Mahmoud PourArsalan
(University of Tennessee at Knoxville)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
In an abrasion-ablation model of high energy heavy ion collisions as the extremely hot and dense participating region expands, and cools off, light high energy particles are emitted in the sphere regions where the relative momentum of the nucleons is less than the coalescence radius in momentum space. The probability of the light particle emission and the source radius of the region emitting...
Michael Staib
(Florida Institute of Technology)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Muon tomography for homeland security aims at detecting well-shielded nuclear contraband in cargo and imaging it in 3D. The technique exploits multiple scattering of atmospheric cosmic ray muons, which is stronger in dense, high-Z nuclear materials, e.g. enriched uranium, than in low-Z and medium-Z shielding materials. We have constructed and operated a compact Muon Tomography Station (MTS)...
Sean Cutchin
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Astrophysical phenomena such as exploding primordial black holes (PBHs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), compact object mergers, and supernovae are expected to produce a single pulse of electromagnetic radiation detectable in the low-frequency end of the radio spectrum. Detection of any of these pulses would be significant for the study of the objects themselves, their host environments, and the...
Thomas Redpath
(James Madison University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Water megamasers provide crucial tools for accurate determinations of masses of black holes lurking in galaxy centers, and of extragalactic distances without the need for indirect cosmological assumptions. Current searches have detected masers in only 3 -- 4% of the galaxies surveyed and require refinement of their survey criteria. Motivated by current models linking galaxy environment and...
Jason Lambert
(University of Tennessee)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The intrinsic optical rotatory dispersion (IORD) and circular dichroism (CD) of the conformationally flexible carvone molecule has been investigated in 17 solvents and compared with results from calculations for the "free" (gas phase) molecule. The G3 method was used to determine the relative energies of the six conformers. The ORD of (R)-(-)-carvone at 589 nm was calculated using coupled...
Eli Owens
(North Carolina State University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Measurements of the vibrational density of states (DOS) in glasses reveal that an excess number of low-frequency modes, as compared to the Debye scaling seen in crystalline materials, is associated with a loss of mechanical rigidity. An excess number of modes have also been observed experimentally in colloids and in simulations of idealized granular materials near the jamming point. However,...
Nishkala Shivakumar
(North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and North Carolina A&T State University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Smart foam is an emerging active-passive noise control technology with many applications. Smart foam consists of passive foam with an embedded curved piezoelectric (PZT) film. We experimented with three geometries of varying film curvatures and a constant cross-sectional area of 58 cm^2, constructed using melamine foam covered with 28 um thick polyvinylidene fluoride (piezoelectric) films with...
Apurva Oza
(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
We focus on continuing the modeling of GRB (Gamma-ray Burst) 091018. Our data is mostly collected across 4 bands (BVRI) from PROMPT (Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes) approximately 4.1 hours after the trigger. We have added NIR, UVOT, X-ray, and more optical points to our datasets. After rejecting the orginal assertion of dust evolution by linking extinction...
Andy Borum
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
When carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons become long, they may self-fold and form tennis racket-like shapes. This phenomenon is analyzed in two ways by treating a nanotube or nanoribbon as an elastica. First, an approach from adhesion science is used, in which the two sides of the racket handle are assumed to be straight and bonded together with constant or no separation. New analytical...
Jesse Labello
(University of Tennessee Space Institute)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
This article presents an application of the angular coefficient method for diffuse reflection to calculate stationary molecular flux distributions in general three dimensional environments. The method of angular coefficients is reviewed and the integration of the method into Blender, a free, open-source, 3D modeling software package, is described. Some example calculations are compared to...
William Love
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
The Princeton MRI Experiment is a modified Taylor-Couette device that uses GaInSn as its working fluid. An Ultrasonic Doppler Velocimetry (UDV) system allows the measurement of internal fluid velocities. Starting from both hydrodynamically stable and unstable background flow states, prior work has demonstrated the existence of large-scale, large-amplitude, coherent, nonaxisymmetric velocity...
Jianing Han
(Hollins University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Bose Einstein Condensates (BECs) confined in a trap allow us to study the excitation between eigenfunctions of a given trap potential, which can be directly calculated from quantum mechanics. Here we study the spinor collective excitations, in other words, the collective excitations of different spin components. Specifically, the spinor collective modes in a 3D harmonic trap will be presented....
Erin Chambers
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Analysis of top events at the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiment is tested by subjecting a single dataset to both the simple counting method and the newer Simultaneous Heavy Flavor and Top (SHyFT) cross section measurement. Respective statistical and systematic errors associated with the data are then compared. The results of the SHyFT analysis have much smaller overall uncertainties.
