hydrodynamic interactions between solute particles significantly reduce their aggregation rate in 3D fluids. It is expected that in quasi-2D membranes the reduction …

Hydrodynamic And Physicochemical Interactions Between An Active Janus Particle And An Inactive Particle, Jessica S. Rosenberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Active matter is an area of soft matter science in which units consume energy and turn it into autonomous motion. Groups of these units – whether flocks of birds, bacterial colonies, or even collections of synthetically-made active particles – may exhibit complex behavior on large scales. While the large-scale picture is of great importance, so is the microscopic scale. Studying the individual particles that make up active matter will allow us to understand how they move, and whether and under what circumstances their activity can be controlled.

Here we delve into the world of active matter by studying colloidal-sized (100 …

A Monte-Carlo Simulation Of Gamma Rays In A Sodium Iodide Detector, Ben Kessler

Physics

Gamma rays principally interact with matter through Compton scattering, photoelectric effect, pair production, and triplet production. The focus of this simulation is to study the theoretical energy spectrum created by gamma rays from a Cesium-137 source, which produces gamma photons with an energy of 0.662 MeV. At this energy level, most interactions are results of Compton scatters and the photoelectric effect. Therefore, this simulation only models those two effects on gamma rays. Using Monte Carlo methods and the Metropolis algorithm to sample the probability distributions of the two effects allowed for the simulation of gamma rays in a Sodium Iodide …

Self-Consistent Effects Of The Recirculating Plasmapshere On The Development Of Storm Time Dynamics In The Inner Magnetosphere., Christian-Andrew Bagby-Wright

Physics Dissertations - Archive

The near Earth space environment is a highly coupled system. The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) interacts with the magnetosphere in myriad ways depend on the orientation of the IMF to the magnetosphere. The magnetic fields of the magnetosphere and the IMF trap plasma and carry the plasma with it as both magnetic fields evolve over time. This plasma can in turn interact with other plasmas, carried by other field lines, affecting the dynamics of the other population and the magnetic field lines of both populations. The nature, frequency, and importance of interactions between different plasma, or magnetic fields, varies greatly …

Modeling, Simulation And Control Of Microrobots For The Microfactory., Zhong Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Future assembly technologies will involve higher levels of automation in order to satisfy increased microscale or nanoscale precision requirements. Traditionally, assembly using a top-down robotic approach has been well-studied and applied to the microelectronics and MEMS industries, but less so in nanotechnology. With the boom of nanotechnology since the 1990s, newly designed products with new materials, coatings, and nanoparticles are gradually entering everyone’s lives, while the industry has grown into a billion-dollar volume worldwide. Traditionally, nanotechnology products are assembled using bottom-up methods, such as self-assembly, rather than top-down robotic assembly. This is due to considerations of volume handling of large …

Quantum Computing And Its Applications In Healthcare, Vu Giang

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper serves as a review of the state of quantum computing and its application in healthcare. The various avenues for how quantum computing can be applied to healthcare is discussed here along with the conversation about the limitations of the technology. With more and more efforts put into the development of these computers, its future is promising with the endeavors of furthering healthcare and various other industries.

Numerical Calculations Of Superheating Field In Superconductors With Nanostructured Surfaces, M.R.P. Walive Pathiranage, A. Gurevich

Physics Faculty Publications

We re­port cal­cu­la­tions of a dc su­per­heat­ing field Hs in su­per­con­duc­tors with nanos­truc­tured sur­faces. Par­tic­u­larly, we per­formed nu­mer­i­cal sim­u­la­tions of the Ginzburg-Lan­dau (GL) equa­tions for a su­per­con­duc­tor with an in­ho­mo­ge­neous pro­file of im­pu­rity con­cen­tra­tion, a thin su­per­con­duct­ing layer on top of an­other su­per­con­duc­tor, and S-I-S mul­ti­lay­ers. The su­per­heat­ing field was cal­cu­lated tak­ing into ac­count the in­sta­bil­ity of the Meiss­ner state at a fi­nite wave­length along the sur­face de­pend­ing on the value of the GL pa­ra­me­ter. Sim­u­la­tions were done for the ma­te­ri­als pa­ra­me­ters of Nb and Nb₃Sn at dif­fer­ent val­ues of the GL pa­ra­me­ter and the mean free paths. We show …

Analytic And Numerical Calculation Of Collider Luminosity With Crab Dynamics, H. Huang, T. Satogata, Y. Zhang, Y. Roblin, F. Lin, S. Zhao

Physics Faculty Publications

For an integral part of electron-ion collider (EIC) design, the crab crossing scheme provides a head-on collision for beams with a nonzero crossing angle. Recently we provided a framework for accurate numerical simulations of beam-beam effects with crabbing crossing dynamics. The framework was implemented in a simulation code package named “CASA BeamBeam”. We offer com-prehensive formulas for calculation of collider luminosity for various cases in the code package. The luminosity calculation module of CASA Beam-Beam now includes the hourglass effect, the beam-tilt effects and the beam offset effect. The benchmarking results show good agreement between the numerical calculation and analytic …

Numerical Simulations Of Radiation Reaction Using Lorentz-Abraham-Dirac Formalism, E. Rogers, B. Terzic, E. Breen, E. Johnson, G. Krafft

Physics Faculty Publications

An accelerating charged particle emits electromagnetic radiation. The motion of the particle is further damped via self-interaction with its own radiation. For relativistic particles, the subsequent motion is described via a correction to the Lorentz force, known as the Lorentz-Abraham-Dirac force. The aim of this research is to use the Lorentz-Abraham-Dirac force to computationally simulate the radiation damping that occurs during nonlinear inverse Compton scattering. We build on our previous work and the code which simulates single-emission inverse Compton scattering to incorporate the effect of multiple emissions, thereby modeling the radiation reaction.

Long-Range Aceo Phenomena In Microfluidic Channel, Diganta Dutta, Keifer Smith, Xavier Palmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Microfluidic devices are increasingly utilized in numerous industries, including that of medicine, for their abilities to pump and mix fluid at a microscale. Within these devices, microchannels paired with microelectrodes enable the mixing and transportation of ionized fluid. The ionization process charges the microchannel and manipulates the fluid with an electric field. Although complex in operation at the microscale, microchannels within microfluidic devices are easy to produce and economical. This paper uses simulations to convey helpful insights into the analysis of electrokinetic microfluidic device phenomena. The simulations in this paper use the Navier–Stokes and Poisson Nernst–Planck equations solved using COMSOL …

Quantum Efficiency Enhancement In Simulated Nanostructured Negative Electron Affinity Gaas Photocathodes, Md Aziz Ar Rahman, Shukui Zhang, Hani E. Elsayed-Ali

Physics Faculty Publications

Nanostructured negative electron affinity GaAs photocathodes for a polarized electron source are studied using finite difference time domain optical simulation. The structures studied are nanosquare columns, truncated nanocones, and truncated nanopyramids. Mie-type resonances in the 700–800 nm waveband, suitable for generation of polarized electrons, are identified. At resonance wavelengths, the nanostructures can absorb up to 99% of the incident light. For nanosquare columns and truncated nanocones, the maximum quantum efficiency (QE) at 780 nm obtained from simulation is 27%, whereas for simulated nanopyramids, the QE is ∼21%. The high photocathode quantum efficiency is due to the shift of Mie resonance …