Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Joint Fall 2012 Meeting of the APS New England Section and the AAPT
Volume 57, Number 15
Friday–Saturday, November 9–10, 2012; Williamtown, Massachusetts
Session C1: APS and AAPT Poster Session |
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Room: Faculty House |
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C1.00001: Scintillator fabrication for the Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEGIS) Alyssa Barlis, Joseph Samaniego-Evans The Antihydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS), an experiment at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator (AD) complex, aims to measure the effect of the earth's gravitational field on antihydrogen atoms. A key diagnostic tool for the experiment is the ability to detect antihydrogen and antiproton annihilations as they occur. The annihilations produce pions and photons, which AEgIS detects using a combination of scintillators and Photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs). We present the fabrication process of the scintillation detectors for the AEgIS experiment. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00002: Increasing Hurricanes, Draughts, {\&} Wildfires Paul Carr The last 12 months were the warmest on record: hurricanes, draughts, and wildfires continue to increase. HURRICANES: MIT Prof. Kerry Emanuel has correlated the rise in sea temperatures since 1995 with increasing hurricane destruction. Hurricane physics is that of a Carnot cycle. The heat source, the high- temperature sea surface, T $=$ 300K (27C), transfers wind energy to the hurricane. The heat sink is the cooler upper atmosphere, T $=$ 200 K (-73C). Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is an example. It caused over {\$}100 billion dollars of damage to New Orleans. DRAUGHTS: This year's draught in our Midwest, the worst since the dustbowl, is raising corn prices to the highest level in history. WILDFIRES: The effects of global warming on temperature, precipitation levels, soil moisture, and Western Pine beetles are turning many of our forests into kindling for more wildfires. Western Pine beetles can now survive the warmer winters. The number of extreme weather events, whose average since 1980 has been 3 to 4 per year, has increased to 9 in 2008 and 13 in 2011, according to the NOAA article in the March 2012 issue of ``Physics Today.'' Draughts, heat waves, and heavy precipitation increase from global warming according to the UN IPCC Special Report of November 2011, titled ''Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters.'' [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00003: Entangled-State Synthesis and Quantum Control Roshan Sharma Controlling the quantum state of a system is a first step towards many applications in quantum information science. We come up with the fastest algorithm to synthesize entangled states for coupled resonators. We also look at the propagation of a {\it{qudit}} under a controlled Hamiltonian. We have compared several optimization techniques such as the simplex search and GRAPE algorithm to come up with the optimal set of controls to evolve an initial state approximately into the desired final state. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00004: Rethinking Alain Aspect's Bell test experiment with delayed choice Jeffrey Boyd John Bell proposed that Einstein's idea of local realism violates the predictions of quantum mechanics for two correlated particles traveling in opposite directions. A long history of experiments have confirmed Bell's ideas and refuted Einstein's. The watershed experiment by Alain Aspect's team published the first such experiment with delayed choice in 1982. This poster explores Aspect's research with a different assumption: that waves are not the same as particles, indeed waves often travel in the opposite direction as particles. This Theory of Elementary Waves TEW is an alternative to QM, keeping quantum mathematics but providing a different picture of what the quantum world looks like. TEW has some features of a local and some features of a nonlocal theory. We claim that TEW (1) can explain the result of that 1982 delayed choice experiment; (2) TEW does not involve any concept of entangled photons; (3) the predictions of TEW differ from the predictions of Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen and Bohm by five standard deviations; and (4) TEW lies outside the jurisdiction of Bell's Theorem. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00005: When Can Two Fermions Be Characterized as a Boson? Christina Knapp I am investigating when a pair of distinct fermions can be characterized as a boson. In particular I am exploring whether there exists a relationship between the level of bosonic character of the pair and the entanglement. My system is N pairs of fermions, each pair consisting of one A particle and one B particle. My measure of bosonic character is a comparison of the fermion pair creation operator with an ideal bosonic creation operator. My measure of entanglement is based on the purity. Preliminary results suggest there is a strong connection between bosonic character and entanglement. