Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Beam Energy Dependence Of Moments Of The Net-Charge Multiplicity Distributions In Au+Au Collisions At Rhic, J. Kevin Adkins, Renee Fatemi, Wolfgang Korsch, Suvarna Ramachandran, G. Webb, L. Adamczyk, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, C. D. Anson, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the first measurements of the moments—mean (M), variance (σ²), skewness (S), and kurtosis (κ)—of the net-charge multiplicity distributions at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at seven energies, ranging from √^S_NN=7.7 to 200 GeV, as a part of the Beam Energy Scan program at RHIC. The moments are related to the thermodynamic susceptibilities of net charge, and are sensitive to the location of the QCD critical point. We compare the products of the moments, σ²/M, Sσ, and κσ², with the expectations …

Dark Energy Scaling From Dark Matter To Acceleration, Jannis Bielefeld, Robert R. Caldwell, Eric Linder

Dartmouth Scholarship

The dark sector of the Universe need not be completely separable into distinct dark matter and dark energy components. We consider a model of early dark energy in which the dark energy mimics a dark matter component in both evolution and perturbations at early times. Barotropic aether dark energy scales as a fixed fraction, possibly greater than one, of the dark matter density and has vanishing sound speed at early times before undergoing a transition. This gives signatures not only in cosmic expansion but in sound speed and inhomogeneities, and in number of effective neutrino species. Model parameters describe the …

Evidence Of A Mira-Like Tail And Bow Shock About The Semi-Regular Variable V Cvn From Four Decades Of Polarization Measurements., Hilding Neilson, Richard Ignace, Beverly Smith, Gary Henson, Alyssa Adams

ETSU Faculty Works

Polarization is a powerful tool for understanding stellar atmospheres and circumstellar environments. Mira and semi-regular variable stars have been observed for decades and some are known to be polarimetrically variable, however, the semi-regular variable V Canes Venatici displays an unusually large, unexplained amount of polarization. We present ten years of optical polarization observations obtained with the HPOL instrument, supplemented by published observations spanning a total interval of about forty years for V CVn. We find that V CVn shows large polarization variations ranging from 1 - 6%. We also find that for the past forty years the position angle measured …

Thermal Diffusivities Of Functionalized Pentacene Semiconductors, Hao Zhang, Yulong Yao, Marcia M. Payne, John E. Anthony, Joseph W. Brill

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We have measured the interlayer and in-plane (needle axis) thermal diffusivity of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene. The needle axis value is comparable to the phonon thermal diffusivities of quasi-one dimensional organic metals with excellent π-orbital overlap, and its value suggests that a significant fraction of heat is carried by optical phonons. Furthermore, the interlayer (c-axis) thermal diffusivity is at least an order of magnitude larger, and this unusual anisotropy implies very strong dispersion of optical modes in the interlayer direction, presumably due to interactions between the silyl-containing side groups. Similar values for both in-plane and interlayer diffusivities have been observed for several …

The Meaning Of Wise Colours – I. The Galaxy And Its Satellites, Robert Nikutta, Nicholas Hunt-Walker, Maia M. Nenkova, Željko Ivezić, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Through matches with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) catalogue we identify the location of various families of astronomical objects in WISE colour space. We identify reliable indicators that separate Galactic/local from extragalactic sources and concentrate here on the objects in our Galaxy and its closest satellites. We develop colour and magnitude criteria that are based only on WISE data to select asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with circumstellar dust shells, and separate them into O-rich and C-rich classes. With these criteria we produce an all-sky map for the count ratio of the two populations. The map reveals differences between …

Measuring Noble Gases In Coma Samples From Comet Wild 2, Jacob Simones

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Since comets originated during the formation of the solar system, the processes of solar system formation can be better understood through compositional analysis of cometary material. A low density, silicon-based substance called aerogel was used by NASA’s Stardust spacecraft to collect coma samples from comet Wild 2. Aerogel not from the spacecraft (“non-flight”) was investigated to determine the possibility of measuring noble gases in Stardust samples. Gas evolved from heated, non-flight aerogel was measured initially using a residual gas analyzer, then a high-sensitivity massspectrometer. Levels of helium and neon isotopes observed from both instruments were sufficiently low that noble gases …

Measurement Of Longitudinal Spin Asymmetries For Weak Boson Production In Polarized Proton-Proton Collisions At Rhic, J. Kevin Adkins, Renee Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran, G. Webb, L. Adamczyk, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, C. D. Anson, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin, E. C. Aschenauer

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report measurements of single- and double-spin asymmetries for W^± and Z/γ^∗ boson production in longitudinally polarized p+p collisions at √^S=510  GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The asymmetries for W^± were measured as a function of the decay lepton pseudorapidity, which provides a theoretically clean probe of the proton’s polarized quark distributions at the scale of the W mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions, constrained by polarized deep inelastic scattering measurements, and show a preference for a sizable, positive up antiquark polarization in the range 0.05<x<0.2.

