Physics Commons^™

College Of Natural Sciences 2025 Year-End Publication, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 2 Dean's Message 
Page 3 Department Highlights 
Page 4 One Day for State 
Page 5 Ice cores reveal volcanic eruptions in 13th century 
Page 5 How do our cells interpret stress 
Page 6-7 Faculty Excellence
Page 8 New chemical biology consortium will accelerate cancer research
Page 9 SDSU to combat crop disease, biofilms in new NSF-back project 
Page 9 Science as Art Competition 
Page 10-11 Student Excellence  
Page 12 SDSU researcher developing natural alternative to synthetic dyes
Page 12 Browning Retired
Page 13 Quantum technologies through NSF-backed project
Page 13 NASA Funds CNS Development of Model
Page 14 GGS …

Complex Spin Structure In Co-Trimer-Chain Li2Co3Se4O12, Jie Xing, Feng Ye, Daniel Duong, Sai Mu, Max T. Pan, Rongying Jin

Faculty Publications

Complex magnetic materials are extremely attractive for revealing unconventional spin states and novel magnetic excitations. Here, we report the structural, thermodynamic, and magnetic properties of a novel magnetic material Li₂Co₃Se₄O₁₂based on x-ray and neutron diffraction, specific heat, magnetization, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. X-ray and neutron diffraction refinements reveal two Co sites Co (1) and Co (2) even though both are in the octahedral environment. While they are not connected along the b and c directions, these octahedra are edge-shared forming the Co (2) – Co (1) – Co (2) trimer chain …

Dynamic Magnetic Null Behavior In Planar Ion Diodes: Particle-In-Cell Analysis Of Field Oscillations And Ion Beam Dynamics, Jesse C. Foster, Stephen B. Swanekamp, Paul F. Ottinger

Faculty Publications

Particle-in-cell simulations of a 1.75 MV, 375 kA, and 50 ns planar pinched-beam diode reveal that the strongest gigahertz-frequency oscillations in electric field and ion current arise from the dynamic motion of the magnetic null near the anode tip. These oscillations, which appear when the ion transit time becomes comparable to the local field-variation timescale, periodically expand the effective anode–cathode gap and generate bursts of over-accelerated ions. The resulting ion energy spectrum broadens substantially near the null while maintaining excellent beam uniformity along the anode. The simulations, therefore, demonstrate a direct physical linkage between ion transit time instability and magnetic …

Interactions Between Air Pollution And Weather/Climate From Urban To Global Scales, Meng Gao, Xin Huang, Yucong Miao, Mengmeng Li, Claudio Mazzoleni

Michigan Tech Publications

Air pollution and meteorology are intricately linked. Weather modulates the formation, transport, and removal of pollutants, while aerosols and trace gases modify radiation balance, cloud microphysics, boundary-layer structure, and other factors. These two-way interactions span scales from urban to global and have important consequences. The papers collected in this special issue of Meteorological Applications examine how interactions between weather and pollution at various scales affect visibility, pollutant transport, crop yields, and other outcomes, collectively highlighting the crucial role of the interplay between air pollution and meteorology.

Transfer Learning Neural Networks For Nuclear Forensic Image Morphology Using Image Splitting Techniques, Niko A. Petrocelli, Lee C. Lambert, Brett J. Borghetti, Abigail A. Bickley

Faculty Publications

Manual morphological analysis of actinide particles from scanning electron microscope (SEM) imagery is a critical component of nuclear forensics but is prone to significant inter-analyst variability. To address this challenge, this work develops and evaluates an automated classification method using deep learning. We introduce a methodology based on partitioning 1906 SEM images, representing 13 classes of uranium compounds, into smaller patches for analysis. Three convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures of increasing complexity were compared: a custom baseline CNN, a simple transfer learning model using ResNet50v1, and a complex model featuring hierarchical feature extraction and a spatial attention mechanism built upon …

Experiments Towards A Neutron Target For Measurements In Inverse Kinematics, S. F. Dellmann, Caroline M. Harrington, O. R. Cantrell, A. L. Cooper, A. Couture, D, V, Gorelov, I Knapová, S. M. Mosby, R. Reifarth, A. Alvarez, A. Aprahamian, J. Butz, I. J. Bos, Michael T. Febbraro, T. Hankins, B. M. Harvey, T. Heftrich, M. Le, Juan J. Manfredi, A. B. Mcintosh, K. V. Manukyan, M. Matney, S. Regener, D. Robertson, A. Simon, D. Sokolovic, E. Stech, G. Tabacaru, W. Tan, M. Wiescher, S. Yennello