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00006: PhysTEC at Boston Univeristy: Enhancing Physics Teaching in Area High Schools AND at the University Mark Greenman, Andrew Duffy The PhysTEC grant awarded to Boston University is helping to encode in the DNA of the physics department a culture that sees basic physics research and excellence in teaching as dual missions of a strong physics department. Boston University, a large research university located in an urban center, is working with area school districts to increase the number of highly qualified high school physics teachers. The experience of working with pre- and in-service physics teachers has had the added benefit of encouraging reflection within the physics department on strategies for effective teaching and learning. Physics majors are being encouraged to become undergraduate Learning Assistants, so physics majors graduating from Boston University will provide more effective instruction in physics, whether in the role of high school teacher, teaching assistant in graduate school, or research physicist mentoring and educating another generation of physicists. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00007: Constraints on a b-philic Quark and Z' from LHC Results Dylan Gilbert, David Tucker-Smith Final states rich in bottom jets are predicted by a variety of extensions to the Standard Model. A model introducing a new heavy quark $Q$, charged under a $Z^{\prime}$ boson and mixing with down-type Standard Model quarks, can lead to an excess of high b-jet multiplicity final states at the LHC, with both $Q$ and the $Z^{\prime}$ decaying preferentially to bottoms. We estimate the constraints placed on this model's parameter space by LHC results. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00008: Raising Standards and Expectations in a College Physics Classroom: An Invitational Approach Vandana Singh This poster describes the results of an alternative pedagogical approach in a calculus-based college physics classroom at Framingham State University in Spring 2012, where the majority of students were pre-medical or pre-engineering students, or chemistry majors. The approach incorporated elements of the invitational or promising syllabus as described by educator Ken Bain, as well as an interdisciplinary approach to understanding physics concepts, and was informed by the work of educational psychologist Carol Dweck. The ``promise'' or invitation that began the course was that students would understand how uncertainties, errors and mistakes occur in the real world, with particular emphasis on engineering and medicine, and what methods, skills, and habits of mind can minimize error. Results are discussed. The small sample size makes statistics-based conclusions impossible to generalize, but the study is suggestive of the potential benefits of a rigorously high-standard, process-oriented, interdisciplinary and real-world-connected approach to teaching physics to future engineers and doctors. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00009: ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN |
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C1.00010: Incorporating Nanotechnology into High School Curricula Gary Smith In the summers of 2010 and 2011, I was a participant in a summer RET experience hosted by Boston University's Electrical and Computer Engineering department. As a part of my experience, I worked with Prof. Hatice Altug, gaining insight into novel techniques her group has developed in constructing nanoplasmonic antenna arrays through lithographic techniques. In addition Prof. Altug and I worked to develop classroom materials that would introduce high school students to the promise of nano-scale science, while providing them with some essential conceptual background in the subject. I have now implemented these techniques into a second year (non-AP) course in high school physics. This course emphasizes themes of sustainability, fundamental physical principles, and ways in which new developments in materials are leading to the next generation of engineering developments. I currently work as a physics teacher and science department head for a Massachusetts Catholic high school. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00011: A Molecular Predictor of Enthalpies of Vaporization Jonathan Mitschele There is a proportional relationship between a molecule's polarizability and its enthalpy of vaporization, with offsets reflecting contributions from permanent dipoles, hydrogen bonding, and the effect of molecular shape. We present the results of a survey of nearly 400 molecular substances and discuss the conclusions one can draw from these results. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00012: A Precise Measurement of the Stark Shift in the 5$P_{1/2}\to$ 6$S_{1/2}$ 410nm Transition in Indium Nathan Schine, Gambhir Ranjit, Anders Schneider, Antonio Lorenzo, Protik Majumder We are nearing completion of a new precise experimental measurement of the Stark shift (scalar polarizability) for the 410nm, 5$P_{1/2}\to $ 6$S_{1/2}$ E1 transition in atomic indium. We use an atomic beam, which greatly reduces Doppler broadening of the atomic absorption signal, in conjunction with frequency modulation spectroscopy to measure atomic absorption at low atomic densities. We also use both a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a vapor cell saturated absorption spectroscopy to linearize and calibrate the frequency scale for the absorption signal and observed shift. Our preliminary measurement has a statistical uncertainly of less than 1{\%}. A final precision at this level would represent an order of magnitude improvement in precision over the previous measurement. This measurement will test state-of-the-art \textit{ab initio} atomic theory which seeks to improve calculated wave function accuracy in multi-valence-electron Group IIIA atoms such as indium and thallium. Such theoretical accuracy is crucial to help interpret results from symmetry violation experiments in these high-Z atomic systems. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00013: Misconception in Physical Science at the Middle School Grades Zenobia Lojewska, Robert Barkman, Peter Polito, Julianne Smist, Richard Konicek- Moran The presentation will focus on the physical science content and pedagogy workshops addressing student's misconceptions at the middle school level. These workshops were conducted at Springfield College during summer 2010 for in-service teachers from Springfield, MA Public Schools. The follow up activities took place during the academic year 2010/2011. A partnership among Springfield MA Public Schools, Springfield College, and the City of Springfield Science Museum was developed to implement an innovative program to prepare highly-qualified educators. Concepts of force, motion, energy, and energy transformation were explored in a physics laboratory setting and student's misconceptions were addressed. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00014: ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN |
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C1.00015: Exploring a Theory of Dark Matter Alice Sady, David Tucker-Smith We examine an extension to the Standard Model that accounts for the existence of dark matter. In addition to the Standard Model sector, we include a Dirac fermion serving as our dark matter candidate, a Z' boson that mediates interactions between the Standard Model particles and dark matter sector, and a Higgs-like scalar whose vacuum expectation value gives mass to the Z'. We take the Z' couplings to Standard Model fermions to be proportional to a linear combination of hypercharge Y and B-L number. We allow for kinetic mixing between the Z and Z' boson, as well as a quartic coupling between the Standard Model Higgs field and the dark matter sector Higgs field. We use the measurement of the dark matter relic abundance, results from dark matter direct detection experiments, and results from colliders to constrain the parameter space of this model. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00016: A Mathematica Quantum simulator for hybrid qubit -qutrit systems Frank Tabakin QDENSITY\footnote{Bruno Julia-Diaz, Joseph M. Burdis and Frank Tabakin, Computer Physics Communications 174 (2006) 914} is a Mathematica quantum computation simulator. QCWAVE\footnote{Frank Tabakin, Bruno Julia-Diaz, Computer Physics Communications 182 (2011) 1603} not only updated QDENSITY's treatment of states and operators and included amplitude displays, circuit diagram drawing and Dirac notation features, but also invoked the parallel processing capabilities of Mathematica 8.0 to simulate errors and error correction. Parallel versions of QCWAVE run simultaneously with random errors introduced on some of the processors, with an ensemble average used to represent the real world situation. Within this approach, error correction steps can be simulated and their efficacy tested. This capability allows one to examine the detrimental effects of errors and the benefits of error correction on particular quantum algorithms. Now there is an addition to the codes ``QDENSITY'' and ``QCWAVE,'' called BTSystem\footnote{BTSystem is available at http://www.pitt.edu/$\sim$tabakin/QDENSITY/}, which includes hybrids of binary (B) qubit and triplet(T)qutrit systems. Formation of BT states, density matrices, gates and partial traces are among the many features of BTSystem. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00017: ``Global Warming, Climate Change'' (AGW) --- A Critical Look Laurence I. Gould There continues to be an increasing number of scientists from around the world who are challenging the dominant claim that has been bolstered by so-called ``consensus'' scientific views --- that dangerous ``global warming/climate change'' is caused primarily by human-produced carbon dioxide. This poster will show that scientific evidence contradicts that claim. It will also explain some of the errors that have been introduced from a corruption of the scientific method.