Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

A Search For Compact Object Dark Matter In The Universe Utilizing Gravitational Millilensing Of Gamma-Ray Bursts, Oindabi Mukherjee

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In this dissertation, I explore the existence of Compact Object (CO) Dark Matter (DM), examining its predicted millilensing impact on the light curves of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The hypothesis under investigation is that if CO DM exists, it will act as a gravitational lens, influencing light emanating from GRBs and creating a measurable gravitational echo. The detection of this echo is conditional on several factors, including the spatial alignment of the observer, lens, and source and the mass of the CO DM.

Recent studies have reported the potential detection of millilensing in several GRBs, including GRB 950830, GRB 081122A, GRB …

Helioseismic Diagnostics Of Active Regions And Their Magnetic Fields, John T. Stefan

Dissertations

While two and a half decades of nearly constant observation by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft have yielded key insights into the structure and dynamics of active regions, it is still unclear if active regions can be identified before emerging on the solar surface and, once emerged, whether the subsurface structure of an active region’s magnetic field can be measured. Regarding the dynamical processes associated with active regions, the height and mechanism of sunquake excitation remains poorly understood. To answer these questions, a comprehensive survey of active region magnetic fields and their …

Deep Narrowband Photometry Of The M101 Group: Strong-Line Abundances Of 720 H Ii Regions, Ray Garner Iii, J. Christopher Mihos, Paul Harding, Stacy S. Mcgaugh

Faculty Scholarship

We present deep, narrowband imaging of the nearby spiral galaxy M101 and its satellites to analyze the oxygen abundances of their H ii regions. Using Case Western Reserve University’s Burrell Schmidt telescope, we add to the narrowband data set of the M101 Group, consisting of Hα, Hβ, and [O iii] emission lines and the blue [O ii] λ3727 emission line for the first time. This allows for complete spatial coverage of the oxygen abundance of the entire M101 Group. We used the strong-line ratio R 23 to estimate oxygen abundances for the H ii regions in our sample, utilizing three …

Model-Based Cross-Correlation Search For Gravitational Waves From The Low-Mass X-Ray Binary Scorpius X-1 In Ligo O3 Data, R. Abbott, H. Abe, Fausto Acernese, Teviet Creighton, Mario C. Diaz, Francisco Llamas, Soma Mukherjee, Gaukhar Nurbek, Volker Quetschke, Wenhui Wang

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

We present the results of a model-based search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1 using LIGO detector data from the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. This is a semicoherent search that uses details of the signal model to coherently combine data separated by less than a specified coherence time, which can be adjusted to balance sensitivity with computing cost. The search covered a range of gravitational-wave frequencies from 25 to 1600 Hz, as well as ranges in orbital speed, frequency, and phase determined from observational constraints. No significant detection candidates were …

Powerful Yet Lonely: Is 3c 297 A High-Redshift Fossil Group?, Valentina Missaglia, Juan P. Madrid, Mischa Schirmer, Francesco Massaro, Alberto Rodríguez-Ardila, Carlos J. Donzelli, Martell Valencia, Alessandro Paggi, Ralph P. Kraft, Chiara Stuardi, Belinda J. Wilkes

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The environment of the high-redshift (z = 1.408), powerful radio-loud galaxy 3C 297 has several distinctive features of a galaxy cluster. Among them, a characteristic halo of hot gas revealed by Chandra X-ray observations. In addition, a radio map obtained with the Very Large Array shows a bright hotspot in the northwestern direction, created by the interaction of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) jet arising from 3C 297 with its environment. In the X-ray images, emission cospatial with the northwestern radio lobe is detected, and peaks at the position of the radio hotspot. The extended, complex X-ray emission observed …

Two Substellar Survivor Candidates; One Found And One Missing, T. Von Hippel, N. Walters, J. Farihi, T.R. Marsh, E. Breedt, P.W. Cauley, J.J. Hermes

Publications

This study presents observations of two possible substellar survivors of post-main sequence engulfment, currently orbiting white dwarf stars. Infrared and optical spectroscopy of GD 1400 reveal a 9.98 h orbital period, where the benchmark brown dwarf has ��2 = 68 ± 8 MJup, ��eff ≈ 2100 K, and a cooling age under 1 Gyr. A substellar mass in the lower range of allowed values is favoured by the gravitational redshift of the primary. Synthetic brown dwarf spectra are able to reproduce the observed CO bands, but lines below the bandhead are notably overpredicted. The known infrared excess towards PG 0010+281 …

Black Holes, Disk Structures, And Cosmological Implications In E-Dimensional Space, Subhash Kak, Menas C. Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We examine a modern view of the universe that builds on achieved successes of quantum mechanics, general relativity, and information theory, bringing them together in integrated approach that is founded on the realization that space itself is e-dimensional. The global and local implications of noninteger dimensionality are examined, and how it may have increased from the value of zero to its current value is investigated. We find surprising aspects that tie to structures in the universe, black holes, and the role of observations.