J/Ψ Production At Low PT In Au + Au And Cu + Cu Collisions At √SNn = 200 Gev With The Star Detector, J. Kevin Adkins, Renee Fatemi, Suvarna Ramachandran, L. Adamczyk, G. Agakishiev, M. M. Aggarwal, Z. Ahammed, I. Alekseev, J. Alford, C. D. Anson, A. Aparin, D. Arkhipkin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The J/ψ p_T spectrum and nuclear modification factor (R_AA) are reported for p_T < 5 GeV/c and |y| < 1 from 0% to 60% central Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at √^SNN = 200 GeV at STAR. A significant suppression of p_T-integrated J/ψ production is observed in central Au + Au events. The Cu + Cu data are consistent with no suppression, although the precision is limited by the available statistics. R_AA in Au + Au collisions exhibits a strong suppression at low transverse momentum and gradually increases with p_T. The data are compared to high-p_{T …}

Star Formation Quenching In High-Redshift Large-Scale Structure: Post-Starburst Galaxies In The Ci 1604 Supercluster At Z ~ 0.9, Po-Feng Wu, Roy R. Gal, Brian C. Lemaux, Dale D. Kocevski, Lori M. Lubin, Nicholas Rumbaugh, Gordon K. Squires

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The Cl 1604 supercluster at z ~ 0.9 is one of the most extensively studied high-redshift large-scale structures, with more than 500 spectroscopically confirmed members. It consists of eight clusters and groups, with members numbering from a dozen to nearly a hundred, providing a broad range of environments for investigating the large-scale environmental effects on galaxy evolution. Here we examine the properties of 48 post-starburst galaxies in Cl 1604, comparing them to other galaxy populations in the same supercluster. Incorporating photometry from ground-based optical and near-infrared imaging, along with Spitzer mid-infrared observations, we derive stellar masses for all Cl 1604 …

The Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey. I. Survey Description Data Analysis And Initial Results, Kevin Stovall, R. S. Lynch, Louis Percy Dartez, Anthony J. Ford, A. Garcia, J. Hinojosa, Fredrick A. Jenet, Sean Leake, Jose Guadalupe Martinez, Alberto Mata

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We describe an ongoing search for pulsars and dispersed pulses of radio emission, such as those from rotating radio transients (RRATs) and fast radio bursts, at 350 MHz using the Green Bank Telescope. With the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument, we record 100 MHz of bandwidth divided into 4096 channels every 81.92 μs. This survey will cover the entire sky visible to the Green Bank Telescope (δ > -40°, or 82% of the sky) and outside of the Galactic Plane will be sensitive enough to detect slow pulsars and low dispersion measure (cm-3) millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with a 0.08 duty …

Characterizing New Calibration Sources In Liquid Xenon Dark Matter Searches, Evan P. Bray, Rafael Lang, Sean Macmullin

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In order to use the XENON1T liquid xenon detector as a means for detecting dark matter, the response to nuclear and electronic recoils must be well calibrated. Electronic-recoil calibration of XENON1T will be done by using the noble gas radon-220 that emanates from a custom thorium-228 source to observe the electron recoils that its daughter elements induce in liquid xenon. A silicon PIN diode was constructed to ensure that the Th228 source does not contaminate the system with the long-lived isotopes Th228 (T1/2 of 1.9 y) or Radium-224 (T1/2 of 3.6 d). The PIN diode was fixed in a custom …

C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) At Ir Wavelengths And The Variability Of Co Abundances Among Oort Cloud Comets, L. Paganini, M. Mumma, G. Villanueva, J. Keane, G. Blake, B. Bonev, M. Disanti, E. Gibb, K. Meech

Physics Faculty Works

We report production rates, rotational temperatures, and related parameters for gases in C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) using the Near InfraRed SPECtrometer at the Keck Observatory, on six UT dates spanning heliocentric distances (Rh ) that decreased from 1.35 AU to 1.16 AU (pre-perihelion). We quantified nine gaseous species (H2O, OH*, CO, CH4, HCN, C2H6, CH3OH, NH3, and NH2) and obtained upper limits for two others (C2H2 and H2CO). Compared with organics-normal comets, our results reveal highly enriched CO, (at most) slightly enriched CH3OH, C2H6, and HCN, and CH4 consistent with "normal", yet depleted, NH3, C2H2, and H2CO. Rotational temperatures increased from …