Brian Francis
(University of Virginia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The future upgrade in instantaneous luminosity at the Large Hadron Collider, the Super LHC, introduces challenging demands on existing and future instrumentation at the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. The increased particle and radiative flux, especially in the forward regions, requires extensive study to understand aging effects of the detector and any future materials to be considered....
Byron Smith
(University of Tennessee)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The interaction of an electron with an anion is characterized by a long-range coulomb repulsion and a short range polarizability attraction giving rise to a coulomb barrier. The permanent addition of an extra electron to a negatively charged anion requires tunneling through the barrier or attachment of the electron over the top of this coulomb barrier followed by disposal of the excess energy....
Cathleen Fry
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Although a few thousand isotopes have been discovered, the limit existence is only known for the lightest elements. Unfortunately, there has not been a comprehensive compilation of all the discoveries. A project has been undertaken to find all of the first discovery papers. Claims of discoveries were investigated and verified, and first publications are listed at...
Patrick Lawson
(University of Georgia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Recently, the prebiotic molecule and primitive sugar glycolaldehyde and its structural isomers acetic acid and the abundant methyl formate have been detected in the interstellar medium(ISM). Understanding the processes involving these molecules is vital to understand the ISM, where stars are formed. The rate constants, alpha_e, for dissociative electron-ion recombination of protonated...
Michael Harmon
(Erskine College)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Thomson's e/m experiment is widely popular in undergraduate courses to help gain an understanding of the properties of the electron. Our results using a standard apparatus, however, reveal significant systematic errors. We examine possible reasons for the discrepancy with the aim of modeling effects that were not included in the original analysis. We conclude that the energy loss of the...
Matthew Chamberlin
(James Madison University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques offer tremendous possibilities for easy fabrication of nanostructure arrays for use in thin film electronics. In this study we examine inorganic/organic heterojunctions produced by growing conductive Zn and semiconductive ZnO nanowire arrays on organic conductive PEDOT:PSS polymer thin films using simple and cost-effective PVD methods. Understanding...
Tim Younkin
(University of Tennessee at Knoxville)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
In order to study plasma-material interfaces under high power and particle flux, large linear machines are being constructed that can effectively simulate conditions that will be found in fusion-grade toroidal devices such as ITER and DEMO. A 15 cm diameter, 1.5 m long linear machine has been built at ORNL using a new helicon antenna designed for input powers up to 100 kW, producing a plasma...
Zukai Wang
(University of Virginia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The NOvA collaboration is building a long-baseline neutrino spectrometer optimized to study the appearance of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam. A full-sized prototype of the Near Detector has been fabricated on the surface and is presently taking data with the Fermilab NUMI neutrino beam. A description of the Near Detector will be given and its performance will be shown.
Rich Aquilina
(American Physical Society)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Gravity is by far the weakest of the known four forces. What if that is because it is the oldest of the forces and the most decayed of them? What if that is what caused the Big Bang? The decay of gravity could no longer hold the singularity (or other forces) in check. We know there is decay, it is known as the "Weak" force. The idea of decaying gravity would only serve to unite the "Weak"...
Christopher Frye
(University of Central Florida)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
The Forward Hadron Calorimeter (HF) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) lies in a region not covered by an inner tracking system, and we can rely only on the shapes of showers that hit the HF to determine whether or not they are due to electromagnetic particles. We review the current method of distinguishing shower types in the HF, and we bring attention to a...
Richard Kriske
(University of Minnesota)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
It is well known that it takes no work for water to rise in a Capillary tube. It only takes work for the water to be removed from the top of the tube. It may be possible for this water to be removed using individual photons of the size needed to break the water to water hydrogen bond. This bond is often broken in evaporation of water from surfaces. As this bond is broken at the top of the...
R. Seth Smith
(Francis Marion University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
During the summer of 2011, ALPHA (Advanced Physics Laboratory Association) hosted a series of laboratory immersion experiences in which faculty could spend several days working closely with a mentor on an advanced undergraduate experiment. The goal of this program is to foster wider implementation of these experiments at the undergraduate level. One of these immersions took place at Reed...
John Wood
(University of Virginia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) is a crucial sub-detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It uses scintillation light fr om approximately 83,000 Lead Tungstate (PbWO_4) crystals to make precision measurements of high energy photons and electrons. In the endcaps of the ECAL this scinti llation light is collected at the rear of the crystal and...
Suvojit Ghosh
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibit superparamagnetism when the energy changes due to thermal fluctuations (~ k_B T) are comparable to or larger than the anisotropy potential barrier KV. Thermal fluctuations produce frequent magnetization reversals in such a situation causing the net MNP magnetization to approach zero. If thermal oscillations are relatively small, the odds of magnetization...