Faculty Publications

Neutron-induced reactions play an important role in fundamental nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, and applications. In the case of reactions on rare isotopes, there are limited options for direct experimental measurements. The Neutron Target Demonstrator project at Los Alamos National Laboratory seeks to test the feasibility of moderating spallation neutrons within a 1 m³graphite cube to create a standing neutron target for neutron-induced reaction measurements in inverse kinematics. This paper presents the results of experimental neutron flux distribution tests using neutron sources (ranging from 1 keV to 50 MeV) created by accelerators at the University of Notre Dame and …

Egain Tube Memristors Offering Reliable Switching On A Biological Time Scale, Yuriy V. Pershin, Liya Patel, Bapi Bera, Doug Aaron, Stephen A. Sarles

Faculty Publications

Memristive devices have been considered promising candidates for nature-inspired computing and in-memory information processing. However, experimental devices developed to date typically show significant variability and function at different time scales than biological neurons and synapses. This study presents a memristive device comprised of liquid-metal eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) contained within a mm-scale tube that operates via a bulk, voltage-dependent switching mechanism and exhibits distinct unipolar resistive switching characteristics that occur on a biological time scale (tens of milliseconds). The switching mechanism involves voltage-controlled growth and dissolution of an oxide layer on the surface of the liquid metal in contact with …

The Detection Of Marine Microseismic Activity With The Cuore Tonne-Scale Cryogenic Experiment, D. Q. Adams, C. Aldunio, K. Alfonso, A. Armatol, Frank Avignone Iii, O. Azzolini, G. Bari, F. Bellini, G. Benato, M. Beretta, C. Bucci, J. Camilleri, A. Caminata, A. Campani, J. Cao, C. Capelli, S. Capelli, L. Capelli, J. Capelli, A. Caminata, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Vibrations from experimental setups and the environment are a persistent source of noise for low-temperature calorimeters searching for rare events, including neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay or dark matter interactions. Such noise can significantly limit experimental sensitivity to the physics case under investigation. Here, we report the detection of marine microseismic vibrations using mK-scale calorimeters. This study employs a multi-device analysis correlating data from CUORE, the leading experiment in the search for 0νββ decay with mK-scale calorimeters, and the Copernicus Earth Observation program, revealing the seasonal impact of Mediterranean Sea activity on CUORE’s …

We Can Track Waves In The Atmosphere From The Bear Lake Observatory And The International Space Station, Connor Waite

Research on Capitol Hill

Both space weather and tropospheric weather can create waves in Earth’s atmosphere called traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) that can: 

• Disrupt GPS navigation by several meters 
• Cause radio blackouts affecting aviation and emergency services 
• Interfere with satellite communications 
• Impact the growing space industry 

A New Tool Predicts The Risk Of Surface Damage And Subsequent Spacecraft Charging, Trace Taylor, Ashley Bahora

Research on Capitol Hill

We measured secondary electron yield (SEY), a key factor in spacecraft charging, across multiple materials under different surface conditions. SEY is a measure of how many electrons a surface releases when hit by radiation.

Non-Stokes Deposition Velocities Observed Under Rayleigh–Bénard Turbulence, Kristin Swartz-Schult, Andrew Grace, Andrew Bragg, Jesse C. Anderson, Will Cantrell, Robert Grosz, Hamed F. Sadi, Raymond Shaw, Swafuva Varappillikudy Sulaiman, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

The settling and deposition behavior of small particles significantly impacts many environmental and industrial processes. Although particle settling dynamics within turbulent environments have been extensively studied through theory and simulation, more experimental investigation is needed to test the idealized results against real-world turbulent flows. In this work, we infer the settling velocity of particles in Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) turbulence through the measurement of declines in particle concentration due to deposition within a (Formula presented.) convection chamber. Oil droplets from (Formula presented.) to (Formula presented.) and glass beads from (Formula presented.) to (Formula presented.) were used as the particle material, yielding Kolmogorov-based …

Optimization Of Image Quality Of Simulated Multiple Detectors Computed Tomography Acquisition Parameters Using Machine Learning And Catphan Phantom, Ali O. Masoud, Najat K. Mohammed, Khamis O. Amour, Ahmed M. Jusabani, Denise Mwalongo, Mwingereza John Kumwenda

Tanzania Journal of Science

The study successfully employed Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and a Machine Learning (ML) approach using a Random Forest Regression (RFR) model to develop optimized Multi-Detector CT (MDCT) protocols that significantly reduce radiation dose while maintaining diagnostic image quality. The MC engine accurately modeled X-ray spectra, and the RFR model demonstrated high predictive power for key metrics, achieving R2 scores of 0.97 for CTDIvol and over 0.92 for image quality metrics (Noise, CNR). Through multi-objective optimization guided by the RFR, the final protocol (Optimization-3) was found on the Pareto front, achieving a notable 35% dose reduction (from 15.5 mGy to 9.9 …