\\[4pt] [1] Major Reference: \textit{Climate Change Reconsidered ---} http://www.nipccreport.org/index.html\\[0pt] [2] Nobel Laureate in Physics, Ivar Giaever, public presentation, \textit{The Strange Case of Global Warming} critiquing AGW (Lindau 2012 conference of Nobel Laureates) http://www.mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org/{\#}/Video?id$=$1410\\[0pt] [3] Articles illustrating issues (pro and con) about AGW can be found in the \textit{NES APS Newsletters} beginning with the Fall 2007 issue --- http://www.aps.org/units/nes/newsletters [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00018: Measurement of the Total Cross Section for {\boldmath $\gamma n \rightarrow \pi^- p$} Near Threshold at MAX-lab Khayla England In nuclear science, researchers strive to describe the properties of the nucleons using the framework provided by QCD. A number of theoretical approaches, such as Chiral Perturbation Theory, can be used to solve the QCD equations for nuclear processes. The predictions of these theories can be compared with the results from experimental measurements for those nuclear reactions where both theory and experiment can provide accurate answers. One such reaction where this comparison is possible is pion photoproduction close to threshold. A measurement of the total cross-section very close to threshold for the $\gamma n \rightarrow \pi^- p$ reaction is currently being performed using the Tagged Photon Facility at MAX-lab in Lund, Sweden. A LD$_2$ target was used to provide the neutron target. Due to the target thickness, the $\pi^-$ were not detected directly but instead were captured on another nucleus in the target. This capture resulted in a nominal 128 MeV $\gamma$-ray approximately 25\% of the time. This gamma-ray easily exited the target and was detected using three large NaI(Tl) detectors: CATS, BUNI, and DIANA. The $\pi^-$ capture $\gamma$-ray is clearly seen in the data. An overview of the measurement and preliminary results will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00019: Gain Calibrations for the BUNI Large-Volume NaI(Tl) Detector at MAX-lab Olivia Campbell Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) provides a framework for understanding the properties of the nucleon. Predictions from QCD-based theories combined with experimental results can provide important tests of these theories. A measurement of $\gamma n \rightarrow \pi^- p$ close to threshold was performed in 2011 using the tagged photon facility at MAX-lab in Lund, Sweden. Using a LD$_2$ target, the $\pi^-$ had insufficient energy to escape the target to be detected directly but were captured in the target producing a nominal 128-MeV gamma-ray through the $\pi^- d \rightarrow nn \gamma$ channel. These high-energy gamma-rays were detected in three large-volume NaI(Tl) detectors located around the target. The NaI(Tl) detectors consist of a core surrounded by a segmented annulus. The core energy calibration was performed by placing each detector directly in the tagged photon beam which has a known energy and was monitored using cosmic-ray measurements throughout the experiment. During the data acquisition period, the gain of the annulus segments were measured daily using a Th-C gamma-ray source. These calibrations ensured that changes in the detector gains were accurately monitored and corrected for during the analysis of the data. Results from the gain calibrations will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00020: Sympathetic Cooling of Na$+$ Ions by Ultracold Na Atoms in a Hybrid Trap Winthrop Smith, Ilamaran Sivarajah, Douglas Goodman, James Wells, Frank Narducci Laser cooling atoms to ultracold temperatures has opened a fruitful new regime for atomic physics. Closed-shell atomic ions, such as Na$+$, and nearly all molecular ions lack the optical transitions from the ground state that are required for laser cooling, restricting their use in a variety of experiments: near zero-K reaction studies, cold ion spectroscopy and quantum gates. We have created a hybrid atom-ion trap system to study cooling and reactions of atomic and molecular ions which cannot be laser cooled. It consists of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) for Na, concentric with a linear Paul r.f. ion trap. Recent simulations we have carried out using SIMION 7 [PRA \underline {86}, 033408 (2012)] show that cold MOT atoms may be used to sympathetically cool hot atomic or molecular\_ions to sub-Kelvin temperatures. We found experimental evidence of this: trapped Na$+$ ions exposed to equal mass Na MOT atoms have extended lifetimes when MOT-refrigerated in the Paul trap. Unwanted ions (e.g. Na$_{2}^{+}$ from the MOT) may be quenched with minimal disturbance of the trapped Na$^{+}$ ions. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00021: Quantum Fourier Transform with Qudits Qiao Zhang We study the implementation of the quantum Fourier transform (QFT) over d-dimensional quantum systems (qudits). Specifically, we generalize the qubit algorithm to qudits and characterize its complexity with respect to gate sets appropriate for qudit-oscillator implementations (based on the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonians). We find that, for experimentally realizable interactions, highly efficient implementations of the qudit QFT are possible. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00022: An XRF Study of Meteorites Kierstin Daviau, R.G. Mayne, A. Ehlmann Meteorites from the Oscar E. Monnig collection at TCU were scanned with a Bruker Tracer-III SD XRF machine in order to create a library of XRF spectra for different groups of meteorites. Over a ten week period this study examined 122 chondritic and achondritic samples, a total of eight groups. The XRF machine was run at a voltage of 40.00 and a current of 3.00 amps without vacuum. Selected meteorites had at least one smooth, flat surface. Each meteorite was scanned a minimum of five times at differing positions for a surface analysis. Average values for each element found was calculated in ARTAX 7. The elements identified by the XRF as useful in distinguishing meteorite groups are Mn, Si, and Mg. Within the chondritic meteorites Fe also differed. For achondrites, Ti, Ca and Al varied. The XRF also recognized two non obvious a-typical meteorites. The XRF has already proven useful to the field of meteoritics and has the potential to continue doing so. It has been used frequently at TCU to identify meteorites from ``meteorwrongs.'' An XRF library of meteorites could take this tentative identification process a step further. Depending on the spectra of the rock it may be possible to not only determine whether it is a meteorite but to also give some idea of what group it may belong to.\\[4pt] [1] Bunch, T.E, et. al. (2009) \textit{Northwest Africa 2824: Another Eucrite-like Sample from the Ibitira Parent Body? }\\[0pt] [2] Meteoritical Bulletin Database. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00023: Optical Laser Pulse Scattering in the Atmosphere Nimmi Sharma At Central Connecticut State University optical atmospheric remote sensing is conducted by studying the scattering of laser light pulses by atmospheric constituents. Using a technique known as laser radar (also called lidar), laser light is transmitted vertically into the atmosphere and the fraction of the resultant light scattered back towards a detector by components in the atmosphere (e.g. air molecules, aerosols such as soot, etc.) is collected and analyzed. Atmospheric parameters which influence the detected signal include aerosol altitudes, types, sizes, shapes, and phase functions. Through combining multiple instruments and/or appropriate assumptions, the portion of the detected signal that is caused by air molecules can be separated from that caused by aerosols, small particulates suspended in the atmosphere. The derived information on aerosols may then be useful for a wide variety of studies including air pollution monitoring and compliance, weather, and atmospheric dynamics. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00024: Ultracold atoms in novel optical lattices Nathan Lundblad We report progress towards optical lattice experiments using a planned Bose-Einstein condensate of $^{87}$Rb. We describe vacuum chamber construction, design and construction of a spin-flip Zeeman slower, characterization of laser cooling tools, the results of magnetic trapping and evaporative cooling, and plans for a hybrid dipole trap approach for reaching BEC, as well as optical lattice design and construction. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00025: Dispersion in an all-optical fiber modelocked laser Joseph Iafrate, Jefferson Strait We have built an all-optical fiber laser modelocked with a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) designed to produce pulses on the order of one picosecond duration. The performance of this laser crucially depends on the net dispersion of the cavity, so we have investigated combining positive dispersion and negative dispersion optical fibers to optimize stability with short duration pulses. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00026: Thermodynamic of cellulose solvation in novel solvent mixtures Ritankar Das Biomass contains abundant amounts of cellulose as crystalline microfibrils. A limiting step to using cellulose as an alternative energy source, however, is the hydrolysis of the biomass and subsequent transformation into fuels. Cellulose is insoluble in most solvents including organic solvents and water, but it is soluble in some ionic liquids like BMIM-Cl. This project aims to find alternative solvents that are less expensive and are more environmentally benign than the ionic liquids. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations were performed on dissociated glucan chains separated by multiple (4-5) solvation shells, in the presence of several novel solvents and solvent mixtures. The solubility of the chains in each solvent was indicated by contacts calculations after the equilibration of the molecular dynamics. It was discovered that pyridine and imidazole acted as the best solvents because their aromatic electronic structure was able to effectively disrupt the inter-sheet interactions among the glucan chains in the axial direction, and because perturbation of the solvent interactions in the presence of glucan chains was minimal. [Preview Abstract] |
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C1.00027: Novel Magnetic Measurement Apparatus Jan Makkinje, George Zimmerman We have developed a version of a Guoy Balance for the measurement of magnetization and magnetic susceptibility by the use of commercial neodymium magnets and a scale capable of milligram accuracy. The scale, modified for digital data acquisition is capable of measuring the magnetic properties of both diamagnetic and paramagnetic substances. Examples of the materials we have measured are the magnetic properties of liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, various magnetic chemical compounds and high transition temperature superconductors. The construction and use of the device as well as sample measurements will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
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