Ei Brown
(Hampton University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a powerful diagnostic tool for detection of trace elements by monitoring the atomic and ionic emission from laser-induced plasmas. The laser-induced plasma was produced by focusing a 30 mJ pulsed Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) to dissociate, atomize, and ionize target molecules. In this work, LIBS emissions in the mid-infrared (MIR) region were studied...
Travis Tune
(University of Tennessee at Knoxville)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Diamond's properties make it a prime candidate for future use in particle detectors such as at the Compact Muon Solenoid at the LHC. Diamond is radiation hard, has a low thermal conductivity, and has a large bandgap. When a fast moving particle passes through the diamond, ionization occurs, leaving a trail of charge carriers in the diamond. By applying an external electric field, these...
Romney Meek
(Western Kentucky University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
We are developing a high pressure xenon detector for photon measurements. Xenon produces electroluminescence (EL) scintillation emission that we use as the primary signal in our strategy to acquire information. The detector consists of a high pressure chamber, a thin radiation input window with the supporting grid of collimator ribs and electrode grids to create the electric field, and a photo...
Brett Israels
(Florida State University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Power grids are innately susceptible to electrical faults. Here we present various network-theoretical approaches to achieve intentional intelligent islanding of a power grid in order to limit cascading power failures in case such a fault occurs. The methods we use can partition networks into communities with local generating capacity. Here we discuss results of using spectral matrix methods...
R. K. Thrasher
(James Madison University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Data have been collected at the High Intensity gamma-ray Source (HIgS) to investigate neutron emission from a 139La target with linearly polarized gamma rays at E_gamma = 12, 13, 14, and 15 MeV. Liquid scintillator detectors were placed at scattering angles of 55 degrees, 90 degrees and 125 degrees above, below and to the left and right of the target. Six additional detectors were placed at...
J. Hauver
(James Madison University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Carter Chamberlain
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
We present six interactive programs created to aid in the analysis of outflows from Active Galactic Nuclei. 1. An interactive plot showing the ionic fraction versus the ionization parameter, for each ion of several elements and for different SEDs. 2. An interactive plot showing the excitation ratio versus electron number density for several elements. 3. A tool for finding the ionization...
Florentin Smarandache
(University of New Mexico)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Some school scientific problems are posed: 1) Let's consider a tunnel getting from one side to the other of a planet and passing through the planet center. An object is dropped into the tunnel. Is the object oscillating about the center as a pendulum? What happens if the tunnel gets from a side to another side of the planet but doesn't pass through the planet center, would the midpoint of the...
Ashley Taylor
(Winston Salem State University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The lock and key models using Pac-man particles is an alternative identification mechanism for directing the assembly of combined structures. The system was guided by Fischer's lock-and-key principle which consisted of colloidal spheres as keys and monodisperse colloidal particles with a spherical cavity as locks that bind. What makes this so specific is the fact that the assembly is...
Justin Cutrer
(Xavier University of Louisiana)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Freak waves are waves of great height that appear out of nowhere from otherwise ordinary, if rough, seas. The steepness of these waves can cause an enormous amount of damage to ships and oil platforms. Understanding the cause of freak waves will help us to predict dangerous conditions, and engineer structures better able to withstand such waves. A number of mechanisms have been studied as the...
John Hodge
(Blue Ridge Community College)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
A particle model of light that exhibited wave--like behavior was proposed at SESAPS log. No. SES09-2009-000064. The model combined the Bohm interpretation with the Scalar Potential Model (SPM) of photons. The model simulation is expanded with a slight modification to allow for different color photons through a single slit experiment, Young's experiment, and coherent light from large distances.
Kerry McGill
(North Georgia College and State University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
As the source of genetic material, DNA is involved in a variety of biological processes like transcription, cell replication, and more. In these processes, DNA is manipulated into different structures and is subjected to different levels of physical force on a molecular scale. When tension is applied to one hierarchical structure called chromatin, it appears to behave like a Hookian spring....
Brandon Bear
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Neutron star binary systems lose energy through gravitational radiation, and eventually merge. The gravitational radiation from the merger can be detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). It is expected that a transient radio pulse will also be produced during the merger event. Detection of such radio transients would allow for LIGO to search for signals...
Jr-Wei Tsai
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Supernovae events may be accompanied by prompt emission of a low-frequency electromagnetic transient. These transient events are created by the interaction of a shock wave of charged particles created by SN core-collapse with a stars ambient magnetic field. Such events can be detected in low-frequency radio array. Here we discuss an ongoing search for such events using two radio arrays: the...