Optimizing Gamma Radiation Shielding Of Low Bismuth Borate Glass Via Antimony Addition: Optical And Physical Insights, Shaimaa Hafez, Elsayed Salama, Wesam Omar

Basic Science Engineering

This study reports the fabrication and characterization of novel bismuth borate-based glass systems doped with varying concentrations of antimony oxide (Sb₂O₃) for gamma radiation shielding applications. Using the melt-quenching method, the glass systems [0] with x = 0, 1, 3, and 5 mol% were prepared. Density measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy were employed to analyze the structural, physical, and optical properties systematically. The results show that increasing Sb₂O₃ content raises the glass density, refractive index, and oxygen packing density, while reducing the molar volume and optical band gap. These changes contribute to forming a …

Anomalous Spontaneous Induction Of Magnetic And Electric Fields In Dense Quark Matter, Efrain J. Ferrer, Jose Miguel Perez-Fernandez

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

In this paper, we will demonstrate that a dense quark-matter system in the dual chiral density wave (DCDW) phase behaves as a ferromagnet in the sense that its magnetic-field dependent magnetization remains different from zero even at 𝐵 →0. The corresponding permanent magnetization is a function of the baryonic chemical potential 𝜇, decreasing up to zero as 𝜇 increases in the range of intermediate densities (312  MeV⩽𝜇⩽342  MeV) and then increasing from zero in the higher density interval 490  MeV⩽𝜇⩽550  MeV. We will show that this system’s ability to generate permanent magnetization, together with the existence of the axial anomaly, …

A New Highly Oxygen-Deficient And Cubic Pr3Zro8-Δ For Intermediate-Temperature Thermochemical Production Of Oxygen And Hydrogen, Jiaxin Lu, Yongliang Zhang, Luhong Chen, Yan Chen, Ke An, Yasser Shoukry, Xinfang Jin, Zhi-Hao Wang, Sai Mu, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Two-step thermochemical cycles offer a clean route for hydrogen and oxygen production but are typically limited to high temperatures exceeding 1500 °C. Lowering operating temperatures would enable the use of alternative heat sources such as industrial waste heat. Here, we report Pr₃ZrO₈ as a new enabling material for efficient intermediate-temperature redox cycling, with thermal reduction at 900 °C in argon and steam oxidation at 400 °C. Pr₃ZrO₈ adopts a face-centered cubic structure similar to CeO₂ but exhibits significantly greater oxygen deficiency, achieving average oxygen and hydrogen fluxes of 331.7 and 70.3 µmol·g-1, respectively, …

A Coupled Fractional Thermistor System Demonstrating Existence, Uniqueness, And Simulation Results With Two-Point Boundary Conditions, Yahia Awad, Angela Khattar, Hussein Fakih, Sami Hammoud, Karim Amin

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

This paper studies a coupled system of Caputo fractional differential equations of orders $\alpha, \beta\in(1,2]$, subject to two-point boundary conditions. The model incorporates nonlinear nonlocal integral terms that capture the memory-dependent interactions between thermal and electrical dynamics in thermistor materials. We rigorously establish existence via Schaefer’s fixed-point theorem and uniqueness through Banach’s contraction principle in a Banach space of continuous and continuously differentiable functions. Additionally, we analyze Ulam–Hyers stability to quantify solution sensitivity to initial perturbations. A numerical example highlights the effects of fractional orders and nonlocal feedback on system behavior. This work generalizes classical thermistor models and provides a …

Magnetic Field Tuned Magnetic Order And Metamagnetic Criticality In Nonstoichiometric Ceaubi2, Halyna Hodovanets, Hyunsoo Kim, Tristin Metz, Yasuyuki Nakajima, Christopher J. Eckberg, Kefeng Wang, Jie Yong, Shanta R. Saha, David Graf, Nicholas P. Butch, Thomas Vojta, Johnpierre Paglione

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present a detailed study of magnetization, resistivity, heat capacity, and x-ray and neutron powder diffraction measurements performed on single crystals of nonstoichiometric CeAuBi₂, Au deficiency 18%, a strongly correlated antiferromagnet with Néel temperature T_N = 13.2 K. Field-dependent magnetization measurements reveal a large magnetic anisotropy at low temperatures with an easy axis along the crystallographic c axis, in which direction a spin-flop transition exhibits strong features in magnetization, specific heat, and resistivity at H_c = 75 kOe. The constructed temperature-field phase diagram connects this transition to the suppression of magnetic order, which evolves from a …