The Analysis Of Radio And X-Ray Energetics Of Fast Radio Bursts, Emily Huerta

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Here, we analyze the graphs and figures presented in Laha et al. (2022) and compare their slopes to our figures. Laha et al. (2022) includes two graphs, one that shows a comparison between radio fluence vs. x-ray fluence and radio energy vs. x-ray energy. In these graphs, the slopes are anywhere from 3.3e-14 to 2e-5, which are much less than unity. Our figures are consistent with these values, also providing slopes anywhere between the same range. Strong limits on this ratio between radio and x-ray energetics can either support the magnetar progenitor model, or completely dismiss it. Since we found …

3-D Visualizations Of Terrestial Exoplanet Interiors Generated With Magrathea In Blender, Tristan Benally, David Rice

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

There has been significant progress in simulating exoplanet interiors in the past decade. With the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system in the last few years, there have been many publications presenting models to best characterize specific aspects of exoplanets in study. However, with more parameters and considerations for different characteristics of an exoplanet there will be a need to represent many findings into a comprehensive model in the future. We extend the capabilities of MAGRATHEA from a planet interior solver to start incorporating multi-faceted functions starting with generating 3-D terrestrial planetary visualizations using a 3-D open-source computer graphic software called …

Interdisciplinary Convergence To God: A Supplement To The Big Bang & God– An Astro-Theology, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Here is a December 2022 supplement to the 2015 book—The Big Bang and God: An Astro-Theology wherein an astronomer and a theologian offer a study of interdisciplinary convergences with natural theology both in the scientific researches of Sir Fred Hoyle and in the philosophical researches of Charles Hartshorne and Alfred North Whitehead, thereby illustrating a constructive postmodern trend (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) by Theodore Walker Jr. and Chandra Wickramasinghe, with editing and co-authoring by Alexander Vishio.

Biology, astronomy, astrobiology, cosmology, and theology converge when the word “God” refers to “that than which none greater can conceived” (St. Anselm), …

Multifrequency Scintillation In The Polar Caps, Tate Colby

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In the ionosphere, plasma density structures with scales sizes ranging from a few centimeters to hundreds of kilometers are capable of modifying the phase and amplitude of a radio signal in a rapid random manner in a process called scintillation. The Coherent Electromagnetic Radio Tomography (CERTO) and the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network (CHAIN) are two different networks of scintillation receivers, each with a station in Resolute Bay, Canada. CERTO measures amplitude and phase signals in VHF and UHF while CHAIN measures amplitude and phase signals in the L-band. Through these measurements we can calculate the scintillation indexes, S_4 and …

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (Gama): The Dependence Of Star Formation On Surface Brightness In Low-Redshift Galaxies, S Phillipps, S Bellstedt, M N. Bremer, R De Propris, P A. James, S Casura, J Liske, B W. Holwerda

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The star-formation rate in galaxies is well known to correlate with stellar mass (the ‘star-forming main sequence’). Here, we extend this further to explore any additional dependence on galaxy surface brightness, a proxy for stellar mass surface density. We use a large sample of low-redshift (z ≤ 0.08) galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey which have both spectral energy distribution (SED) derived star-formation rates and photometric bulge-disc decompositions, the latter providing measures of disc surface brightness and disc masses. Using two samples, one of galaxies fitted by a single component with Sérsic index below 2 and one …

The Planets, Reimagined: Translating Science Into Music, Kaitlyn Wincup

Honors Projects

Inspired by Gustav Holst’s The Planets, this project analyzed the qualitative properties of the planets in our Solar System and translated them into a composition, created by Connor Gibbs, to represent an overall aural depiction of each planet. Where Holst created an astrological depiction of each of the planets, this piece is an astronomical depiction that broadens the perspectives of its listeners.