Search For Higgs Shifts In White Dwarfs, Roberto Onofrio, Gary A. Wegner

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report on a search for differential shifts between electronic and vibronic transitions in carbon-rich white dwarfs BPM 27606 and Procyon B. The absence of differential shifts within the spectral resolution and taking into account systematic effects such as space motion and pressure shifts allows us to set the first upper bound of astrophysical origin on the coupling between the Higgs field and the Kreschmann curvature invariant. Our analysis provides the basis for a more general methodology to derive bounds to the coupling of long-range scalar fields to curvature invariants in an astrophysical setting complementary to the ones available from …

Laser Frequency Stabilization For Lisa, Andrew B. Parker, Andrew J. Sutton, Glenn De Vine

STAR Program Research Presentations

This research focuses on laser ranging developments for LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), a planned NASA-ESA gravitational wave detector in space. LISA will utilize precision laser interferometry to track the changes in separation between three satellites orbiting 5 million kilometers apart. Specifically, our goal is to investigate options for laser frequency stabilization. Previous research has shown that an optical cavity system can meet LISA's stability requirements, but these units are large and heavy, adding cost to the implementation. A heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer could be integrated onto LISA’s existing optical bench, greatly reducing the weight, provided the interferometer meets the stability …

Environmental Testing Of Lasers For Jpl's Cold Atom Laboratory, Carey L. Baxter

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) is a multi-user facility designed to study ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS). One of the main goals of CAL is to explore the unknown territory of extremely low temperatures—possibly as low as the picokelvin range!—where new and fascinating quantum phenomena can be observed. At such temperatures matter stops behaving as particles and instead becomes macroscopic matter waves. CAL will be remotely controlled to perform a multitude of experiments and is scheduled to launch in 2016. In order to anticipate problems that might occur during and post-launch, including …

Hunting Starstuff: Searching For Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions In Cometary Dust, Christian Engelbrecht

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA’s Stardust mission (1999 - 2006) returned physical samples of the particles ejected by the comet 81P/Wild 2, collected in ultralight and extremely low density aerogel. These samples have been extensively analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), among other techniques, to determine the elemental, chemical and mineralogical composition of Wild 2. Because comets are thought to be formed in the icy outer regions of the solar system, billions of years ago, the Stardust data gives us details of the composition of the ancient solar system and its subsequent evolution. One of the surprises to come out of the data is the …

Maximizing Precision Of Variable Star Photometry With Digital Cameras In Suburban Environments, David Hergesheimer

STAR Program Research Presentations

Photometry is the measure of the brightness of an object. When making such measurements on stars, it is done is units of magnitude, which is on a logarithmic scale with a base of ~2.512. Variable star photometry using a commercially available digital camera is not going to be as accurate and precise as equipment used by astronomers, and because of the logarithmic scale of magnitude used, determining how much of an effect different error reduction strategies have is not straightforward, and is best done experimentally.

My research is conducting photometry on variable stars (changing brightness) with a digital camera, and …

Measuring K-Shell Transitions In L-Shell Ions Of Aluminum Using Llnl Ebit, Grecia Ramos

STAR Program Research Presentations

We measured the transition energies of the 1s-2p Kα transitions in Al4+ through Al11+. The aluminum ions were created and trapped using the LLNL’s Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT). Once created and trapped, upper levels were collisionally excited by electrons in EBIT's electron beam. X-ray emission following radiative decay of excited levels was detected using the EBIT Calorimeter Spectrometer (ECS). We have measured the centroids of the strongest lines to an accuracy of less than 1 eV. These results will be used to properly identify line emission from celestial x-ray sources, such as elliptical galaxy NGC 4472 and black hole …

Phylogenetic Diversity Of Microbial Isolates From The Mars Pathfinder, Kyla Bradylong, Adriana Blachowicz, Parag Vaishampayan, James N. Benardini, Wayne Schubert

STAR Program Research Presentations

As spacecraft are sent to different planets, they take with them microscopic pieces of life from Earth. It is the task of the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group to keep as much of this life off other planets as possible as well as document any life that may have been sent. During the construction of the Mars Pathfinder, samples were collected from various locations on the spacecraft to test for contamination. These samples were then isolated, grown, documented, preserved and their 16S rRNA genes were sequenced for identification. The 16S rRNA gene sequence is utilized because it is a highly …

An Analysis Of The Location Of White Light Flares In The Sun's Atmosphere, Michelle D. Wilbur

STAR Program Research Presentations

When flares occur in the Sun’s atmosphere, electromagnetic radiation in all wavelengths is emitted. Flares observed at visible wavelengths are called "white light" flares. Little is known about white light flares since the radiation from the Sun in the visible range greatly outshines what is produced during solar flares. Since white light flares are hard to see, it is not clear in what part of the solar atmosphere they occur. The point of this research is to identify where in the corona white light emission in produced during a flare. Depending on what will be discovered affects the validity of …