Νgan: A Deep Learning Emulator For Cosmic Web Simulations With Massive Neutrinos, Neerav Kaushal, Elena Giusarma, Mauricio Reyes

Michigan Tech Publications

Understanding the impact of neutrino masses on the evolution of the Universe is a central goal of modern cosmology. Due to their large free-streaming lengths, neutrinos significantly affect structure formation at nonlinear scales, requiring accurate theoretical predictions to fully exploit current and future galaxy surveys. However, generating such predictions through large ensembles of cosmological simulations is computationally expensive. In this work, we introduce a deep learning-based generative adversarial network, νGAN, to emulate the Universe across a range of neutrino masses from 0.0 to 1.2 eV. The generated 2D cosmic web maps are statistically independent, show no correlations with the training …

Uranium Chemical Compound Classification Using Sub-Images And Statistical Machine Learning For Nuclear Forensics, Lee C. Lambert, Brett J. Borghetti, Abigail A. Bickley

Faculty Publications

Uranium particle analysis from Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imagery is a crucial tool in nuclear forensics. The particle morphology lexicon proposed by Tamasi et al. in J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307, 1611–1619 (2016) follows a standardized, manual identification process to identify particle morphology features. The present work seeks to mirror this methodology using computer feature selection from the scikit-image Python library rather than human classification. Using a random forest classifier, a 56% overall uranium true positive classification accuracy (a 39.6% balanced classification accuracy) was achieved on a test set outperforming a naïve (chance) model by 48%. The methodology introduced splits …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Physics

No abstract provided.

Symmetric Orthogonalization And Probabilistic Weights In Resource Quantification, Gökhan Torun

Turkish Journal of Physics

Transforming nonorthogonal bases into orthogonal ones often compromises essential properties or physical meaning in quantum systems. Here, we demonstrate that Löwdin symmetric orthogonalization (LSO) outperforms the widely used Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization (GSO) in characterizing and quantifying quantum resources, with particular emphasis on coherence and superposition. We employ LSO both to construct an orthogonal basis from a nonorthogonal one and to obtain a nonorthogonal basis from an orthogonal set, thereby mitigating ambiguity related to the basis choice in defining quantum coherence. Unlike GSO, which depends on the ordering of input states, LSO applies a symmetric transformation that treats all vectors equally and …

Scalar Hybrid Meson B̄Gc, Bi̇rten Barsbay İnaç

Turkish Journal of Physics

The scalar hybrid meson H_bc, containing both heavy b and c quarks, represents an intriguing exotic state in QCD. In this article, we investigate its strong decay properties using three-point QCD sum rules. We focus on the two leading decay channels, H_bc → B⁺ D⁰ and H_bc → B⁰ D⁺, which are expected to dominate the decay dynamics. The B and D mesons produced in these decays each consist of one heavy and one light quark. The strong coupling constants at the corresponding vertices are extracted, and the partial decay widths …

The 1/C Expansion Of General Relativity In A 3+1 Formulation, Revisited, Mahmut Elbi̇stan

Turkish Journal of Physics

We study the 1/c expansion of general relativity within a formulation that is compatible with both the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner and the Kol-Smolkin decompositions. The Einstein-Hilbert action takes a common form for those decompositions as they are dual to each other. We first develop a method to expand this generic form and then push the expansion up to c−3 order within this novel approach. Next, we apply our technique to the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner decomposition and expand it up to c−3 order explicitly. In order to demonstrate the applicability of our method and to highlight the duality at the level of expansion, we also …

Outburst Characteristics Of Transient  Low-Mass X-Ray Binary 4u 1608-52, Can Güngör

Turkish Journal of Physics

We present a detailed analysis of the long-term X-ray light curve of 4U 1608–52, focusing on fast-rising exponential-decay (FRED) outbursts, low-intensity states, and quiescent intervals. By calibrating the onset times of the outbursts, we identify three distinct classes for the FRED-type events: (i) the long-high outbursts, exceeding ~50 d in duration with peak count rates above ~40 cnt s-1; (ii) the short-medium outbursts, with durations of ~20 d and peak count rates of ~30-50 cnt s-1; and (iii) the short-low outbursts, also lasting ~20 d but reaching only ~20-30 cnt s-1 at peak. Furthermore, we examine the relation between preoutburst …

New Measurement And Analysis For The 15N + 11B Elastic Scattering System, Nurlan Amangeldi, İsmai̇l Boztosun, Dauren Soldatkhan, Bakytbek Mauyey, Kanat Makhanov, Raimbek Akhat, Aida Anuar, Gani Yergaliuly