Stabilization Of Zero-Energy Skin Modes In Finite Non-Hermitian Lattices, Cem Yuce, Hamidreza Ramezani

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

The zero energy of a one-dimensional semi-infinite non-Hermitian lattice with nontrivial spectral topology may disappear when we introduce boundaries to the system. While the corresponding zero-energy state can be considered as a quasi-edge state for the finite lattice with a long survival time, any small disruption (noise) in the initial form of the quasi-edge state can significantly shorten the survival time. Here, by tailoring the couplings at one edge we form an exceptional point allowing for a topological phase transition and the stabilization of the quasi-edge state in a finite-size lattice with open edges. Such a small modification in the …

The Evolution Of X-Ray Binaries And Their Accretion States, Lacey A. West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

X-ray binary systems (XRBs) consist of a compact object component (e.g., black hole or neutron star) that accretes matter from a companion star. Although the extent to which XRBs contributed to the early heating of the intergalactic medium is still under investigation, it is estimated that XRBs dominated the X-ray radiation field before the reionization epoch. The study of XRB emission is therefore crucial to our understanding of the very early universe. Furthermore, studying the abundance and radial distribution of each XRB type within a galaxy can be revealing of the host galaxy’s local properties, structure, and evolution. XRB spectra …

Orbital Mapping Of Seasonal And Yearly Changes In Co2 And Water Ice On The Southern Polar Cap Of Mars, Victoria Michell Ann Karnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research exhibits a new foundation for the rates of change in CO2 and water ice on the southern polar cap of Mars, where the annual precipitation cycles are known to fluctuate seasonally between the north and south pole, based on observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM). The conventional belief is that both CO2 ice and water ice on the southern polar cap condenses and evaporates over the course of a Martian year (MY), condensing during the Martian spring and summer and evaporating during the Martian fall and winter. With this theory in mind, CO2 and water ice …

Day ‘N’ Nite: Habitability Of Tidally Locked Planets With Sporadic Rotation, Cody James Shakespeare

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Tidally locked worlds provide a unique opportunity for constraining the climates of detected exoplanets. They are unique in that few exoplanet spin and obliquity states are known or will be determined in the near future. The TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet system has multiple habitable zone planets that, in the past, have been presumed to be tidally locked. However, a recent study shows the dynamical conditions present in the TRAPPIST-1 system make rotation and large librations possible spin states for these planets. I confirm the tendency for these planets to sporadically transition from tidally locked libration to slow rotation using N-body simulations independent …

Investigating The O’Connell Effect In Kepler Eclipsing Binaries, Matthew Frederick Knote

Theses and Dissertations

The O’Connell effect – the presence of unequal maxima in eclipsing binaries – remains an unsolved riddle in the study of close binary systems. The Kepler space telescope produced high precision photometry of nearly 3,000 eclipsing binary systems, providing a unique opportunity to study the O’Connell effect in a large sample and in greater detail than in previous studies. I have characterized the observational properties – including temperature, luminosity, and eclipse depth – of a set of 212 systems (7.3% of Kepler eclipsing binaries) that display a maxima flux difference of at least 1%, representing the largest sample of O’Connell …

Transient Sources And How To Study Them: Selected Topics In Multi-Messenger Astronomy, Jiawei Luo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The discovery of cosmic neutrino flux by IceCube, and the multi-messenger observations of gravitational event GW170817 ushered in the era of multi-messenger astronomy. Since the Universe itself is a natural laboratory, multi-messenger astronomy can help us study the most extreme physics processes in great detail. In this dissertation, we touch on some of the currently unanswered questions involving different types of transient sources and different “messengers” of multi-messenger astronomy. We employ a variety of analysis methods, including machine learning, a method that has not yet been widely adopted in astronomy but is rapidly gaining momentum.We start this dissertation with Chapter …

A Method For Exploring The Habitability Of Earth-Like Exoplanets: Applications To Tess Objects Of Interest 203 B, 256 B, And 700 D, Paul Bonney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has and is continuing to discover a multitude of potentially habitable planet candidates. As more planets are detected and confirmed, it becomes increasingly important to strategically search for signs of habitability with which to differentiate and prioritize them for further observation, in particular with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). To facilitate this, I have created a method for prioritizing TESS planet candidates based on parameters derived from their light curves and have applied the method to the TESS Candidate Target List (CTL). This data set uses preliminary fits to transit modeling which can …