Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2013
Volume 58, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2013; Denver, Colorado
Session C14: SPS Undergraduate Research II |
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Sponsoring Units: SPS Chair: Toni Sauncy, Society of Physics Students Room: Plaza Court 3 |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
C14.00001: Toy Monte Carlo Simulations Mirroring K-Long Decay, as Studied by the K0TO Experiment Christiana Erba The K0TO experiment studies the rare, flavor-changing neutral current, second-order weak decay of the K-Long meson into a Pi-Zero meson, a neutrino, and the corresponding anti-neutrino. Through Toy Monte Carlo simulations enacted using Mathematica 8 software, the fundamental physical basis of this decay is explored. In addition, the secondary decay of the Pi-Zero meson into two photons is considered. Using information generated from the program's virtual particles, the transverse momentum and ``center of energy'' of the photons are calculated and graphed, revealing a linear relationship between the ``center of energy'' of the photons and the transverse momentum of the parent Pion. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
C14.00002: A Quantum Phase Transition in Hard-Core Bosons on an Optical Lattice in Three Dimensions Matthew Gammill, Richard Scalettar, Valy Rousseau In recent years, ultracold atomic gases have provided new experimental realization of the superfluid phase transition, and experiments where atoms are confined to an optical lattice -- a grid of counter-propagating lasers which generate a standing periodic potential -- allow for excellent control of interaction strength and particle density. The Bose-Hubbard Model (BHM) describes interacting bosons confined to an optical lattice. Previous work on the hard-core three-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with periodic 'checkerboard' potential has demonstrated the existence of a superfluid-insulator phase transition and established bounds on temperature and superlattice potential within which these phase transitions may occur. However, a quantitative phase diagram for this transition was heretofore unestablished. Using a QMC simulation in tandem with finite-size scaling methods, we locate precise values for the critical transition points. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
C14.00003: Resolving Ionospheric E-region Modeling Challenges: The Solar Photon Flux Dependence Joseph Jensen, Jan Sojka, Michael David, Kent Tobiska, Robert Schunk, Tom Woods, Frank Eparvier The EVE instrument of the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) provides for the first time EUV and XUV measurements of the solar irradiance that adequately define the major source of ionization of the atmosphere. In our study we modeled the E-region of the ionosphere and analyzed how it is affected by the solar irradiance data obtained by EVE and contrast this with the S2000 Solar Irradiance model, used previously. The ionosphere has two major layers, the E-layer at 100 km, and the F-layer at 300 km. The difference in solar irradiances are small except at some wavelength bands, it is these differences that lead to a better understanding of the physical/chemical processes of the E-region. Observations of the ionospheric layers is best achieved using incoherent scatter radars (ISR). We have compared our model with ISR data available from Arecibo Puerto Rico in an effort to understand how specific solar irradiance wavelength bands affect the E-region. This study focuses on two specific wavelength bands 0.1-15 nm and 91-103 nm. Both are responsible for E-region production, but in quite different manners. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
C14.00004: Characterization of Hydrogen Embrittled Zircaloy-4 by Using a Van de Graaff Particle Accelerator John Budd On-site, dry cask storage was originally by the intended to be a short-term solution for holding spent nuclear fuel. Due to the lack of a permanent storage facility, the nuclear power industry seeks to assess the effective lifetime of the casks. One issue which could compromise cask integrity is Hydrogen embrittlement. This phenomenon occurs in the Zircaloy-4 fuel-rod cladding and is caused by the formation of Zirconium hydrides. Over time, thermal stresses caused by the heat from reactions of the stored nuclear fuel could result in significant breaches of the cladding. Our group at Texas A{\&}M University- Kingsville is conducting experiments to aid in determining when such breaches will occur. We will irradiate samples of the alloy with protons of energies up to 400 keV using a Van de Graaff particle accelerator. Once irradiated, their properties will be characterized using scanning electron microscopy and Vickers hardness tests. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
C14.00005: Computational Study of Low Energy Nuclear Scattering Justin Salazar, Ajit Hira, Clifton Brownrigg, Jose Pacheco We continue our interest in the interactions between different nuclear species with a computational study of the scattering of the low-energy nuclei of H through F atoms $\left( {Z\le 9} \right)$ from Palladium and other metals. First, a FORTRAN computer program was developed to compute stopping cross sections and scattering angles in Pd and other metals for the small nuclear projectiles, using Monte Carlo calculation. This code allows for different angles of incidence. Next, simulations were done in the energy interval from 10 to 140kev. The computational results thus obtained are compared with relevant experimental data. The data are further analyzed to identify periodic trends in terms of the atomic number of the projectile. Such studies have potential applications in nuclear physics and in nuclear medicine. [Preview Abstract] |
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