Turkish Journal of Physics

New experimental data on the elastic scattering of the nuclear process 15N+11B at an energy of Elab=26.25 MeV were obtained on the DC-60 cyclotron of the INP RK. Based on a semi-microscopic analysis of the interaction of an accelerated 15N ion with 1p-shell nuclei 11B the effectiveness of the new B3Y-Fetal potential was studied. . The difference between the B3Y-Fetal potential and the traditional Yukawa potentials (M3Y-Reid and M3Y-Paris) is that its density-dependent parameters are determined from the saturation condition of nuclear matter at low energy. Analysis was performed on double folding optical model (DFOM) and so no for other …

Optical Textures Of A Uniform Liquid Crystal Lattice: Monte Carlo Simulations With Newton Colors And Mueller Matrix Analysis, Yakup Emül

Turkish Journal of Physics

The optical textures of a uniform liquid crystal (LC) molecule lattice structure were explored through Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, combined with Mueller matrix (MM) formalism and Newton’s color theory. These simulations utilized a Lebwohl-Lasher (LL) type interacting LC lattice under periodic boundary conditions, generating ensemble-averaged configurations at two temperature regimes (kBT = 0.9 and 1.2), corresponding respectively to nematic and isotropic states. These configurations were then incorporated into the MM framework to evaluate the polarization states of transmitted light. To visually interpret the resulting interference phenomena, we propose a new visualization method based on a modern interpretation of Newton’s color …

A 682-Second X-Ray Periodicity In Ch Cygni: Evidence For A Magnetic White Dwarf, Manuel Pichardo Marcano, Thomas J. Maccarone, Liliana E. Rivera Sandoval

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Symbiotic stars are interacting binaries consisting of a red giant and typically a white dwarf (WD), which are important as potential Type Ia supernova progenitors. Despite theoretical predictions that WDs in symbiotic systems should often be magnetic, direct evidence has been elusive. We report the discovery of a 682.5 ± 7 s periodicity in the XMM–Newton X-ray light curve that we interpret as the spin period of the WD in CH Cygni. This detection provides strong evidence for a magnetic WD in CH Cygni, making it only the second WD symbiotic star with confirmed X-ray pulsations after R Aquarii. Our …

Molecular Detection Of Genes Encoded For Biofilm Formation In Bacteria Isolated From The Oral Cavity Of Patients, Tebarek Al-Taei, Ali A. Al-Hisnawi

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Background: A biofilm is a collection of the microbial cells attached to the surface that are encased in a matrix of extracellular polymers. Biofilm formation creates a physical and chemical barrier that prevents antibiotics from reaching bacterial cells, resulting in treatment failure and reinfection. The present study aimed to investigate the biofilm formation in bacteria isolated from the oral cavity of patients.

Methods: In this study, 150 bacterial isolates were obtained from tooth and gum surface swabs of male and female patients of different ages who visited specialized centers and dental clinics in Babylon City after they were clinically diagnosed …

Building The Erau Solar Telescope: Advancing Heliophysics Research And Education Through Optical Innovation, Erin Abraham, Sarah Hoover, Skylar G. Butler, Margret Stanley, Gwynlyn Hannah

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

The new Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Solar Telescope represents a campus-wide collaboration to design and install a high-resolution solar observatory. The ERAU solar telescope, aiming for first light by Summer 2026, will integrate research-grade instrumentation, student training opportunities, and expand public engagement with the ERAU observatory. The telescope is housed within a 2.3-meter refurbished dome structure whose electrical and structural systems are being upgraded to support automated dome rotation and environmental stabilization. The optical design features a multi-element lens and mirror assembly optimized for a 1° field of view. The optical assembly includes a downport centered in the dome that …

Characterizing The Solar Sources Of Periodic Mesoscale Solar Wind Structures Responsible For Radiation Belt Particle Loss: Results And Implications For Space Weather Forecasting, Grace Gratton

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

It is now well-established that the ambient solar wind is dynamic and highly structured at mesoscales – scales larger than kinetic, but smaller than CMEs/SIRs. These structures are often created at the Sun and survive to 1 AU, where they form the ground-state of space weather as they continually buffet Earth's magnetosphere, the moon, and Mars. Two primary ways that mesoscale structures pose significant risks to spacecraft and astronauts are through driving radiation belt depletion, and amplifying the hazards of CMEs and SIRs through upstream solar wind preconditioning. Characterizing the solar origins and solar wind properties of geoeffective mesoscale structures …