Thomas Robacker
(University of Tennessee)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Single-crystalline diamond detectors are radiation hard and conduct heat very well which makes them an ideal choice for particle tracking devices close to the LHC beam. As a first application they will be used in a luminosity telescope (PLT) that is scheduled to be inserted into the CMS detector in 2012. This summer, several diamond detectors have been bump-bonded to the readout-chip of the...
Joseph Goodell
(University of Virginia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) photodetectors are a type of semiconducting photodetector that should be able to withstand much higher levels of radiation than commonly used silicon photomultipliers (SIPMs). At the University of Virginia we are characterizing GaAs devices as compared to SIPMs by studying the I/V curve in breakdown region, the breakdown voltage, dark noise, and response to photons....
David Abbott
(University of Virginia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab plans to use a two-out-of-three coincident requirement in a plastic scintillator based detector to veto cosmic ray events. This veto system must operate efficiently in a high-radiation environment. In this investigation, three plastic scintillator bars containing wavelength-shifting fibers represent the veto system. These bars were placed together, in series, in...
James Veldhorst
(Covenant College)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
We studied various electrical properties of Nb/Mo bilayer films at low temperatures as a function of layer proportions with series varying both Nb and Mo (eg. holding Nb constant at 30nm with Mo ranging from 10 to 40 nm). After growing multiple series of Nb/Mo bilayers on silicon substrates at different configurations through magnetron sputtering, the samples were cooled to ~6K, where we...
Jacob Moldenhauer
(Francis Marion University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
With the plethora of incoming and future cosmological data, the testing of general relativity at cosmological scales has become a possible and timely endeavor. It is not only motivated by the pressing question of cosmic acceleration but also by the proposals of some extensions to general relativity that would manifest themselves at large scales of distance. To test the consistency of current...
Phillip Nelson
(Virginia Tech)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
We used the Virginia Tech Spectral-Line Imaging Camera (SLIC) to image the warm ionized interstellar medium (WIM) toward the Local Perseus Arm. We obtained a series of images, each of which is 10 degree-wide, and has arcminute-resolution. The images show three basic types of structures --- compact clouds with diameters greater than several degrees, those that are 1 degree or less in diameter,...
Brandon Minor
(George Washington University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
Many coffee drinkers take cream with their coffee and often wonder whether to add the cream earlier or later. With the objective of keeping their coffee as hot as possible over a moderate time period (10-15 minutes), this is a question that most of them can never answer definitively. We investigated this problem empirically using hot and cold water, with special emphasis on the calorimetry of...
Merek Chertkow
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory / University of Tennessee at Knoxville)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
Core-collapse supernovae (CCSN) are multi-dimensional events and the codes we develop to model them must follow suit. Our group at the Oak Ridge National Lab has successfully generated self-consistent explosions in 2D of 12-25 solar mass stars using our code CHIMERA. This code is made up of three essentially independent parts designed to evolve the stellar gas hydrodynamics (VH1/MVH3), the...
David Osborne
(University of Georgia)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The Kepler Spacecraft successfully identified five new planets within the Habitable zones of stars in our region of the Milky Way. In our own planetary system the Cassini Spacecraft obtained mass spectra of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. To convert the mass spectra to molecular composition a great deal of kinetic rate data is required. These data are used to explain the processes by...
A. Bluiett
(Elizabeth City State University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
A comparative study of the wavelength dependence of the Er3+ upconversion in low phonon-energy hosts KPb2Cl5 and KPb2 Br5 will be presented. Initial measurements indicate that visible and infrared upconversion was generated under 0.97 um and 1.5 um laser excitation. Using time resolved emission, spectral emission, and spectral absorption data the dominant upconversion mechanisms involving...
Mithi de los Reyes
(North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster (undergraduate)
The method of "capillary origami"---using the surface tension of an evaporating water droplet to fold a flexible membrane into a 3-D polyhedron, as investigated by Py et al.---has shown promise as a way to create fully 3-D microstructures. However, the origami re-opens past a critical evaporation point, and previous attempts to prevent this re-opening have proven to be expensive and...
W. R. Henderson
(James Madison University)
10/21/11, 6:00 PM
Poster
The linearly polarized photon beam at the High Intensity gamma-ray Source (HIgS) was used to study neutron emission from a {nat}Hg target at energies of 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 MeV. Twelve liquid scintillator detectors were placed at polar angles of 55 degrees, 90 degrees and 125 degrees and at azimuthal angles of phi=0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees. Six more detectors were...
